VIP.net migration readiness check

What's happening to Best Practice VIP.net

Best Practice Software is sunsetting Bp VIP.net in Australia and New Zealand, with two dates to plan around.

31 December 2026: VIP.net moves to maintenance mode, with critical fixes and fee updates only.
30 June 2027: technical support ends. No further updates, security patches, defect fixes or fee updates.

From 1 July 2027, hosted VIP.net environments will be decommissioned, and integrations including Bp SMS, PRODA, ACC (NZ) and Xero may stop working. You can keep a view-only copy on your own server, but it needs a valid SQL Server licence and Best Practice won't support it. Best Practice warns that unsupported software brings more downtime and greater exposure to data breaches.

Source: Best Practice Software, Bp VIP.net Sunset 2027 FAQ

What moving to a new system involves

VIP.net holds years of appointments, clinical notes, letters, templates and billing history. Moving it has five parts.

Your database. Best Practice doesn't transfer the data for you. Your IT provider exports a .bak backup, and your new vendor converts it.

Images and exported letters. These sit outside the database backup, so they need to be copied separately.

What may not come across. Some information can't populate across. Ask your new vendor to confirm in writing what transfers: demographics, appointments, clinical notes, letters, billing history and custom fields.

Templates and custom set-up. Letter templates, custom fields and appointment types don't map across automatically. List the ones your team uses every week so they're rebuilt first.

Connected tools. SMS reminders, claiming, payment terminals, accounting and pathology results each need a replacement working before you switch. Bp Comms SMS credits can't be used outside VIP.net.

The readiness check scores your practice on each of these. See where you stand.

Who to involve

A migration lead, usually the practice manager, with time set aside for vendor calls, data checks and testing.
The practice owner, to sign off the new system and the cost of moving.
Your IT provider, to export the database and copy images and letters.
Whoever handles billing, to check claiming, payments and accounting after the switch.
Reception and clinicians, who each need training before go-live.

Choosing your next practice management software

Best Practice has named Genie (installed on your server) and Gentu (cloud) by Magentus as its recommended options for specialist practices. Whichever systems you look at, ask every vendor the same questions so the answers are easy to compare:

What comes across from VIP.net, and what doesn't?
How long does conversion take, and how much of the work falls on our team?
What happens to our letter templates and custom fields?
What training is included, and for which roles?
How do SMS reminders, claiming, payments and accounting connect?
Is it installed on our server or in the cloud, and where is our data hosted?
What does it cost to move, and is there an offer for VIP.net practices?

A timeline that works back from 30 June 2027

Now to December 2026: name a migration lead, list everything connected to VIP.net and choose your next system. Ask your IT provider how you'll get the database backup.
January to March 2027: confirm in writing what transfers, run the conversion, copy images and letters, and rebuild the templates you rely on.
April to June 2027: train the team, move reminders and integrations, and go live with time to spare.

Going live early leaves room to fix anything that doesn't come across first time. The readiness check turns this timeline into a dated plan for your practice.

Assignment of benefit has the same deadline

The updated assignment of benefit requirements started on 1 July 2026. Verbal assignment for bulk billed services is accepted until 30 June 2027, according to the Department of Health, the same day VIP.net support ends. After that, you need a completed agreement for each assignment, kept for two years and given to the patient on request.

If you're changing systems anyway, decide how agreements will be captured and stored in the new set-up. Compliance stays with your practice. Our guide to Medicare assignment of benefits covers the changes in more detail.

Your patient paperwork through the move

New patient forms, consent, referrals and reminders all get rebuilt when you change systems, which makes it a good time to stop retyping what patients have already told you. Whichever system you choose, check how completed forms reach the patient's record, and who chases the ones that don't come back.

Coviu sits beside your practice management software. It sends each patient the forms their appointment type needs, reminds anyone who hasn't finished and writes the answers into their record. It works with Gentu, Halaxy, MediRecords, Cliniko and Nookal.

Ready to see where your practice stands? The readiness check takes about four minutes and gives you a score and a dated plan. Start the readiness check.

VIP.net migration FAQs

On 30 June 2027. VIP.net moves to maintenance mode on 31 December 2026, with critical fixes and fee updates only, and Best Practice technical support ends on 30 June 2027.

Only for reference. You can keep a copy on your own server in view-only mode, but it needs a valid SQL Server licence and Best Practice won't support it. There are no further updates, security patches or fee updates, hosted environments are decommissioned and integrations may stop working.

No. Your IT provider exports a .bak backup of the VIP.net database, and your new vendor converts it. Best Practice says it is working closely with Magentus on conversion to Genie and Gentu.

Not always. Best Practice notes that in some cases most information will populate across, and some can't. Ask your new vendor to confirm in writing what comes across: demographics, appointments, clinical notes, letters, billing history and custom fields.

Images stored outside the VIP.net database, and letters you have exported, aren't in the database backup. Back them up separately and give them to your new vendor.

Best Practice has named Genie and Gentu by Magentus as its recommended options for specialist practices. Genie is installed on your server, and Gentu runs in the cloud.

From 1 July 2027, Best Practice says integrations may no longer function, including Bp SMS, PRODA, ACC (NZ) and Xero. Plan a replacement for each one before you switch.

Bp Comms SMS credits can't be used outside VIP.net. If your practice bought excess credits before the announcement, Best Practice suggests contacting its account management team. Credits bought after the announcement don't qualify.

Yes. Best Practice refunds the remaining months on your subscription when you confirm your departure date with its sales team.

It depends on your data, your set-up and your vendor, so ask each vendor for their conversion timeline. A go-live date a few months ahead of 30 June 2027 leaves time to fix anything that doesn't come across first time.

The timing overlaps. Verbal assignment for bulk billed services is accepted until 30 June 2027, according to the Department of Health, the same day VIP.net support ends. After that you need a completed agreement for each assignment, kept for two years. Compliance stays with your practice.

Five areas: your timeline, data and records, connected tools, patient paperwork and your team. You get a score, a dated plan and a copy by email. Every question is multiple choice, and none of them ask about patients.

Yes. Coviu works with Gentu, Halaxy, MediRecords, Cliniko and Nookal. It sends each patient the forms their appointment type needs, reminds anyone who hasn't finished and writes the answers into their record.

Moving off Best Practice VIP.net: what your practice needs to plan before 30 June 2027