Quick Answer
What to know before switching lumber software
Switching lumber software doesn’t have to stop the yard. Your GL account, vendor, customer, item, open order, and balance information comes with you into the new system. Every customer is different, but if everything goes according to plan, a lumber ERP implementation with Lumber Expert can go live in about 60 days. Many companies take longer, depending on the complexity of your organization. Go live during your least busy time of year, at a month-end cutoff, and train before go-live using real scenarios from your old system.
Most lumber companies don’t stay on old software because they love it. They stay because the switch feels risky. Orders still have to ship, trucks still have to roll, and month-end still has to close. Nobody wants to be the person who brought the yard to a halt over a software change.
The good news is that a switch doesn’t have to work that way. With the right plan, the right timing, and real training before go-live, wholesalers, distributors, remanufacturers, treatment centers, and multi-family housing suppliers can move to a new system while business keeps running.
This is how we approach it at RDB Solutions when a company moves to Lumber Expert, based on our work with lumber and building materials businesses since 1993.
What Moves Over to the New System
You export your data from your old system, and we import it into Lumber Expert. Some details are entered by hand during master data training. Here is what comes with you:
- GL account information
- Vendor information
- Customer information
- Items
- Open orders
- Inventory balances
- Accounting balances
Only current balances come over, not past invoices or closed orders, so plan to keep access to your old system for historical lookups.
That means your customers, your vendors, your product list, and the orders already in motion carry forward with you. At go-live, your new lumber software starts with beginning balances for AR, AP, and inventory, plus the beginning journal entry, so your books pick up where the old ones left off.
A Realistic Timeline
Every customer is different. If everything goes according to plan, some companies go live in about 60 days, while others take longer. How fast your team learns, and how much time they can give to training while running the business, both shape the timeline. A single-location wholesaler with a simple product mix moves faster than a multi-location operation with treating services, trader desks, and complex processes.
The full timeline is laid out step by step in “The First 90 Days of a Lumber ERP Implementation” section below.
The Best Time of Year to Go Live
There is no single best month for every company. The right time depends on your business. A treatment center, a remanufacturer, and a distributor that ships heavily into spring building season all have different rhythms.
Two rules hold for everyone:
- Go live during your least busy time of year. Your team will be learning new screens and new habits. Give them room to do that when the phones aren’t ringing off the hook.
- Always go live at a month-end cutoff. Starting fresh at a month-end boundary keeps your accounting clean. Your old system closes one month, and the new system opens the next with clean beginning balances.
If you know your slow season, count back from a month-end in that window. About 60 days is a starting point, but every customer is different, so we will help you set a realistic start date for your organization.
Running Both Systems Side by Side: Is It Really Necessary?
Many companies assume they need to run the old system and the new system in parallel for a while, just to be safe. In our experience, it is extremely hard to do.
Running parallel doubles everybody’s work. Every order gets entered twice. Every invoice gets checked twice. And it all happens at the same time your team is under the stress of learning a new system. The result is usually tired people, more mistakes, and a slower switch.
Instead, we recommend a different approach. During training, your team takes real-world scenarios they have already completed in the old system and runs them through Lumber Expert. Then they check that the outcome is the same.
That gives you the confidence parallel running is supposed to provide, without the double workload. Your team sees their own orders, their own customers, and their own numbers come out right in the new system before anything goes live.
Training the Team
Software is only as good as the people using it. That is why in-depth training is crucial, and it has to happen before go-live, not after.
We’ll be honest: training takes a focused effort on your part. You are running business as usual while also learning a new system, and that can be challenging. Training has to be completed before we can go live, so carving out real time for it matters.
Training can be remote or onsite, though we prefer onsite to ensure quality. Plan on at least 10 to 14 hours a week, and more if you can manage it while keeping the business running.
Three things support your team along the way:
- A methodical training program. RDB’s training follows a set order, building from master data to daily transactions to reporting. When the program is followed, it reaps the benefits.
