Final Data Conversion

Once you have verified the data in a Test Data Conversion and are ready to purchase Open Dental, contact a Conversions Specialist to schedule your final conversion. We recommend calling at least one week prior to your desired final conversion date. (Once we have performed a test conversion for your office, we can give you an estimate for the amount of time your final conversion will take.)

Please always consider staff Training prior to moving forward with a final conversion.

See also: Conversions, Test Data Conversion, Data Conversion Fees.

Final Data Conversion Process

1. Complete All Required Documents: Documents, including the Pre-Data Conversion Checklist, are emailed to you at the time of the test conversion. These must be completed and returned to Open Dental prior to scheduling the final data conversion.  
   • View the Pre-Data Conversion Checklist Overview Webinar for a detailed walkthrough.

   Each practice is responsible for checking the test conversion data, verifying it is satisfactory, and understanding the conversion process.
    

2. Call us: Contact Open Dental to schedule an appointment for your final conversion. We recommend scheduling one to two weeks in advance of your desired conversion date.
3. Pay Conversion Fees and Update Open Dental: After scheduling the final conversion, contact Open Dental support to pay the conversion fees and first month’s support fee. These must be paid prior to the conversion appointment.
   • Once paid, Open Dental support will assist in updating your server and workstation to the full version of Open Dental.
4. On the date of your final data conversion:
   1. In your old software: Run an accounts receivable report, including credit balances. Keep a copy for your records.
   2. In your old software: Run an outstanding insurance claims report.
   3. Close out of your old practice management software: This ensures we can completely copy the current raw data without interference.
   4. We will need to connect to your server for access to the old practice management software. Data will be transferred over a secure internet connection to Open Dental, the conversion will be run, then the final converted database will be transferred back to your server.
   5. If you have Image (Scanned Document) Conversion: (this is optional and costs an additional fee that would have been on your conversion quote) You can start scanning into your Open Dental Software after your final data conversion is placed, but you will not see your historical scans until after the image conversion is fully complete.
5. After the final conversion is placed on your server (immediately after the final data conversion and before entering data):
   1. In Open Dental: Run the Aging of A/R report, including negative family balances.
   2. In Open Dental: If Payment Plans were converted, also run the Payment Plan Report. Combine the total amounts of both reports, then compare the total to the Accounts Receivable Report balance from your previous software to verify they are the same. Keep a copy of these reports for your records. You may use them again. 
6. Set aside time to review the final conversion and perform setup and cleanup: As each software has unique settings that do not necessarily correspond to Open Dental preferences, converted databases use Open Dental default settings and preferences. Ensure your office schedules a Post Conversion Setup with an Open Dental trainer and completes the Post Conversion Checklist (PDF) to start customizing settings as needed.
7.  Begin entering new transactions into Open Dental only: Do not enter new data in your old software; only use it for historical records. See Using Open Dental after a Conversion for workflow guidance and recommendations.
8. If you find database inconsistencies in the final conversion data, a Conversions Specialist will assist whenever possible at no additional cost. However, once you begin entering data into a final conversion database, we are unable to fix inconsistencies without data loss. In rare circumstances, we can correct a problem using a copy of the data from your final conversion day. We also do not recommend dual entry (entering new data into both Open Dental and your old software). 
9. Missing information: We work very hard to convert as much data as possible, but it is impossible to convert every byte. Some data will be lost after a conversion. This means your practice staff will have to enter it manually. 
10. Billing: You will not be ready to run the Billing List until insurance has been verified and all outstanding claims have been entered. If you run the billing list before these steps are completed, statements will not show that you have billed insurance and insurance estimates will be inaccurate. To handle billing, you have two options:
    • Option 1:  Verify insurance for every patient and re-create all outstanding claims at once. Then you can run the Billing List.
    • Option 2: Verify insurance and create claims incrementally (e.g., as patients have upcoming appointments). In this case, only send statements to whole families that have claims created or received in Open Dental.

Congratulations! You just completed your conversion. From now on, all you need is Contact Us and Training!