Move SaaS customer credits without changing what they mean

A source system may use the word credit for several different arrangements. Identify whether each balance represents unapplied cash, an invoice adjustment, purchased usage value or a free promotion. Retain the originating transaction and agreement. Combining them into one opening number can change how the customer spends the value or what the business owes.

Stripe distinguishes invoice credit balances from customer cash balances, and its usage credit grants distinguish paid from promotional categories. These are examples of why the destination's field names need careful review. Match the intended behavior and underlying obligation, not just the label that most closely resembles the old export column.

For each balance, record its currency, remaining amount, effective date, expiry if any, permitted products and refund or transfer conditions. Identify value already reserved against an invoice or usage period. If the source contains a manual exception, preserve its approval instead of silently applying the standard destination rule.

Ask the system owner to demonstrate whether the destination can represent the arrangement. A balance limited to one usage product should not automatically become a discount on every subscription invoice. Where a feature is unsupported, document a supported alternative and obtain the necessary commercial and accounting approval before migration.

Take an agreed opening snapshot and then capture credits issued, value consumed, refunds and payments arriving before final cutover. Match each movement to its source document. A balance export can become stale while the migration team is still testing the import, especially if usage continues or invoices finalize during that interval.

For a hypothetical customer with $500 of purchased usage value and a $100 promotion, do not import $600 as undifferentiated cash. If $40 of purchased value is consumed before cutover, the supported opening records should reflect the remaining $460 and the separate promotion, subject to the approved terms. Retain the consumption evidence and snapshot times.

Use representative accounts to preview the next invoice and application of balances. Include a restricted credit, an expiring promotion, a paid grant and a customer with unpaid invoices. Check the order and eligibility of application, not merely whether the displayed total equals the source total.

Have finance review any conversion that changes timing or presentation. An import that consumes value immediately may alter the customer's next bill even when the opening balance is numerically correct. Keep expected outcomes in the test record so the reviewer can identify a behavioral mismatch rather than approving a screenshot that happens to show the right number.

Reconcile the final source balance, approved migration adjustments, destination opening balance and first movements by customer and currency. Resolve exceptions individually. A total that agrees across the whole business can conceal one customer's missing balance offset by another customer's excess credit.

Provide accounting with the classification and source references needed to reconcile liabilities, receivables and concessions under the approved policy. Give support a readable explanation of how each customer's value moved. Keep the bridge available after the old platform is closed so a later question about an expired or consumed credit can be answered from evidence.