Whatever software you're currently using, the migration approach is the same: export data from the old system to Excel, clean it up, then import it into Tanca following the process in article A5-01.
Four steps
- List the data you have in the old system. This usually includes: employee profiles, contracts, attendance history, leave balances, salary structure, and insurance records.
- Export to Excel. Most HR software has an export function. If you can't find it, contact your old vendor and request a data export — you have rights to your own data.
- Decide what to migrate and what not to. See the table below.
- Import into Tanca following the process in article A5-01.
What to migrate
| Data | Should it be migrated? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Profiles of current employees | Required | The foundation of every module |
| Organizational structure and job titles | Required | Set up again manually, not imported from a file |
| Remaining leave balances for the current year | Recommended | Employees will check this on day one |
| Salary structure and allowances | Recommended | Rebuild as a payroll template, don't import directly |
| Active contracts | Recommended | Needed for expiration alerts |
| Attendance history from previous years | Not needed | Keeping an archive in the old system or an Excel file is enough |
| Profiles of former employees | Not needed | Archive separately; don't weigh down the list |
| Old review history | Optional | Only migrate if it will soon be used for HR decisions |
Don't try to migrate all of your history. The goal is to be operational from the next payroll period, not to recreate the past. Keeping historical data as archive files is enough for lookup needs.
Three things that are often forgotten
- Ask your old vendor about the service end date and when the data will be deleted. Download a full backup before that date.
- Beginning-of-year leave balances are often not included in the standard export — you need to ask for them separately.
- If you use physical attendance machines, check whether the employee codes on the machines match the new codes in Tanca.
