Overview

Company database upgrades are supported all the way back from 1.4 directly to 1.8, using the 1.8 software. Company database upgrades from 1.3 and 1.2 are also supported, but due to the different nature of the upgrade process are called "migrations". The important difference being that when doing a migration, a copy of the data is being created in the 1.8 structure, while upgrades adjust the existing structure for 1.8. When upgrading from versions earlier than 1.7, please read the release notes and upgrade instructions of those versions: those instructions still apply but are not repeated here.

Before starting, please remember:

• Create a backup
• Don't do this in a hurry
• When running into problems, check out the "Support" page

Technical upgrade

Upgrading the software works the same as with prior versions. Please refer to the procedure to upgrade a tarball installation for 1.7 for the 1.8 upgrade. Be sure to install the new Perl module dependencies listed in the Changelog. Also note that the Docker image definition contains a comprehensive list of Debian Buster package dependencies.

<Upgrading docker & docker compose to be written>

Company database upgrade

Technically, this process hasn't changed since 1.7 and the instructions for 1.7 still apply.

Each new LedgerSMB release has tightened the checks on validity of the data stored in the database. 1.8 continues on that path and adds yet more checks - this helps us find bugs and prevents undesirable data entering into the ledger. During the upgrade, existing data is checked against these new quality criteria and optionally offered for correction (or deletion, depending on the type of inconsistency).

Before you begin

• Verify that all Reconciliation Reports have been either approved or deleted
  If you forget this step, the migration will offer to delete it for you; approval isn't supported during migration. Note that this does not refer to transactions; unapproved transactions can safely exist during upgrade.
• Create a backup
• Tell users not to use your system during upgrade

After the upgrade

• Import the templates for PnL and Balance sheet
  Go through the menu System > Templates and either upload the various "PNL" and "balance_sheet" document formats or paste the source; you can find the template sources here: https://github.com/ledgersmb/LedgerSMB/tree/1.8/templates/demo (the TeX document to be processed by pdflatex) or here: https://github.com/ledgersmb/LedgerSMB/tree/1.8/templates/xedemo (the TeX document to be processed by xelatex)
• Assign the new role 'file upload' to administrator users
  Log into setup.pl in a company you want to change the access rights for; click "List users". From the list of users, select a user that you want to assign file upload rights (for the menu System > Files). Repeat for all relevant users.