Upgrading to a New Release

Upgrading to a New Release - Best Practices

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Overview

This article walks through best practices for upgrading your organization to a new Accounting Seed release: reviewing documentation, testing in sandbox, and rolling changes out to production. Depending on your org's release settings, you may need to pull down and install the update yourself, or Accounting Seed may push it to you automatically. For background on Salesforce org types and Accounting Seed's Preview and Push release cadence, see Accounting Seed Releases and Org Types.

In this article:

Pre-Installation Steps
Sandbox Testing Process
Production Installation
Before the Next Release

Note: As you move through more release cycles, consider creating an internal Release Management document with a checklist of items your team should review during each release testing period and after product installation.

Pre-Installation Steps

Step 1: Review Documentation

Before beginning the upgrade process, thoroughly review all available materials in the Releases section of our knowledge base:

Release notes for the new version
Configuration changes
Knowledge base articles related to the release

Step 2: Document Required Changes

As you review the documentation, create a list of configuration changes that will be necessary for your organization:

Review the release notes; depending on the features you use, review the configuration changes and check if any are required versus optional.
Track configurations specific to your team's workflows. The Configuration Changes article for this release lists objects, fields, and other changes made with the release that might require your team to complete in your org.
Example: If a release adds a new button to the Billing object, your team might need to fine-tune permission sets and page layouts to ensure all users can use that button successfully.

Sandbox Testing Process

Step 3: Install in Sandbox First

This important step allows you to identify issues in a safe environment. As you note issues or necessary configuration changes, document them and begin updating production for a successful installation.

Step 4: Test Common Processes

Once installed in sandbox:

Test your most frequently used workflows and processes
Verify that critical business operations function as expected
Identify any unexpected behavior or issues and how to resolve them in this new version of Accounting Seed so you are prepared when the package is pushed to production
Add any newly discovered configuration needs to your documentation

Step 5: Refine Configuration Notes

During testing, update your configuration change list based on:

Issues encountered during sandbox testing and how they were resolved
Differences between expected and actual behavior
Additional customizations needed for your specific use case

Production Installation

Note: If your org is enrolled in automatic Push updates, Accounting Seed installs the release in your sandbox and production org on a set schedule, and you only need to complete testing beforehand. If your org is not enrolled in automatic Push, you'll need to pull the release down and install it yourself using the steps below.

Step 6: Schedule the Production Upgrade

When you're confident the sandbox testing is complete:

Choose a low-usage time window for the installation (e.g., evenings, weekends, or during scheduled maintenance windows). This provides time to implement configuration changes with minimal user impact.
Communicate the maintenance window to your users in advance.

Step 7: Install and Configure

Install the new release in your production environment.
Apply the configuration changes you documented during sandbox testing.

Step 8: Post-Installation Verification

After installation:

Verify critical functionality (for example, posting, period close, and AP/AR workflows) is working as expected.
Confirm the new version number appears under Setup > Installed Packages in production.
Review any scheduled jobs, batch processes, or Flows tied to Accounting Seed to confirm they are still running without errors.
Confirm any third-party integrations are still functioning as expected.
Confirm your team has read the Configuration Changes notes for the latest release and made any configuration changes they call for.
Monitor for user-reported issues over the following days, not just the first few hours.
If you notice unexpected behavior, contact Accounting Seed Support with your Org ID and a description of the issue.

By following these best practices, you can minimize risks and ensure your team experiences a seamless transition to the new release.

Before the Next Release

Ensure you are on the mailing list for Accounting Seed's sandbox and production push emails. We send out an email notification the week of the sandbox push so that you can begin planning tests.
If you refreshed your Sandbox recently, send us the new Org ID by email so we can keep your environment updated.
Email customersuccess@accountingseed.com for more information.

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Upgrading to a New Release - Best Practices

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