“Everybody says they want to go live on January 1st. Except, nobody really wants to go live on January 1st.” That’s what one of our senior consultants tells nearly every senior living client, and every time, without fail, someone (usually the CFO) responds, “Oh, no, not me.”
It’s a natural reaction. January 1st sounds perfect. It’s clean, it aligns with the fiscal year, and it fits neatly into the project timeline. You make the decision mid-summer, and the calendar suggests plenty of time for implementation. On paper, it’s flawless, but in ERP implementation best practices, it rarely works. That’s not because companies choose the wrong software. It’s because timing, planning, and execution matter just as much (if not more) than the technology getting implemented.
The January Mirage
The scene is always the same: The project usually starts strong. Everyone’s motivated, the timeline looks clear, and the goal of a January 1st go-live feels like a professional milestone. Then December arrives.
Suddenly, the office turns into a whirlwind of year-end close, audit prep, and budget deadlines, all while trying to schedule around holiday parties and shopping, school concerts, and that one coworker who takes their “out of office” message very seriously. There’s baked goods in the break room, half the team is out of the office, and the other half is buried in spreadsheets. It’s not exactly the ideal time to be testing a new financial management system, like Sage Intacct or Microsoft Dynamics Business Central. What looked like perfect timing in July becomes a collision of pressure, fatigue, and tinsel.
At Intellitec, we’ve seen this play out time and again in the senior living industry. When year-end responsibilities and steep learning curves overlap, something inevitably breaks, and it’s almost always the timeline. Testing gets shortened. Training sessions slip. Key users are unavailable. By the time January arrives, the project is either delayed or launching under pressure. Neither of which was the original goal, but here’s the good news: we have a better way.
The Smarter Go-Live Date
Following ERP implementation best practices, we often recommend a February 1st go-live instead. You still achieve the same alignment with your fiscal year, but you gain breathing room. You can close December with minimal disruption in your existing system, finish your audits, and enter the new year without worrying about implementing a brand-new system. Then, when February arrives, your team can focus fully on adopting Sage Intacct or Business Central with one clean month of data to migrate and the time to truly understand how the system supports your workflows.
Don’t prioritize technology over your people. Follow ERP implementation best practices and make sure your employees, company culture, and business processes are ready for the roll-out. Research shows that over 70% of ERP failures stem not from technical issues but from human and organizational factors. That’s why it’s critical to focus on effective change management activities so that everyone is on board and enthusiastic about the new system. That extra month doesn’t just ease stress. It transforms the quality of your implementation. Instead of racing to meet an arbitrary date, you can make sure that people start strong, are focused, and are ready for the go-live date.
Calendar Clean vs. Operational Calm
It’s easy to chase the idea of a “calendar clean” go-live. It feels neat and symbolic, but in real-world finance operations, stability and momentum matter far more. The goal isn’t to start the year with a new system. It’s to start the year strong in your new system. A February 1st ERP launch follows ERP implementation best practices and gives your team the confidence and clarity that a January 1 deadline simply can’t.
So, before deciding to implement a new ERP system on the first day of the year, think about your staff and everyone’s sanity, and ask yourself this: what sounds better – a looming holiday deadline or the peace of mind that comes with a February 1st success?
If your senior living facility is thinking about implementing a new solution, let’s make sure you follow ERP implementation best practices and choose a launch date that works for everybody. Reach out to our experts to help you build an implementation plan that stays on track and with fewer headaches.
