Seeking Advice on Upgrading from 2020 R2 to 2023 R2

@bmardanian This sounds like a great project!

There’s no direct upgrade path from 2020R1 to 2023R2, so you should perform an incremental upgrade to 2022R2 Latest Build first, then 2023R2:

Acumatica ERP 2023 R2 can be upgraded from the following particular versions:

• 2023 R1 Update 7 (23.107.0022) and earlier

• 2022 R2 Update 15 (22.215.0056) and earlier

• 2022 R1 Update 22 (22.122.0019) and earlier

There’s also an incremental upgrade required for 2022R2:
Acumatica ERP 2022 R2 can be upgraded from the following particular versions:

• 2022 R1 Update 10 (22.110.0018) and earlier

• 2021 R2 Update 15 (21.215.0016) and earlier

• 2021 R1 Update 24 (21.124.0017) and earlier

So for your smoothest upgrade path, you should upgrade to 2022R2 first, then 2023R2.  

Before performing the upgrade to Acumatica ERP 2022 R2, the administrator should do the following:

• If the organization uses Acumatica ERP Manufacturing Edition and visibility restrictions by branch or company have been configured for customer or vendor accounts, make sure that users who work with production-related forms have appropriate access permissions to companies or branches. These permissions allow users to view and specify the customer or vendor accounts that are assigned to these companies or branches. Also, make sure that all production-related documents and transactions that include customer or vendor accounts have been processed through completion.

• All legacy credit card transactions—that is, credit card transaction generated on the Sales Orders (SO301000) and Invoices (SO303000) form in Acumatica ERP 2020 R2 and earlier versions—must be captured, voided, or converted to payments before the application can be upgraded to Acumatica ERP 2022 R2. The Generate Payments for Card Transactions (SO511000) form has been removed from the system. For details on legacy credit card conversion, see the After an upgrade to Acumatica ERP 2020 R2, sales orders and SO invoices that have links to external transactions locked for processing in the system knowledge base article.

***The upgrade to Acumatica ERP 2022 R2 will not be possible if legacy credit cards transactions exist in the system.***

View the Post Upgrade Actions in the 2022R2 release notes: https://acumatica-builds.s3.amazonaws.com/builds/22.2/ReleaseNotes/AcumaticaERP_2022R2_ReleaseNotes.pdf

When you’re ready for the jump to 2023R2
Prerequisite Steps:

Before administrators install Acumatica ERP 2023 R2 or upgrade to it locally, they need to do the following:

1. Switch the Internet Information Services application pool where the Acumatica ERP 2023 R2 instance will be installed to Integrated mode. (Classic mode is not supported.)

2. Install Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 on the server where the Acumatica ERP 2023 R2 instance will be installed.

For the Post Upgrade Actions, view the 2023R2 release notes: https://acumatica-builds.s3.amazonaws.com/builds/23.2/ReleaseNotes/AcumaticaERP_2023R2_ReleaseNotes.pdf

I’ve performed large jumps like this in the past, and I know there’s always a little hesitancy on the entire process.  But once you’ve done a few of them, they go pretty well.  Here’s some of the things I’ve learned for a smooth transition:

If you have access to a sandbox, use it.  Take a recent backup and load it up into the sandbox and run through the upgrade just like you would if it were your production instance.

Additional steps to actually upgrade:

Note: Make sure you have all the new and updated customizations as needed from ISV’s.  If you have in-house customizations, you can test these in your new sandbox after upgrading.

• Lockout all sites for non-administrator users from the Apply Updates Screen.
• Unpublish all customizations.
• Make a note of all automation schedules, push notifications, etc. and then disable them all.
• If you’ve made changes to out of the box GI’s and would like to preserve them, export a copy.  If an out of box GI is updated during an upgrade, any updates and changes will be overwritten (You can find out if these are changed in the release notes)

Run the upgrade - And when successful:

• Publish the compatible customizations
• Enable the automation schedules, push notifications, etc. 
• Spot check all the screens your company uses for glaring errors (This can also be done in a UAT fashion where users test their day-to-day activities in a sandbox after the last upgrade).
• Remove the lockout (After last upgrade)

Repeat for final upgrade.

It’s always wise to have your VAR on-call for these upgrades, and to perform this during the week rather than on the weekend due to the availability of Acumatica Support staff should you need their assistance in a timely manner.

Hope this helps!