Nastaliq / Guides
How to move paper records into an ERP
Many growing companies still keep years of history on paper: receipts, delivery notes, handwritten registers. Moving it into an ERP makes it searchable and gives you real reports from the first day. Here is how to do it without stopping the business.
1. Decide what history you need
Not every piece of paper needs to come across. Start with what you will actually use: customer and supplier balances, sales history for reporting, and stock movements. Older or rarely used records can be archived instead.
2. Sort the documents by type
Group the paper into types, such as sales invoices, purchase receipts, delivery notes and handwritten logs. Each type has its own layout and its own fields, and each is handled as its own batch.
3. Run a sample first
Bring in a small, representative batch of each type before committing to the whole archive. The sample shows how readable the records are, how long they take, and what the full migration will cost.
4. Read, check and link
Each document is read into the system's fields and checked, then linked to the right customer, supplier and item. Linking is what turns a pile of scans into history you can report on.
5. Import in batches, then switch over
Bring records in batch by batch, checking each one before it reaches the live system. Keep the old records accessible until you are sure everything has come across.
FAQ
Common questions
Can handwritten records be moved into an ERP?
Yes. They take longer than printed documents, because each one has to be read and checked, so they usually cost more per document.
How much does it cost to move paper records into an ERP?
It depends on volume and how readable the records are, which is why a paid sample comes first. Nastaliq prices migration per 1,000 documents after the sample.
Do we have to stop working while records are migrated?
No. Records come over in batches while the business keeps running, and the old records stay accessible until the move is complete.
What should we migrate first?
Balances and the history you will report on: customers, suppliers, items, opening balances, and recent sales and purchases.
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