How to Migrate From Microsoft Project Online Before It Shuts Down

Microsoft Project Online retires on September 30, 2026, so organizations still using Project Web App should export their data and complete a tested migration before that date. The safest plan is to inventory every PWA site, save project schedules in durable formats, capture portfolio and reporting data, choose a replacement based on the features you actually use, and run a pilot before the final cutover.

Do not assume your projects will automatically appear in Microsoft Planner. Project Online and Planner use different data stores and capabilities, and there is no universal one-click migration that preserves every schedule, workflow, timesheet, report, permission, and portfolio configuration.

When is Microsoft Project Online shutting down?

Microsoft says Project Online will no longer be available after September 30, 2026. Existing customers remain supported until that date. The official announcement was updated on August 24, 2026, making this an active deadline rather than a distant roadmap item.

The retirement applies specifically to the cloud-based Project Online service built on SharePoint and accessed through Project Web App (PWA). According to Microsoft's Project Online retirement announcement, it does not retire:

• Microsoft Project desktop;
• Project Server Subscription Edition;
• Microsoft Planner basic or premium plans.

However, a Project desktop schedule that currently connects to Project Online will lose that cloud PWA environment. Saving the desktop application is not the same as preserving the online portfolio, resource, timesheet, workflow, and reporting layers.

Start with a Project Online migration inventory

Before choosing a replacement, document what your tenant actually uses. A small team with a few schedules has a very different migration from a PMO running demand management, enterprise resources, timesheets, custom workflows, and Power BI reports.

Your inventory should include:

• every Project Web App site collection and its owner;
• active, completed, archived, master, and inserted projects;
• enterprise resources, calendars, rate tables, and resource engagements;
• custom fields, lookup tables, formulas, views, filters, and templates;
• baselines, dependencies, milestones, constraints, and critical paths;
• timesheets, task updates, approvals, issues, risks, and deliverables;
• project-site documents, lists, attachments, and permissions;
• SharePoint or Power Automate workflows;
• Power BI reports, OData feeds, scripts, APIs, and third-party integrations;
• retention, legal-hold, audit, and data-residency requirements.

Microsoft's administrator documentation shows how a SharePoint administrator can list PWA-enabled sites with the SharePoint Online Management Shell:

Get-SPOSite | ?{$_.PWAEnabled -eq "Enabled"} | ft -a Url,Owner

Run the inventory with both the SharePoint administrator and the PWA administrator. Microsoft specifically recommends that these roles work together because finding sites and interpreting Project Online configuration require different knowledge.

Back up Project Online data before migration

Save every important schedule as MPP and XML

Use the Project desktop client to open and save each important schedule locally. Keep both .mpp and .xml copies when possible. MPP preserves a familiar working file for Project desktop, while XML gives you a documented interchange format that can be inspected or transformed later.

Do not export only active projects. Completed projects may still be needed for audits, contractual evidence, estimates, lessons learned, or historical reporting.

Use Microsoft's Project Online export scripts carefully

Microsoft provides a Project Online user-content export process for SharePoint and PWA administrators. The script package can produce project-specific MPP, XML, and JSON files, plus JSON data for reporting and Project Online features.

The export is organized around a user's relationship to projects. A project may be included when that user is the owner, has an assigned task, owns an assignment, or manages task status. That means one user export should not be treated as a guaranteed tenant-wide backup. Build a coverage matrix and verify that every required project is represented.

Microsoft also warns that master and inserted projects require attention: exporting a user associated with an inserted project does not necessarily include the master project, and the reverse can also be true.

Preserve SharePoint content separately

Project Online stores data on SharePoint, but schedules are not the only valuable records. Export or migrate project-site document libraries, issues, risks, deliverables, custom lists, permissions, version history, and attachments using an appropriate SharePoint process.

Record favorite and recently viewed projects manually if users rely on them. Microsoft's export documentation says those Project Home lists are only visible in the application and suggests capturing them while users still have access.

Archive reports and integration definitions

Save Power BI files, semantic-model definitions, refresh settings, OData queries, API scripts, scheduled jobs, credentials ownership, and data dictionaries. A visual copy of a dashboard is useful for reference, but it does not preserve the calculations or source mapping needed to rebuild it.

This is the same reason a SaaS backup should be validated before cancellation; our guide to exporting a Notion workspace explains the broader principle of checking the archive instead of trusting the download alone.

Choose the right Project Online replacement

Microsoft Planner Premium

Planner Premium is the most direct Microsoft 365 option for teams that need collaborative task and schedule management. It can provide premium views and more advanced planning than a basic Planner board.

It is not automatically a feature-for-feature replacement for a complex PWA deployment. Test resource capacity, timesheets, portfolio prioritization, demand workflows, project-site lists, custom fields, and reporting before approving it as the destination.

Planner Power App for MPP imports

Microsoft's Planner FAQ says the standard Planner experience does not import Project desktop .mpp files directly. Microsoft instead points users to the Planner Power App, formerly called the Project Power App, for this import path.

Treat an MPP import as a starting point, not proof of a complete migration. Validate task hierarchy, dates, dependencies, assignments, calendars, constraints, custom fields, baselines, and unsupported elements after every import.

