If you’re running Acumatica on the Classic UI, you’ve probably heard that the clock is ticking. What you may not have heard yet is exactly what “converting to Modern UI” means in practice: how much work it is, what it depends on, and what you should be doing right now.
Two Deadlines, Not One
Most of the conversations we’re having with clients focus on the September 2026 release, which will only support Modern UI. That’s the better-known milestone, and it’s a real one. But there’s a second date that deserves equal attention: November 17, 2026, when Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge will stop rendering the Classic UI altogether due to a browser-level deprecation of the underlying rendering technology.
Acumatica is working on a fix for versions 25R1 and higher that would allow Classic UI to continue rendering in Chrome and Edge after November 17, though a timeline has not been provided at this time.
The practical takeaway: both dates point to the same destination. The sooner you start assessing your readiness, the more control you have over how the transition goes.
What the Conversion Process Involves
Before you enable Modern UI, there are three questions worth working through.
The first is what version you’re on. Modern UI is available starting with the 25R2 release and works best on the most current version. If you’re on an older release, the version and UI questions may need to be addressed together.
The second is whether you have customizations or ISV packages. This is where conversion planning gets more involved. Customizations built for the Classic UI may need to be rewritten to function properly in Modern UI; they don’t automatically carry over. Any third-party ISV products you’re running also need to be checked individually for compatibility. The good news is that customization work can happen at any time, provided you’re already on 25R2 or higher, independent of your upgrade schedule. You don’t have to wait for an upgrade cycle to start preparing packages.
The third question is timing. If you’re already planning an upgrade to the current release, we recommend addressing customization compatibility at the same time. If you’re not planning an upgrade in the near term, we still recommend converting your customizations now and enabling Modern UI in a test environment so your team can validate everything before it goes live in production. Getting those two steps done early removes the time pressure when the deadline arrives.
The Changes Users Will Notice
The visual differences are the most obvious part, but they’re not the most significant. Screens get a cleaner layout with updated field sets, tab bars, and grid formatting. Filters are redesigned to handle more complexity with less clutter. Dashboard configuration is simplified. Users can rearrange screen layouts themselves without involving a developer or requiring a site restart.
Performance is probably the change that will matter most to day-to-day users. Acumatica’s data show overall system performance improving by approximately 30% in Modern UI, with some of the most frequently used data-entry screens running up to 50% faster. Sales order entry and AP bills are among the screens that see the most pronounced improvement.
Beyond the performance gains, there are some specific preparation steps that require deliberate action before you go live. The most important involves User-Defined Fields. If your team has set up UDFs in Classic UI, the dedicated UDF tab doesn’t exist in Modern UI. Those fields don’t disappear, but you’ll need to manually re-add each one to the appropriate section of each screen. It’s worth mapping this out in advance so users aren’t caught off guard on day one.
The AI Connection
For any clients considering Acumatica’s AI capabilities, specifically AI Studio, Modern UI is a prerequisite. AI Studio does not run on Classic UI. If that’s part of your roadmap, the conversion isn’t optional.
Where to Start
The clients who will have the smoothest experience are the ones who start the assessment early: inventory your customizations and ISV packages, get compatibility work underway, and test in a non-production environment before enabling Modern UI for your full team.
If you’re not sure where you stand on any of these, that’s a reasonable place to start the conversation with us. We can walk through your specific setup and give you a realistic picture of what the conversion involves for your environment. Email us at acumatica.help@i-techsupport.com to request a Modern UI conversion discussion.
