Migration
Migrating Leave Balances: Reconcile Dollars, Not Just Hours
15 minutes, your EBA, no sales script.
Day one
The opening variance never goes away
If an employee's annual leave is worth $4,182 in the outgoing system and $4,061 in the new one, that $121 does not wash out. It sits in the balance until the leave is taken or paid out, and by then the person who could explain it has moved on.
Reconcile per employee, per leave type, in hours and in dollars, at the cutover date. Nothing else counts as reconciled.
Reconciling balances against the outgoing system…
Why dollars differ
Same hours, different value
Leave rate base
- What differs
- One system includes all-purpose allowances in the leave rate, the other does not
- Why it happens
- The EBA folds allowances into the ordinary rate for all purposes
- How we settle it
- The clause decides, then we test it against a real historic leave payment
Leave loading
- What differs
- Loading applied to the balance value in one system, on payment in the other
- Why it happens
- Different configuration conventions, both defensible
- How we settle it
- Balance held clean, loading applied on payment, documented either way
Historic accrual rates
- What differs
- Part of the balance was accrued before the last rate step
- Why it happens
- Balances are revalued on payment, not on accrual, in most systems
- How we settle it
- We reconcile to the outgoing system's valuation at the cutover date
| Approach | What differs | Why it happens | How we settle it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leave rate base | One system includes all-purpose allowances in the leave rate, the other does not | The EBA folds allowances into the ordinary rate for all purposes | The clause decides, then we test it against a real historic leave payment |
| Leave loading | Loading applied to the balance value in one system, on payment in the other | Different configuration conventions, both defensible | Balance held clean, loading applied on payment, documented either way |
| Historic accrual rates | Part of the balance was accrued before the last rate step | Balances are revalued on payment, not on accrual, in most systems | We reconcile to the outgoing system's valuation at the cutover date |
Edge cases
Unapproved leave and date discipline
Unapproved requests at cutover
Approved future leave moves with the balance. Unapproved requests get re-entered in the new system, so no request is stranded in a system nobody logs into any more.Opening balance date
The date is the last day of the outgoing system's final pay run, not the go-live date. Get it wrong and the first accrual double counts or skips days.Negative balances
Negative annual leave from a shutdown advance is real and must move as a negative, not be reset to zero out of tidiness.Sign-off before go-live
The reconciliation is signed off per leave type before the first pay run, and stored with the migration record.
Related: the long service leave snapshot , RDO accrual and buyback and substantiating leave movement in the journal .
Leave balance questions
Why reconcile leave in dollars if the hours match?
Because the liability is a dollar figure. Two systems can agree on 152 hours of annual leave and disagree on its value, if one accrued part of it at an older rate, applied leave loading differently, or included an all-purpose allowance in the leave rate. The balance sheet cares about the dollars.
What is an acceptable opening variance?
Zero, per employee, per leave type. Anything you accept on day one carries forward forever and nobody will be able to explain it in three years. If a variance exists, find the cause before go-live rather than writing it off.
What happens to leave requests that are approved but not taken at cutover?
They move as future leave against the migrated balance. Unapproved requests do not move as data, they get re-entered in the new system, otherwise you end up with a request in one system and a balance in the other.
What date should the opening balance carry?
The cutover date, which is the last day covered by the outgoing system's final pay run. Not the go-live date and not the first day of the new pay period, or the first accrual in the new system either double counts a few days or misses them.
Does long service leave migrate the same way?
No. Long service leave needs a full documented history, not just a balance, because it can be paid out a decade later. See the long service leave snapshot page.
Reviewed August 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.
Next step
Want your balances reconciled before you commit?
Send the leave report from your current system. We'll reconcile hours and dollars at your cutover date and show you every variance.
15 minutes, your EBA, no sales script.
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