Migration guide
Migrate from Microsoft Planner to Planoda
Microsoft Planner is convenient for simple tasks when you already live in Microsoft 365, but it stops at buckets and assignments. This guide moves your plans into Planoda's keyboard-first tracker — cycles, estimates, dependencies, and code links — while staying alongside your M365 stack.
Updated
Migration in short
- Migrating from Microsoft Planner to Planoda is a 7-step path: export, map, import, verify, then cut over.
- Start by exporting from Microsoft Planner — Export from Planner, then map every field to its Planoda equivalent.
- 9 Microsoft Planner 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 Microsoft Planner
Export from Planner
Export each plan to Excel from the plan menu (⋯ → Export plan to Excel), which pulls tasks with their bucket, assignees, due dates, progress, and labels. For many plans or full fidelity, the Microsoft Graph API streams Planner tasks and their details.
Map plans, buckets, and progress
A plan maps to a Planoda team (one per plan or per Microsoft 365 group), buckets become board columns or workflow states, and tasks become issues. Planner's Not started / In progress / Completed progress maps onto the corresponding workflow states.
Translate labels, assignees, and Power Automate flows
Planner's colored labels map to Planoda labels, assignees match to members by email, and due dates carry across. Power Automate flows you rely on can be rebuilt as Planoda no-code automations.
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 Microsoft Planner concepts map onto Planoda.
| Microsoft Planner | Planoda |
|---|---|
| Plan | Team / Project |
| Bucket | Board column / Workflow state |
| Task | Issue |
| Checklist item | Sub-issue |
| Progress (status) | Workflow state |
| Label (category) | Label |
| Priority | Priority |
| Due date | Due date |
| Assigned To | Assignee |
Pro tips
Make the move smoother
Use the Excel export for a single plan and the Microsoft Graph API when migrating many plans or whole groups at once.
Map buckets to workflow states (not just columns) to unlock cycle and progress reporting after the move.
Invite teammates by their Microsoft 365 email first so assignees resolve to real members on the first pass.
FAQ
Migrating from Microsoft Planner — 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 Microsoft Planner behind this weekend.
Bring your Microsoft Planner export — we'll match every workflow, field by field.