Fear of Messing Up
Everyone knows FOMO, the fear of missing out. But what about FOMU, the fear of messing up? We know that's what often prevents making positive changes.
If you like what you've seen of Sodium but the thought of moving your clients, your data and your team across makes your stomach drop, you're not being difficult. You're being sensible. Here's what worries practices about switching, and what we do about each worry.
Hesitating over a change this big is the rational response, not a failing.
So the answer isn't more reasons to love Sodium.
It's taking the risk out of the move.
The worries we hear most
“Moving our data across will take weeks.”
Your clients, their contacts and the services you provide come across from the export your current system already produces. Sodium recognises exports from Engager, Pixie and Bright Manager as they are, and pulls your client list straight from Xero or QuickBooks. For anything else, the import wizard maps your spreadsheet's columns and remembers the mapping for next time.
“We'll make a mess of our data.”
Nothing is saved until you have seen a preview of it. Running an import again updates what is already there rather than creating duplicates, and any rows that need attention come back to you in a file with the reason against each one, ready to fix and upload again. Your current system doesn't go anywhere until you decide it has done its job.
“The team won't get on board.”
People resist software that gets dropped on them, so we don't drop it. We'll show your team round Sodium already set up the way your practice works, with their clients and their kind of work in it, so the first time they see it, it already looks like theirs. And once they see the chasing, re-keying and hunting for things it takes off their plate, getting them on board stops being the hard part.
“Something will fall through the cracks during the changeover.”
The risky part of a switch is the day everything moves at once, so don't have one. Move a batch of clients at a time. And we'll help you pick a switch-over date that works around your busy periods, not through them.
“Our clients will notice.”
The only thing they should notice is that dealing with you gets easier. Clients never have to sign up for anything in Sodium: document requests, approvals and forms reach them as a secure link by email. There is no new account to create and no password to forget.
“If it doesn't work out, we'll be stuck.”
You won't. Everything you put into Sodium can come out again, as CSV or over the API, whenever you like, without asking us first.
A well-trodden path
You won't be the first practice to make this move, or the first from the system you use now. We've written down how it's done, step by step, for some of the systems we see regular migrations from.
- Migrating from Engager
A step-by-step guide to exporting your data from Engager and importing your clients, contacts, and services into Sodium.Read the guide - Migrating from Bright Manager
A step-by-step guide to exporting your data from Bright Manager and importing your clients, contacts, services, and tasks into Sodium.Read the guide - Migrating from Pixie
A step-by-step guide to exporting your data from Pixie, importing your clients and their contacts, and setting up your services in Sodium.Read the guide - Migrating from QuickBooks Practice Manager
A step-by-step guide to exporting your data from QuickBooks Practice Manager, importing your clients and their contacts, and setting up your services in Sodium.Read the guide
We've also had practices move to us from Karbon, FYI, CCH, IRIS and plenty of others. There's not much we haven't seen, and we love building tools that make the move easier for you, because they make it easier for the next practice coming down the same path too.
“I've tried other practice management solutions but find they're always heavy work to get them set up - but yours feels a breeze!” — Anne Sievewright, charlesblack.co.uk
You don't have to do it all at once
A “big bang” switch moves every client, every service and every person on the same day. For a small practice with simple work that can be fine. For others it's where things can go wrong, so some practices prefer to move bit by bit.
- First
A handful of clients
A few straightforward clients, or one partner's portfolio. Run them in Sodium for real and see how it feels.
- Next
A team or a service line
All your bookkeeping clients, say, or one office. Each batch is just another import.
- Then
Everyone else
Once your team trusts it, the rest follow. Not before.
Meanwhile, new clients can start in Sodium from day one, so your old system shrinks on its own.
You don't have to use everything on day one
Sodium does a lot: workflows, proposals, engagement letters, billing, a client portal, AML, automation and more. Seeing all of it at once can be overwhelming, and for some practices that alone is the reason they put off switching. It doesn't need to be. Turn off what you don't need yet, get the basics working, and switch more on as your team gets comfortable.
- Day one
Just what you need to run the practice the way you do today, so nobody has to learn everything at once.
- Once you're settled
Switch on the features that take the most off your plate, one at a time, as the team finds its feet.
- When you're ready
Turn on more automation and let Sodium do the chasing and the repetitive work for you.
You won't be doing it alone
Switching isn't something we hand you a login for and wish you luck. We're with you from the first plan to go-live, and for as long as you're with us after that.
- 1
Plan it with us
A call with Marcus to work out what moves first, when, and what can be left behind. We'll tell you honestly how long we think it will take a practice like yours.
- 2
Move it with us
You export from your current system and we help you bring it in, checking it with you before anyone relies on it.
- 3
Show your team
We walk your colleagues through Sodium as your practice will use it, not a generic tour. Bring as many of them as you like.
- 4
Stay close
After go-live we're still a quick email away. If something doesn't fit the way you work, tell us: that's how Sodium gets better.
“Sodium has by far the best support from any SaaS solution I've come across. Prompt, professional and often proactive.” — Ben Jenkins, jenkins.co.uk
Common questions
How long does switching take?
Getting your clients, contacts and services in usually takes minutes per import. The real time goes on deciding how you want to run your work in Sodium, and that depends on your practice. We'll give you an honest estimate on the first call rather than a best-case number.
Do we have to move everything at once?
No. You can move a batch of clients at a time and keep the rest where they are until you're ready. Imports can be run as often as you like, so each batch is just another import. New clients can start in Sodium from day one, so the old system shrinks on its own.
Can we run Sodium alongside our current system?
Yes, and if you're moving in batches you might be for a while.
Our system isn't one you mention. Can we still move?
Yes. If it can export a CSV or a spreadsheet, the import wizard maps your columns to Sodium's fields, previews the result before anything is saved, and remembers the mapping for the next batch. And we love seeing a system we haven't met before: tell us about yours and we'll build an import tool for it, which makes the move easier for you and for every practice that follows.
When is the best time to switch?
Not January. Most practices are better off planning the move for the quieter months after the 31 January Self Assessment deadline, or whatever your own quiet period is. We'll help you pick the dates.
Do you charge for helping us move?
No. Planning the move with you, helping you bring your data across and showing your team how it all works comes at no extra charge.
What if we change our minds?
Then you take your data with you. Everything in Sodium can be exported as CSV or read over the API at any time, without asking us. Your data is yours
Talk it through with Marcus
Marcus Batson
Head of Customer Success, Sodium
Tell Marcus what you use now and what worries you about moving, and he'll help you work out the safest way across. Bring colleagues along if it helps.
The term FOMU, the fear of messing up, comes from Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna's book The JOLT Effect.