Migration guide
Migrate from Asana to Planoda
Asana is great for general work but thin for engineering. This guide helps you carry projects, sections, and assignees into Planoda — and layer on the cycles, estimates, and code links your team has been missing.
Updated
Should you move?
Asana is a genuinely good general work manager and stays a fine choice for cross-functional task work. The reason engineering teams move is that it was never built to ship software — no first-class estimates, cycles, or code links — so devs end up bolting on conventions or routing around it. Move when you want a real engineering tracker without forcing the rest of the company off the approachable boards they like.
Migration in short
- Migrating from Asana to Planoda is a 7-step path: export, map, import, verify, then cut over.
- Start by exporting from Asana — Export from Asana, then map every field to its Planoda equivalent.
- 9 Asana concepts map onto Planoda fields (issues, workflow states, cycles, estimates, labels, and more), previewed before anything is written.
- Run both tools in parallel for a short overlap, reconcile the counts, then make Planoda the system of record — no work is left behind.
Step by step
How to move from Asana
Export from Asana
Export each project as CSV from the project header (⋯ → Export → CSV). Asana JSON via the API is an option for richer exports including custom fields and dependencies.
Map projects, sections, and tasks
Asana projects become Planoda projects or boards; sections become lists or workflow states; tasks become issues and subtasks become sub-issues. Decide this mapping once and the importer applies it consistently.
Translate custom fields and due dates
Map Asana custom fields to Planoda labels, priorities, or issue properties, and carry due dates straight across. Anything without a clean home can land in the issue description.
Import into Planoda
Drop your cleaned export into the CSV importer, or push records through the public REST API for large or incremental loads. The importer previews the mapping and flags any rows that need attention before anything is written.
Verify the imported data
Spot-check a sample of issues against the source: titles, assignees, states, priorities, comments, and links. Run a count reconciliation so the totals match before you trust the new workspace.
Run both tools in parallel
Keep the old tool read-only for a short overlap window while your team learns the new workflows. Route all new work into Planoda so nothing is created in two places.
Cut over and archive the source
Once the team is comfortable and open work is in sync, freeze the source tool, export a final backup, and make Planoda the system of record. Update bookmarks, integrations, and team docs.
Field mapping
What maps to what
How Asana concepts map onto Planoda.
| Asana | Planoda |
|---|---|
| Project | Project / Board |
| Section | List / Workflow state |
| Task | Issue |
| Subtask | Sub-issue |
| Assignee | Assignee |
| Due date | Due date |
| Custom field | Label / Property |
| Tag | Label |
| Priority custom field | Priority |
Pro tips
Make the move smoother
Export per project rather than the whole workspace at once — it keeps the section→state mapping clear.
Use the API export if dependencies and custom fields matter; CSV is fine for simpler projects.
Treat the move as an upgrade: turn on cycles and estimates for engineering once the data has landed.
Common pitfalls
What to avoid
The mistakes that actually trip teams up moving off Asana.
Exporting a flat CSV when you rely on dependencies: Asana task dependencies need the API export to survive as issue relations — a CSV carries the tasks but leaves the dependencies to be re-linked.
Trying to back-fill estimates before importing: import first to preserve the work, then introduce cycles and estimates when the team is ready — there's no requirement to retrofit them up front.
Forcing non-technical teammates into an engineering workflow: keep ops and marketing on approachable boards on the same schema rather than making everyone adopt cycles and estimates they don't need.
FAQ
Migrating from Asana — FAQ
A note from the founder
“I'm building Planoda in the open and putting my name on it. No borrowed logos, no invented stats — just the work, shipped and auditable. If it doesn't earn your trust, tell me.”
Dmitrii Selikhov is the founder of Planoda and a lead full-stack engineer with 15+ years building developer tools and leading teams as a technical lead, software architect, and CTO.
Still deciding?
Make the switch
Leave Asana behind this weekend.
Bring your Asana export — we'll match every workflow, field by field.