How to Prepare for a Move from Infor Lawson to Workday: 5 Steps

A move from Infor Lawson to Workday is usually planned around the new system. The projects that go most smoothly also spend time on the old one: understanding how Lawson is really used today, cleaning up what will be migrated, and deciding what happens to Lawson afterwards.

This guide covers five preparation steps you can start before the implementation begins. Watch the one-minute video for the overview, then use the detail below as a planning checklist.

Step 1: Document how you work today

• Pay rules and calculations, including exceptions and union or contract rules.
• Approvals and workflows: who approves what, and where the rules live.
• Reports and outputs people depend on, including the ones built outside Lawson.

Step 2: Clean up your data

• Retire codes you no longer use: old pay codes, deductions, positions and departments.
• Fix employee records with missing or inconsistent information.
• Decide how much history to migrate, and keep the rest available elsewhere.

Step 3: Map your integrations

• List every system that sends data to Lawson or receives data from it: benefits providers, banks, time keeping, finance and reporting tools.
• Decide what each one will connect to after the move, and who owns each interface.
• Flag the critical ones that must work on day one, such as bank and benefits files.

Step 4: Plan parallel payroll testing

• Run payroll in both systems for the same periods and compare the results.
• Explain every difference, employee by employee, before you go live.
• Plan enough cycles to cover regular, off-cycle and special pay situations.

Step 5: Plan for Lawson after go-live

• Keep historical data available for audits, reporting and employee requests.
• Decide who supports Lawson during the overlap period and until it is retired.
• Set a retirement date and the steps to get there.

Frequently asked questions

When should we start this preparation?

As early as possible. Documentation, data clean-up and integration mapping all make the implementation faster and can start before a partner is selected.

Do we still need Lawson support during the move?

Usually yes. Payroll and HR keep running in Lawson until go-live, and historical data often needs to stay available afterwards.

Planning your move?

Cendien supports Infor Lawson clients and provides Workday services, including helping teams keep Lawson stable while they prepare. Talk to our team or read more about our Workday services.