Export everything from your old system as spreadsheets, then bring it across in order: courses and units first, then trainers, students, enrolments, and unit results last. Keep the real dates and your old student IDs. Mark anything your old system already reported to NCVER so it isn't reported twice. Check every row before you import, and make sure you can undo.
Why switching feels risky
Your student records are years of work and your audit trail. Moving them feels like moving house with everything you own in one box. Done in the right order, it's far simpler than it looks.
1. Get every export, and check they're complete
Export every report you'll need: courses, units, trainers, students, enrolments and unit results. Some systems stop an on-screen report after a set number of rows without telling you, and some archived-contact reports only hold archived people. Count the rows in each export against what you expect.
2. Import in the right order
Records link to each other, so the order matters:
- Short courses
- Qualifications and skill sets
- Units of competency
- Trainers
- Students
- Enrolments
- Unit results, always last
3. Keep your old student IDs
Your old system's student number links enrolments and results to the right person, even when a student has no email. It also keeps the identifier NCVER already holds for them.
4. Use real dates, every time
The enrolment date keeps your history accurate. The completion date decides which NCVER reporting year a result falls in. The date an outcome was awarded drives which reporting period it lands in. Never invent a date to fill a gap.
5. Don't report history twice
For every completed record, say whether your old system already reported it to NCVER. Records already reported stay out of your new reports, so nothing goes in twice.
6. Match columns, don't reformat
A good import tool matches your old column names to its own, fixes day-first dates and stray decimals, and lets you say what an unfamiliar code means once for every row. You shouldn't need to rebuild your spreadsheets by hand.
7. Check before you import, and keep an undo
Before anything is saved, you should see how many rows are ready, how many can't import and how many will come in blank. After import, you should be able to undo a batch, with anything you've since used protected.
8. Keep your old records readable
Archive past students rather than deleting them, so they're out of your way but always findable. Keep any extra details from your old system on each student's record for reference.
How RTO Grow does it
RTO Grow's import tool walks you through this exact order. It matches your columns, including aXcelerate's column names, checks every row before it lands, never doubles a student or enrolment, and lets you undo any batch. Prefer to hand it over? Our done-for-you migration moves everything for you, including the certificates your old system already issued.
In the three months to October 2026, we moved five RTOs across from systems like aXcelerate, Cloud Assess, eSkilled, VETtrak and PowerPro. Each one was up and running within a week. See how switching works.
Bring a file to your demo
Book a demo, bring an export from your current system, and we'll show you how it comes across.