Japan migration triggers
(1) Invoice System compliance becomes mandatory, (2) Japanese UI and honorific quality demanded, (3) 稟議 / electronic approval needed, (4) Sansan-based lead inflow grows, (5) enterprise sales require domestic security compliance.
Migration sequence
1. Email marketing (low risk) Mailchimp → Benchmark Email (JP) or HubSpot. Invoice System + JPY support.
2. Business cards / leads (mandatory) HubSpot contacts only → introduce Sansan in parallel. Sansan becomes the lead source.
3. Customer support (medium risk) Intercom/Zendesk → Channel.io (Japan). Include LINE Official Account integration.
4. Accounting (high risk + legally required) QuickBooks/Xero → freee or Money Forward Cloud. Invoice System + year-end adjustment compliance.
5. HR (high risk + legally required) BambooHR/Gusto → SmartHR or freee HR. My Number + social insurance.
6. Automation (medium risk) Zapier/Make → Yoom or Anyflow (when Japanese SaaS connectors matter). n8n works for either.
7. Project (optional) Asana → Backlog or kintone.
8. CRM (last consideration) HubSpot → Salesforce Japan or Senses or eSales Manager. Depends on org scale.
Checklist
- [ ] **Invoice System registration number** ready
- [ ] **Corporate number / My Number collection system** ready
- [ ] **Sansan account** or **Eight** personal plan started
- [ ] **Honorific template library**
- [ ] **LINE Official Account** set up
- [ ] **Tax accountant contract**
Common pitfalls
- Unregistered for Invoice System post-October 2023: customers can't claim input tax deduction
- Hiring employees before SmartHR setup: manual social insurance filing nightmare
- Starting sales without Sansan: business-card Excel cleanup bomb
Order summary
1. Email → 2. Cards → 3. Support → 4. Accounting → 5. HR → 6. Automation → 7. Project → 8. CRM
Japan has heavy legal-compliance layers, so "accounting + HR migration" is the biggest project. Run it as a 3-month plan with a tax accountant.