Hello Richard,
Yes, that will be possible to keep your data, but if you can wait some days more, I would advise you the next version of the component, a stable version for Joomla 1.5.X. (the actual version of the component for Joomla 1.5 is a beta one).
And if you need some custom developments, you can send me directly your specifications at
raphael@neojoomla.com.
Regards,