Moving a study abroad agency from spreadsheets to a shared workspace.

Start with an inventory, not an import

List where information currently lives: student spreadsheets, institution lists, shared folders and email. Identify which source the team trusts when two records disagree. A clean source of truth matters more than moving every file at once.

Separate people from applications

One student may have several applications. Keep their contact and academic details separate from each university choice, deadline and application status. This avoids duplicate student records and makes it easier to track different requirements.

Agree what each stage actually means

Write a short definition for every application status used by your team. For example, distinguish a document being received from it being reviewed and ready for submission. Map your current terms to the destination workflow before migrating.

Assign an owner to the next action

A status says where work stands; a task says what should happen next. For each active application, identify an owner and a due date for the next step. Start with active work, then decide how much history is useful to retain.

Review documents and access together

Check who should see each category of information. Test student and parent access using representative accounts. Agree a secure transfer method with the implementation team rather than emailing personal documents through a public contact form.

Define a small pilot and a clear acceptance check

Select a small cohort and run a complete workflow. Compare application counts and key fields against the source data, check document access, complete a review and verify that the correct family accounts can follow progress.

Confirm migration tooling and supported formats with the product team. Keep a recoverable copy of your source data according to your retention policy, and agree a cutover date so staff do not maintain conflicting versions indefinitely.