Microsoft Project Online Retires on 30 September

If your business uses Microsoft Project Online to plan and track projects, you need to act before 30 September 2026. After that date, Microsoft will permanently close the service — and every project, task, timeline, and document stored within it will become inaccessible, with no recovery option and no grace period.

Microsoft Project Online is a cloud-based project management service available as part of certain Microsoft 365 and standalone Project subscriptions. It allows teams to plan work, track progress, allocate resources, and report across a portfolio of projects through a web browser. If your organisation uses the Project app within Microsoft 365, or accesses project.microsoft.com, you are likely using Project Online.

What happens on 30 September 2026

On the retirement date, Microsoft will shut down all Project Online environments. There is no read-only mode afterwards. There is no archive period. There is no way to retrieve your data after that point. Microsoft officially announced this in September 2025, giving organisations just over a year to plan — but many businesses have not yet started.

Some functionality has already gone. Approval and governance workflows built on older SharePoint technology stopped functioning in early 2026. If your team has noticed those processes breaking, this is why.

Who is affected

Any organisation with an active Project Online subscription that has stored project data within the service. This includes businesses using it for a handful of internal projects as well as those relying on it for full portfolio management. If you are unsure whether your Microsoft 365 plan includes Project Online, check the Microsoft 365 admin centre under Billing, or ask your IT provider.

It is also worth noting that Microsoft stopped selling new Project Online-only subscriptions in October 2025 — so if you are already a subscriber, migration planning should be your priority.

Where to migrate

Microsoft recommends three main paths, depending on the complexity of your needs:

• Microsoft Planner Premium (formerly called Project for the Web): The recommended choice for most small and medium-sized businesses. It integrates closely with Microsoft 365, Teams, and Microsoft Copilot, and handles straightforward project and portfolio management well. Note that Planner Premium currently caps at 3,000 tasks per plan and 10 custom fields, so very large or complex projects may need careful planning before migration.
• Dynamics 365 Project Operations: The enterprise option, suited to organisations needing integrated project accounting, billing, and resource management alongside project planning. More powerful, and more complex to configure.
• Project Server Subscription Edition: An on-premises server product for organisations that need to keep project data within their own infrastructure. Requires server hardware and a supported deployment.

For most SMBs currently on Project Online, Planner Premium is the natural landing point and the closest equivalent in terms of day-to-day use.

How to export your data before the deadline

Before you migrate, extract your data. Microsoft provides several options:

1. Export via the Project Online API: The most complete method, preserving the relationships between tasks, resources, and timelines. This requires technical knowledge or the help of your IT provider, but produces the most faithful copy of your data.
2. Export to MPP or CSV files: Individual projects can be exported as Microsoft Project desktop files (.mpp) or spreadsheets. This is simpler but loses some relational structure between items.
3. Migration tooling: Microsoft and third-party partners offer tools and scripts to move data directly into Planner Premium or Dynamics 365. Your IT provider can advise on which approach suits your data volume and complexity.

Full official guidance is available on the Microsoft Project documentation pages at learn.microsoft.com.

Steps to take before 30 September

1. Confirm whether you use Project Online: Check the Microsoft 365 admin centre under Billing to see if you have a Project subscription in place.
2. Audit what you have: Identify every active project, resource pool, and report. Decide what needs to be migrated and what can simply be archived.
3. Choose a replacement platform: For most businesses, Planner Premium will be the right fit. Discuss the options with your IT provider before committing.
4. Export and migrate your data: Extract your project data using the API or export tools, and import it into the new platform. Test thoroughly before switching off Project Online.
5. Train your team: Staff will need time to get comfortable with the new tool. Build that into your timeline so you are not rushing at the end.

The deadline is real and the data loss is permanent. Starting the process now means you can move at a sensible pace rather than scrambling in September.

How System Force IT can help

Our team can confirm whether your Microsoft 365 environment includes Project Online, audit your project data, recommend the right migration target for your organisation, and handle the full technical migration for you. Managing Microsoft 365 for businesses across Gloucestershire and the UK is a core part of what we do, and product lifecycle transitions like this are a regular part of that service.

Project Online is one of several Microsoft products retiring in 2026 alongside Office 2021, Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, SQL Server 2016, and others. If you are not sure which tools in your current setup are approaching end of support, our managed IT service includes proactive lifecycle management, so you hear about deadlines like this from us before they become an emergency.

We also help businesses move to modern cloud platforms, including the full Microsoft 365 suite of tools. To find out whether Project Online affects you, or to get the migration process started, contact the System Force IT team today. You can also find out more about our IT support and maintenance services and how we keep your technology up to date.