Migrating from Asana is a different exercise than migrating from a simple kanban tool, Asana already has real structure, portfolios, custom fields, dependencies, multiple views on the same data, and the goal of a good migration is preserving that structure rather than flattening it into something simpler. Teams usually make this move for one of two reasons: they've outgrown Asana's general-purpose task model and need requirements traceability and test management built in, or they need multi-level program and product structure Asana wasn't designed to represent.

Step 1: Export Your Asana Data

Asana supports CSV export per project through the project's menu, which captures task names, assignees, due dates, custom field values, and section groupings. For a more complete export including comments and full task history, Asana's API is the more thorough route, though it requires either some technical setup or a third-party export tool. If you're migrating multiple projects, export each one separately rather than trying to merge them beforehand, mapping is easier project by project.

Step 2: Inventory Your Custom Fields First

Before migrating a single task, list out every custom field currently in use across your Asana projects, priority, status, effort estimate, department, whatever your team has configured. Decide which of these map cleanly to fields Sanplex already supports natively, and which need to be recreated as custom fields on the Sanplex side. Skipping this step tends to mean custom field data either gets lost or dumped into a generic notes field where it's no longer actually usable for filtering or reporting.

Step 3: Map Asana's Structure to Sanplex's

Asana organizes work as Teams containing Projects containing Tasks (with Subtasks and Sections). If you're using Asana Portfolios to group related projects, those map naturally to a higher level in Sanplex's Program, Project, Product, and Execution structure, rather than everything collapsing into a single flat project. This is actually where teams migrating from Asana often gain structure rather than lose it, since Sanplex's multiple levels can represent a portfolio-to-task hierarchy more natively than Asana's flatter project model.

Step 4: Bring Over Dependencies and Timeline Data

If your Asana projects use task dependencies or Timeline (Gantt-style) views, these need explicit attention during migration, dependency relationships between tasks don't always survive a basic CSV export cleanly. Rebuild critical dependency chains manually if the export doesn't preserve them accurately, particularly for any project where sequencing genuinely matters to the plan, rather than assuming they transferred correctly without checking.

Step 5: Recreate Custom Views Deliberately

Asana's flexibility around Board, List, Timeline, and Calendar views on the same underlying data is one of its strengths, and it's worth deciding intentionally which views your team actually used regularly versus which existed but rarely got opened. Recreating every view out of habit adds setup overhead without adding real value, focus on rebuilding the two or three views people genuinely relied on daily.

Step 6: Run Both Systems in Parallel, Then Set a Hard Cutover Date

Keep Asana in read-only mode for reference during a short transition window, while the team works actively in Sanplex, and set a firm date to fully retire the old projects rather than letting the parallel period run indefinitely. Teams that skip a firm cutover date often end up with some people still updating Asana out of habit, which defeats the purpose of migrating in the first place.

Common Migration Mistakes to Avoid

Underestimating custom field mapping is the most frequent misstep, teams often migrate task titles and due dates but lose the structured metadata that made reporting useful in Asana. A close second is flattening Portfolio-level structure into a single project, missing the chance to actually use Sanplex's multi-level hierarchy properly. And skipping dependency verification tends to surface as confused sequencing weeks later, once someone notices a task that should have been blocked wasn't.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Asana custom fields transfer automatically?

Not automatically, custom field values need to be mapped intentionally to corresponding fields in Sanplex, or recreated as custom fields if there's no direct equivalent.

Do Asana Portfolios map to something in Sanplex?

Yes, Portfolios generally map to a higher level in Sanplex's Program, Project, Product, Execution structure, rather than needing to be flattened into individual disconnected projects.

What happens to task dependencies during migration?

They don't always survive a basic export cleanly. Verify and rebuild critical dependency chains manually for any project where task sequencing genuinely matters.

Should I recreate every custom view from Asana?

Only the ones your team actually used regularly. Recreating unused views adds setup work without adding real value.

How long should we run Asana and Sanplex in parallel?

Long enough for the team to get comfortable in the new system, typically a few weeks, with a firm end date so people don't drift back to old habits indefinitely.

Want help planning your specific migration from Asana?

Book a demo and bring your current project structure to the conversation.