Migration guide
Migrate from Microsoft Project to Planoda
Microsoft Project's retirement timeline is forcing a decision: Project Online retires on September 30, 2026, and Project for the web was already folded into Planner in 2025. This guide moves your tasks, dependencies, milestones, and Gantt schedule into Planoda's keyboard-first tracker — with timelines, cycles, and code links — before the clock runs out.
Updated
Should you move?
Microsoft Project is a serious scheduling tool, and Project desktop and Project Server Subscription Edition aren't going away. The forcing function is Project Online: Microsoft will retire it on September 30, 2026, after which the service and its data are no longer accessible, and Project for the web already transitioned into Planner in 2025. If you're on the web/Online side, you have to move regardless — so it's worth moving to a tracker built for how teams actually ship, not just to whichever Microsoft surface inherits your plans.
Migration in short
- Microsoft will retire Project Online on September 30, 2026; after that date its projects and data are no longer accessible, so export and migrate before then. Project desktop and Project Server Subscription Edition are not affected by this retirement.
- Project for the web already transitioned into Microsoft Planner during 2025, and new Project Web App (PWA) site creation is blocked as of April 1, 2026 — if you're on the web/Online side, a move is unavoidable.
- Tasks map to Planoda issues, summary tasks to parent issues/projects, predecessor/successor links to issue dependencies, milestones to cycles or zero-duration markers, and the Gantt schedule to Planoda's timeline view.
- Export to Excel/CSV (or XML from Project desktop for richer structure), back up before the retirement date, then import, verify, and cut over while running both in parallel.
Step by step
How to move from Microsoft Project
Export from Microsoft Project
From Project Online or Project for the web, export your plan to Excel/CSV; from Project desktop, save as Excel or export to XML (which preserves task hierarchy, predecessor/successor links, and dates more completely than a flat CSV). Capture tasks, durations, start/finish dates, dependencies, assignments, and milestones. Crucially, take this export — and a backup — before the September 30, 2026 Project Online retirement, after which the data is no longer accessible.
Map tasks, summary tasks, and dependencies
Project tasks become Planoda issues, summary (rollup) tasks become parent issues or projects, and predecessor/successor links map to Planoda issue dependencies so the critical path survives. Milestones map to cycles for time-boxed phases or to zero-duration marker issues, and the Gantt schedule maps onto Planoda's timeline view.
Translate resources, durations, and calendars
Project resources match to Planoda members by email, work/duration estimates map to Planoda estimates, and start/finish dates carry across as scheduled and due dates. Resource-leveling and calendar logic don't transfer as formulas, so confirm assignees and dates in the import preview rather than expecting the scheduler to recompute them.
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 Project concepts map onto Planoda.
| Microsoft Project | Planoda |
|---|---|
| Project (.mpp) / plan | Team / Project |
| Summary task | Parent issue / Project |
| Task | Issue |
| Subtask | Sub-issue |
| Predecessor / Successor link | Issue dependency |
| Milestone | Cycle / Marker issue |
| Gantt chart | Timeline view |
| Work / Duration | Estimate |
| Start / Finish dates | Start / Due date |
| Resource (Assigned To) | Assignee |
Pro tips
Make the move smoother
Export and back up before September 30, 2026 — once Project Online retires, the data is gone, so don't let the migration slip past the deadline.
From Project desktop, prefer the XML export over a flat CSV when task hierarchy and dependency links matter.
Invite your team by their Microsoft 365 email first so resource assignments resolve to real members on the first pass.
Common pitfalls
What to avoid
The mistakes that actually trip teams up moving off Microsoft Project.
Waiting until the last week before the September 30, 2026 retirement: once Project Online is retired the data is no longer accessible, so export and back up early — a slipped migration becomes permanent data loss, not a delay.
Assuming Planner is a drop-in replacement for a complex plan: Planner inherits Project for the web but isn't a direct replacement for a rich Project Online environment, so treat the forced move as a chance to land on a tracker built for shipping.
Exporting a flat CSV when dependencies matter: predecessor/successor links and task hierarchy survive far better via the Project desktop XML export — a CSV carries the tasks but leaves the schedule sequencing to be re-linked.
Expecting the scheduler to recompute after import: baselines, resource-leveling, and calendar logic are Project formulas, not portable data — confirm assignees and dates in the preview rather than relying on auto-scheduling to rebuild them.
FAQ
Migrating from Microsoft Project — 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.
Make the switch
Leave Microsoft Project behind this weekend.
Bring your Microsoft Project export — we'll match every workflow, field by field.