In the previous two blogs, we’ve explored the benefits of a cloud-based payment processing solution and the way it improves your procedures for paying and collecting money. Even though the business case for moving to the cloud is very compelling, it’s perhaps surprising that often there’s still a reticence to make the move. This is due largely to the perception that switching your processing software leads to disruption – and that’s a scary thought when it comes to cashflow!

We’ve helped hundreds of organisations switch painlessly to paygate, either from one of our own on-premise solutions or from another supplier’s on-premise or cloud products. Our step-by-step migration plan makes the process fast and 100% risk-free, here’s how.

First things first. It’s important to have a dedicated person to oversee the migration. We assign a technical engineer from our Implementation Team to work closely with your own payment and finance teams so that you have a single port of call to provide guidance and answer any questions. Their role is to keep the migration on track and avoid delay.

There are three key components that are essential for a successful and assured migration plan: preparation and data collection; precise configuration; testing and training.

Any plan worth its salt needs an agreed timetable that defines the end date. It’s important to consider carefully when is the best time for your new solution to go live, to fit in with your business priorities and to allow sufficient time for a stress-free transition.

Having agreed the timetable, our audit form quickly and easily gathers all the information we need about your processes to prepare for configuration. Getting a clear picture of your user permissions and workflows early-on in the process takes away risk and paves the way for a pain-free journey.

By working with your existing file formats, we make configuration really straightforward so there is typically no requirement to amend any back-office processes. It’s reassuring to know that this simple mapping of your file formats means they will continue to work, unchanged, within your new paygate cloud solution.

When it comes to your Service User Numbers (SUNs), we conduct the Bacs mandatory Service Qualification Plan (SQP) testing to ensure SUNs are live and ready for submission at Bacs, which means when you are ready to go-live, you can, with Bacs ready to accept your submissions when you are ready to send them.

Our detailed migration plan ensures that we’re ready for the Go Live date exactly as planned but before you switch off your current solution, we conduct deep and thorough testing of your new set-up. This includes a side-by-side operation of your paygate system alongside your incumbent solution to prove that the process and outcomes are exactly right.

But we’re not there yet. We then run user training for your team to get them up and running and confidently using the system. Only then are we ready to switch over to the cloud exclusively. The process is so simple that this really doesn’t take long at all, as the interface is familiar and comfortable from the first time you use it.

So in reality, you have very little to worry about. We do all the hard work, keeping everything on track, while you get on with the more important things in life.

If this series of blogs has whetted your appetite but you are not quite ready to move to a full cloud solution, then paygate can provide cloud-based contingency options to supplement your existing on-premise solution.

If you’d like to review your payment processing and contingency arrangements, why not request a free audit? A look at your current arrangements with our technical experts can highlight potential risk and reveal opportunities for quick-win improvements by incorporating best practice.