- A dedicated client success team. Their job is 100% making sure new clients are trained and know how to use the system.
- A robust support site. It acts as a valuable aid during training and long after go-live, when someone needs a refresher on a task they don’t do every day.
The First 90 Days of a Lumber ERP Implementation
This is the part most buyers worry about, so here is how it actually unfolds, step by step.
1. Environment setup. First, your environment is created and initialized. That includes the cloud and database setup, plus an installer for the software.
2. Master information training. Next comes initial training on master information data entry. This covers vendors, customers, and order-related codes, as well as your chart of accounts. Getting this foundation right makes everything after it easier.
3. Transactional training. Once the master data is in place, transactional training can happen. This includes order entry, inventory, invoicing, and AP and AR management. This is where your team runs those real-world scenarios from the old system and checks the results.
4. Sales team training. If your traders or sales team will use Trader Expert, they get separate training sessions on it. Trader Expert gives them quick access to account management, order management, order tracking, inventory levels, and shipping details.
5. Reporting and analysis. Then your team learns reporting and analysis, including dashboards and financials, so managers and owners can see the business clearly from day one.
6. Go-live. When it is time to go live, all transactions created during training are cleared out. Then we enter beginning balances for AR, AP, and inventory, along with the beginning journal entry. Once everything is in balance, your team starts entering new transactions in the new system.
Every customer is different, but if everything goes to plan, go-live can land around day 60. For many companies it comes later. After go-live, the focus is on settling in: closing your first month in the new system, using the support site and client success team as questions come up, and building confidence in the daily routine. There is no one-size check-in schedule. Our client success team tailors outreach to each client.
What to Have Ready Before Kickoff
A little preparation makes every step above go more smoothly. Before your project starts, have these in place:
- Your least busy season identified
- A target go-live month-end, with a start date counted back from it (about 60 days is a starting point, but every customer is different)
- A clear owner for training, with time blocked on the calendar for it (at least 10 to 14 hours a week)
- Real, already-completed orders and invoices from your old system to run through Lumber Expert during training
- Your chart of accounts and order-related codes ready for master data setup
- If you use Trader Expert, your sales and trader team scheduled for Trader Expert training
Is It Time to Switch?
If your current lumber yard software makes your team work around it, enter data twice, or wait on reports, the cost of staying put adds up every month. A switch takes planning and focus, but it doesn’t have to shut down the yard.
Lumber Expert was built around the lumber and building materials business, and our team has guided lumber companies through this switch for more than 30 years. Still comparing options? Our guides on how to choose ERP software for your lumber business and lumber inventory management software cover features, vendor questions, and red flags in depth.
When you are ready to talk through your timeline, Request a Demo or call 541-668-6360.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to switch to Lumber Expert?
Every customer is different. If everything goes according to plan, go-live can happen in about 60 days, and many companies take longer. The exact timeline depends on the complexity of your organization and how much time your team can give to training.
What data moves over when we switch?
Your GL accounts, vendors, customers, items, open orders, and inventory and accounting balances come with you. You export the data from your old system and RDB imports it, and some details are entered by hand during training. Only current balances move over, not past transaction history.
Do we need to run our old and new software at the same time?
We don’t recommend it. Running both systems doubles everyone’s work during an already busy learning period. Instead, your team runs real scenarios from the old system through Lumber Expert during training and confirms the results match.
When is the best time to go live?
During your least busy time of year, and always at a month-end cutoff so your accounting starts clean.
What training and support does RDB provide?
RDB has a methodical training program, a dedicated client success team focused 100% on training new clients, and a robust support site your team can use during and after the switch. If questions come up after training, our client success team is there to help.
About the Author
Kevin Stanton is the founder of RDB Solutions, a lumber software company headquartered in Bend, Oregon. He founded RDB Solutions in 1993 after years in the lumber wholesale industry, where he recognized the gap between general-purpose business software and the operational realities of lumber yards, distributors, and treating facilities. He leads product development on Lumber Expert, Inventory Expert, and Trader Expert.