Project Server Subscription Edition

Project Server Subscription Edition remains available and may suit organizations that want a self-hosted path closer to traditional Project Server and PWA. It adds infrastructure, patching, SQL Server, availability, backup, security, and administration responsibilities, so evaluate the total operating burden rather than comparing licenses alone.

Dynamics 365 Project Operations or another PPM platform

Organizations centered on professional-services delivery, resource scheduling, time entry, project accounting, and billing may evaluate Dynamics 365 Project Operations. Others may need a specialized portfolio-management platform.

Build a scored requirements matrix before buying. Give the highest weight to mandatory governance and data requirements, not to attractive features demonstrated with a clean sample project.

A practical 24-day migration plan

As of September 6, 2026, 24 days remain until the announced retirement. A large enterprise migration would normally deserve more time, so prioritize data preservation and a controlled minimum viable cutover.

Days 1–3: freeze scope and assign owners

• Name an executive owner, technical lead, PWA administrator, SharePoint administrator, reporting owner, and business acceptance lead.
• List every PWA site and integration.
• Classify projects as active, must-archive, or disposable only after formal approval.
• Set a change-freeze date for configuration, workflows, and new project creation.

Days 4–8: export and verify

• Save MPP and XML copies of required schedules.
• Run the relevant Microsoft export scripts.
• Export SharePoint documents, lists, and attachments.
• Archive reports, queries, workflows, and integration code.
• Open sample files and compare totals against the inventory.

Days 9–14: migrate a representative pilot

Choose a difficult project, not the smallest one. Include dependencies, custom fields, resource assignments, a baseline, documents, and reporting. Migrate it to the selected platform, then ask actual project managers and team members to perform their normal work.

Days 15–19: rebuild and test integrations

Reconnect Power BI, notifications, approvals, identity groups, APIs, and automations. Test with non-administrator accounts. If the target platform stores schedules in Dataverse or another data model, existing OData queries will require mapping rather than a simple URL change.

Days 20–22: complete final data movement

Move remaining active projects, communicate the final edit cutoff, reconcile changes since the pilot export, and obtain owner sign-off. Keep a written exception list for anything intentionally archived instead of migrated.

Days 23–24: cut over and secure the archive

Make the replacement the official system of record, redirect documentation and bookmarks, confirm access for each role, and protect the archive with encryption, limited permissions, retention rules, and at least one separate backup.

How to validate the migration

For each migrated project, compare:

• project and task counts;
• summary-task hierarchy and work breakdown structure;
• start and finish dates, durations, milestones, and constraints;
• dependencies and critical-path behavior;
• resource assignments, work, cost, and calendars;
• baseline values and status date;
• custom fields and lookup values;
• documents, issues, risks, and permissions;
• report totals and refresh results.

Record the result as passed, accepted with a known exception, or failed. Screenshots alone are not enough; use counts and sampled records that another person can reproduce.

Common migration mistakes

Assuming Planner will import everything automatically

Projects visible in Microsoft 365 are not necessarily native Planner Premium plans. Confirm where each schedule is stored and whether it opens in PWA or Planner.

Saving only MPP files

MPP files do not capture the entire PWA environment. Timesheets, portfolio configuration, site content, workflows, permissions, reports, and integrations need separate treatment.

Ignoring inactive users

Historical projects can contain assignments and ownership linked to former employees. Include inactive accounts in the export-coverage review so their project data is not missed.

Waiting for the final weekend

A file can export successfully and still be incomplete or unusable. Leave time to open it, compare it with the source, correct gaps, and rerun the export.

Buying a replacement before mapping requirements

A visually similar Gantt chart does not prove that the target supports your governance, timesheets, resource capacity, integrations, or compliance needs.

Frequently asked questions

Will Microsoft Project desktop stop working?

No. Microsoft's retirement notice says Project desktop is not affected. But desktop files and connections that depend on the Project Online PWA service need a new storage, collaboration, and reporting plan.

Will Project Online data move to Planner automatically?

No automatic tenant-wide migration is promised. Standard Planner does not directly import MPP files; Microsoft documents an import path through the Planner Power App. Complex PWA features need separate mapping and testing.

Can we keep using Project Online after September 30, 2026?

Microsoft says Project Online will no longer be available after the retirement date. Plan as if there will be no grace period.

What should we export first?

Start with the PWA-site inventory and business-critical active projects, then cover completed schedules, enterprise resources, custom configuration, reports, integrations, and SharePoint content. Verify each archive before moving to the next set.

Is Project Server Subscription Edition the same as Project Online?

No. It is a self-hosted server product with different infrastructure and administration responsibilities. It may provide continuity for some traditional Project Server scenarios, but it still requires a planned migration and technical validation.

Bottom line

The Project Online shutdown is a data-access and business-continuity deadline, not merely a product rename. Inventory every PWA site, preserve schedules and surrounding data in multiple formats, test a realistic pilot, rebuild integrations, and obtain business sign-off before September 30, 2026.

If your organization is also removing other retiring Microsoft products, see our guide to the best Microsoft Publisher alternatives before October 2026. Administrators standardizing Microsoft 365 collaboration can also review how to set up a Microsoft 365 shared mailbox for migration support and project communications.