Cutover and go-live
Go Live on 1 April: Changing Finance Systems at the Year Boundary
Most housing associations close their year on 31 March. Timing a new finance system to start on 1 April gives each year one system, one ledger and one audit trail.
November 6, 2026
4 min read
Legacy system, in order:
- Last week of March: Final payment run
- April: March close
- Early May: Read-only for audit
New system, in order:
- Last week of March: Open items loaded
- April: Opening balances signed with auditors
- Early May: First month-end close
- Last week of March: Legacy system passes open items to New system
- April: Legacy system passes balances to New system
1 April: the new financial year (between Last week of March and April)
Why the year boundary
A go-live part-way through a year splits the ledger across two systems. Auditors then test balances in both, and budget holders compare actuals from two sources. Starting the new system on the first day of the financial year avoids that split.
Each year sits in one system, with one ledger and one audit trail.
The rhythm of a year-boundary go-live
The year-boundary go-live has its own rhythm:
- The legacy system makes its final payment run in the last week of March and then stops.
- Open purchase orders, invoices and debtors load over the cutover days.
- Opening balances load in April, once the legacy March close is done, and are signed off with the auditors.
- The first month-end close in the new system tests the design under real conditions.