Migrate from Productive to Microsoft Project

Productive Projects map to Microsoft Project project files (.mpp) or Project Online/Project for the Web projects. We preserve the project name, planned start date, planned end date, status, and description. If the destination is Project Online, the project is created as a Project Site; if the destination is the desktop client, we generate a .mpp file. Active vs archived status maps to the Project Summary Task IsActive flag in Project Online or the project state in the desktop client.

Productive Lists within a Project group Tasks under a named section. In Microsoft Project, Lists map to Summary Tasks at the phase level of the WBS. We create a Summary Task row for each List, indent the mapped Tasks beneath it, and set the Summary Task's duration to span the earliest start to latest finish of its child tasks. If a destination uses a flat task list without phases, Lists flatten to Task Labels or Tags on each task.

Productive Tasks map directly to Microsoft Project Tasks. We preserve task name, planned start date, planned due date, status, time estimate (hours), and any custom field values. Subtask relationships in Productive map to child tasks in the WBS hierarchy. Task dependencies (if any exist in Productive) map to predecessor-successor links in Microsoft Project using FS (Finish-to-Start) as the default dependency type.

Productive Milestones map to Microsoft Project Milestones (tasks with zero duration and the Milestone flag set to Yes). Milestone names and target dates transfer directly. If a Productive Milestone has no date (unscheduled), we leave it unscheduled in Microsoft Project and flag it for the PM to set during baseline comparison.

Productive time entries include user, date, duration, billable flag, and task association. We compute actual hours per task by summing time entry durations per task per day and write them to Microsoft Project Task Actuals. Billable vs non-billable flags are preserved as a custom task flag (flag1 or text field). We skip unrecognized time entries (billable but not yet approved in Productive) and surface them in a separate reconciliation report for the PM to handle before or after cutover.

Productive budgets have amounts, types (revenue, cost, hours), and periods tied to a Project or Client. Microsoft Project has no native budget object. We create two custom number fields per project or task: Budget Amount (Number10) and Budget Type (Text20) to carry the original budget value and its classification. Budget vs actual reporting becomes a manual comparison exercise using the exported budget values and the actuals derived from time entries.

Productive Members assigned to Projects and Tasks map to Microsoft Project Resources. We create Resources using the member's name and email, set the Resource Type to Work, and assign a role if a Rate Card exists in Productive. Material Resources map only if Productive Expense records include material line items. Resources without a matching email in the destination Project file are held in a reconciliation queue for the admin to resolve before the assignment import phase.

Productive task assignments (member linked to task) map to Microsoft Project Resource Assignments on the task row. We resolve the Resource by email match, populate the assignment's Units and Work (from Productive time estimate or hours assigned), and preserve the assignment's start and finish dates. If a Productive task has multiple assignees, we create multiple Resource Assignment rows on that task.

Productive Expenses include amount, date, description, category, and billable flag tied to a Project or Task. Since Microsoft Project has no expense object, we map expense data to a custom expense table in the project file or to Material Resources with cost rates. We preserve the expense amount, category, and billable flag as custom fields on the associated task or as a separate cost log exported to CSV for the customer's finance team to reconcile.

Productive account-level custom fields (5 on Essential, 15 on Professional) map to Microsoft Project custom task fields. We match the custom field type (text, number, date, checkbox, picklist) to the equivalent Microsoft Project custom field type (Text, Number, Date, Flag, Lookup). Field values transfer as literal values. Lookup-table-based custom fields in Productive map to Microsoft Project Outline Codes or custom drop-down fields.

Productive Teams (Professional+ feature) group Members for resource planning. Microsoft Project Resources support grouping via the Resource Group field. We map each Productive Team to a Resource Group name and assign all members of that team to the group so that filtering and resource reporting work in the destination. If the customer does not use the Teams feature in Productive, this step is skipped.

Productive Invoices are generated from recognized time entries and expenses. Microsoft Project has no invoice, billing, or financial transaction objects. Invoices are explicitly excluded from the migration scope. We deliver a written inventory of all open and closed invoices with their amounts, line items, and payment status, so the customer's finance team can close outstanding invoices in Productive before cutover or migrate billing records to a separate accounting tool.