Most customers start using AIMZ on projects that are already under way. That works fine — you just need to do things in the right order, so that the costs already posted end up on the correct production code.
The order
Create the project with the correct project number. The project number must be identical to the number in the accounting system. If it is wrong, no invoices will come in. See Where do I create a new project?
Import the production codes. Do this before the estimate, so the estimate lines are linked automatically to the correct code. See Importing production codes in AIMZ.
Import the estimate. Set it to Draft while you quality-check the figures, and to Production when it is to apply as the baseline. See Importing estimates in AIMZ.
Go through the invoices that are already there. Historical costs are fetched from the accounting system and are placed under «Without prod. code» until they are linked. This is often the biggest job at start-up — set aside time for it.
Register the contracts that have already been signed. Add subcontractor contracts and orders in Purchasing with the agreed sum, so that the budget is replaced by real figures.
Add changes that have already been agreed. Both towards subcontractors and towards the client, with the correct status.
Importing can be done again
If you discover that the structure was wrong, you can import again — even on a project that already has posted invoices. Note two things:
The column matching must be set again if you have changed the template between imports.
If you import the same lines again, you will get them twice. Remove the row in the preview or delete the lines afterwards.