Migrate from ActiveCollab to Microsoft Project

ActiveCollab Projects map to Microsoft Project files (.mpp via Project Desktop) or Project for the Web Projects. Each ActiveCollab Project carries category, status, budget, and owner assignment metadata. We extract these as project-level fields (Name, Start Date, Finish Date, Cost, Notes) and map ActiveCollab's project status (Active, Archived, On Hold) to the Project Summary Task's custom Status field. Project Templates in ActiveCollab migrate as new Project files with a [Template] prefix in the name and all tasks preserved as a starting structure.

ActiveCollab Tasks map directly to Microsoft Project Tasks. Name, Start Date, Due Date, Priority, Description, and completion percentage transfer to the equivalent Task fields. ActiveCollab's task Recurrence Rule is not replicated as a recurring task in Microsoft Project; instead we generate discrete task instances for each occurrence date. Dependencies originating from ActiveCollab's finish-to-start model map as Predecessor Links with FS type. Moving a task between ActiveCollab Projects disconnects it from its dependencies; we confirm the intended outcome with the customer before migration and log every dependency-break event.

ActiveCollab Subtasks are hierarchical children of Tasks. Microsoft Project uses outline levels within a single Task object rather than a separate object. We reconstruct the hierarchy by promoting the parent Task to a Summary Task and indenting the Subtask rows beneath it as child tasks. The Summary Task's Start and Finish dates auto-calculate from the earliest and latest child task. We preserve Subtask assignees as task-level assignment resources.

ActiveCollab Discussion threads attached to Projects or Tasks migrate as Note text on the corresponding Microsoft Project Task. Discussion author and timestamp are stored in a custom Note field alongside the content. Microsoft Project does not have a native threaded comment object, so the flat Note representation preserves the content but not the thread structure. Project-level Discussions migrate as Notes on the Project Summary Task.

ActiveCollab free-form Notes attached to Projects migrate as Notes on the Project Summary Task in Microsoft Project. Note content, author, and creation date transfer. Notes are not a separate object in Microsoft Project; they are a field on tasks and the project summary task. Project-level Notes with no specific task association land on the Project Summary Task for organizational visibility.

ActiveCollab Time Entries (billable and non-billable, with job type and stopwatch/manual entry source) map to Microsoft Project Task Assignment Work and Cost fields. We convert the duration-unit time values to hours, apply the resource's Standard Rate to compute Cost, and set the Assignment Units to reflect the time logged relative to the task duration. Billable flag from ActiveCollab transfers to a custom Cost field or a flag field in Project. Time Entry Notes migrate as Assignment Notes.

ActiveCollab Expenses (amount, category, date, receipt attachment reference) map to Microsoft Project task-level Fixed Cost and Fixed Cost Accrual fields. Expense categories become Cost Category custom fields. Receipt attachment references are preserved as a text URL field pointing to the migrated attachment location. Project-level Expenses accumulate into a Fixed Cost on the Project Summary Task.

ActiveCollab Members (paid seats) and Clients (free collaborators) map to Microsoft Project Resources. Name, email, timezone, and active/archived status transfer. ActiveCollab Member rate information (from Pro tier) maps to the Resource Standard Rate. We resolve Users by email match. Any ActiveCollab Member without a matching Microsoft identity is held in a reconciliation queue for the customer's admin to provision before the resource assignment phase.

ActiveCollab Labels are tag strings applied to Tasks and Projects. Microsoft Project does not have a native label or tag field, so we create a Custom Text Field (Text1) on Tasks and populate it with the comma-separated label values from ActiveCollab. If labels exceed the single-text-field capacity, we create multiple Text fields (Label1, Label2) or a Flag field per label for filtering. The customer chooses the labeling strategy during scoping.

ActiveCollab finish-to-start dependencies map to Microsoft Project Predecessor Links of type FS (Finish-to-Start). ActiveCollab's automated downstream date updates when a predecessor shifts are native behavior in Microsoft Project. Lag time, if specified in ActiveCollab, converts to the Microsoft Project Lag field (positive for lag, negative for lead). Finish-to-finish, Start-to-start, and Start-to-finish dependency types are not natively available in all ActiveCollab tiers; if any exist in the source data, we map them to the equivalent Microsoft Project predecessor type or flag them for manual review if the type is unsupported.

ActiveCollab Invoices exist only on the Pro+ tier ($17/user/month) and include line items, tax codes, payment status, and client information. Microsoft Project has no native invoicing or billing object. We scan the workspace plan before migration to determine whether Invoice records exist. If present, we flag them as a mapping-required object and discuss the customer's preferred handling: export as a CSV, archive in a document store, or map to an external accounting tool. We do not delete invoice data; we hold it as a separate export deliverable.