Microsoft Project Online is shutting down. Planner isn't a CPM tool. Bearing is.
Microsoft's designated replacement lacks critical path, float calculations, and multi-calendar support. Don't downgrade to a task manager or pay $30k/yr for P6. Get full CPM scheduling with integrated field docs for $199/mo.
- Import your Project XML — activities, logic, calendars and progress
- No complex P6 server setup or enterprise licensing
- Integrated RFIs, G702/G703 pay apps, and submittals in the same workspace
What you keep, and what Planner quietly drops
| Capability | Project Online | Planner | Bearing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical path | Yes | No | Yes — recalculated on every field update |
| Total and free float | Yes | No | Yes, on every activity |
| Multiple calendars | Yes | No | Yes — per project, per activity, per resource |
| Out-of-sequence progress | Yes | No | Yes — data-date progress override |
| Construction paperwork | No | No | RFIs, submittals, G702/G703, punch, lien waivers |
| Price | Retired | Bundled with M365 | $199/mo flat, up to 10 seats |
Moving across
Export what you have
In Project, open the schedule and choose File ▸ Save As ▸ XML Format (*.xml) while the tenant is still live. This is the part with a deadline on it — the data goes away, your license just lapses.
Import it
Bearing reads the Project XML directly — activities, predecessor logic with lags, calendars and holidays, constraints, costs and any progress already reported. Before the project is created it tells you exactly what came across and what did not: summary rows, percentage lags and As Late As Possible tasks have no one-to-one equivalent here, and are named rather than dropped quietly. Then the forward and backward pass runs on your logic rather than on Project's stored dates.
Put it in the field
Foremen report progress from the mobile app, offline if the site has no signal. The schedule advances from actuals, and your next pay app compiles from the same numbers.