Yes, we have regularly does this as we move clients into our environment from ACInTheCloud, or their local server.
We bring up an instance with the practice data, get it "authorized", and then test the restoration.
When it is time to do the production conversion, all of the preparation is done.
As long as you are meticulous about being clear about shutting things down after a restore, and moving files that are inadvertently pulled down, you can have a backup "server" ready to go.
