TL;DR

Introduction

• Typical timelines: Cin7 Core cloud rollouts average 8–12 weeks; Fishbowl on-prem projects run 12–16 weeks (extra server & QuickBooks mapping time).

• Six critical phases: 1) Discovery & gap-fit, 2) Data cleanup + SKU rationalization, 3) Configuration & integrations, 4) Pilot/UAT, 5) Training & change enablement, 6) Go-live + 30-day hypercare.

• Biggest risks: Dirty data, unclear chart-of-accounts mapping, half-configured e-commerce channels, and under-estimating warehouse buy-in. Mitigate with parallel runs, freeze windows, and a dedicated internal PM.

Even the best IMS fails without a disciplined rollout. Below is a proven roadmap, drawn from 50+ U.S. mid-market deployments, showing how to land Fishbowl or Cin7 Core on time, on budget, and with staff actually loving it. Use the phase breakdown, timelines, and checklists to steer your own project, whether you’re a $2 M specialty roaster or a $40 M beverage distributor.

Phase 1: discovery & gap-fit (week 0-2)

Phase 2: data clean-up & SKU rationalization (week 2-4)

Phase 3: configuration & integrations (week 4-8)

Phase 4: pilot & user acceptance testing (week 8-10)

• Select super-users from purchasing, warehouse, finance.

• Run parallel operations on legacy + new IMS for 2 stock cycles.

• Compare inventory counts; target ≤2 % variance.

• Document bugs; triage with vendor/consultant daily.

Best practice: Produce a one-page charter listing pain points (e.g., “stockouts on Amazon”) and measurable targets (e.g., “<2 % oversell by Q4”).

1. Inventory master: Consolidate duplicate SKUs, confirm units of measure.

2. BOM/recipes: For Fishbowl, load BOMs in hierarchical order; for Cin7 Core, create finished-goods SKUs first, then import component lines via CSV template.

3. Opening balances: Freeze physical count one weekend pre-go-live.

Pro tip: Run the vendor-supplied CSV import through Google Sheets data-cleanup rules, catch rogue commas, trailing spaces, leading zeros.

Checkpoint: Execute an end-to-end “happy-path” order: online sale → pick/pack → ship → invoice → accounting post.

Phase 5: training & change management (week 9-11)

Adopt the 70-20-10 rule: 70 % practice in sandbox, 20 % job shadow, 10 % slides/video.

Phase 6: go-live & 30-day hypercare (week 12-16)

• Cut-over weekend: Freeze orders Friday 5 PM; import final stock snapshot; verify opening balances.

• Hypercare war-room: Daily stand-up 9 AM for first 10 days, track errors, assign owners.

• KPIs: Inventory accuracy, order cycle time, oversell rate, user adoption.

• Sign-off: At day 30, exec sponsor confirms KPIs met → project closed.

Common pitfalls & mitigations

Conclusion – execute the plan, realize the ROI

A rigorous, gated rollout turns IMS risk into operational lift. Cin7 Core rewards agile teams with a shorter timeline and fewer infrastructure tasks. Fishbowl rewards QuickBooks-centric manufacturers with tight accounting ties, just budget extra weeks for server setup and data mapping. Follow the roadmap above and your new platform will hit KPI targets, silence spreadsheet chaos, and set up the next decade of scale.

At day 60, revisit workflows for optimization, enable auto-PO reorder points, advanced manufacturing routings (Cin7 Add-on) or AP automation (Fishbowl/Avalara).

Written by:

Pierre Goldie, Chartered Global Management Accountant & Co-Founder at Fiskal
Specialist in eCommerce operations, financial systems, and post-implementation ERP recovery.

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