Migration checklist Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace

The checklist

Tick items off as you migrate.

The checklist follows the seven phases from our migration step-by-step guide and works both ways: to Microsoft 365 and to Google Workspace. Your progress is kept only in your own browser — nothing goes to us.

Note: tracking and saving progress needs JavaScript; the checklist itself is perfectly readable and tickable. The full explanation per phase is in the migration step-by-step guide.

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Phase 1 — Inventory

All mailboxes, shared mailboxes and aliases mapped out
Volume of mail, calendars and files per user known
Connected applications inventoried (CRM, scanner, invoicing, website forms)
Ownership of domain, DNS and current tenant verified

Phase 2 — Plan and schedule

Target environment and licence mix per employee type chosen
Migration moment scheduled outside peak periods, with a go/no-go moment
Communication to the team prepared (what changes, when, who to turn to)
Fallback plan recorded in case the cutover does not go ahead

Phase 3 — Setting up the new environment

Tenant created in the name of your own organisation, admin rights held internally
Users, groups and shared mailboxes created
MFA and conditional access set up before the first user works in it
SPF, DKIM and DMARC prepared for the new platform

Phase 4 — Trial migration

Pilot group of 2–5 users fully migrated and tested
Mail, calendar, contacts and files checked for completeness
Connected applications tested against the new environment
Findings incorporated into the runbook

Phase 5 — Migration

Data of all users synchronised in advance (pre-sync)
Delta sync performed just before the cutover
Checked per user: mail complete, calendar correct, files accessible

Phase 6 — DNS cutover

MX records switched to the new platform
SPF/DKIM/DMARC set live and validated with a test mail to external recipients
Autodiscover/client configuration checked on all device types

Phase 7 — Aftercare

First working days actively supported (point of contact, brief explanation)
Old environment set to read-only or cancelled after the review period — not sooner
Documentation and management arrangements handed over, backup of the new environment arranged

How we approach it

How we work.

The phases and control points come one-to-one from our step-by-step guide Migrating to Microsoft 365: inventory, plan, setup, trial migration, migration, DNS cutover and aftercare. The order is deliberate — most failed migrations skip phase 1 or phase 4.

Migrating the other way? Read Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace. Would you rather hand over the whole migration, with zero downtime and a fixed project price: see Microsoft 365 migration.

Frequently asked questions

Good to know.

Which migrations is this checklist for?

For mail, calendar and file migrations between Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, in both directions. The phases are also useful for migrations from on-premise servers or other mail platforms; only the configuration details differ.

Is my progress saved?

Locally only, in your own browser's storage. If you come back later on the same device and in the same browser, your ticks are still there. Nothing is sent to us or to third parties.

How long does such a migration take?

For an SME organisation a lead time of a few weeks is typical: most of the time goes into inventory, the trial migration and communication — the technical move itself is usually a matter of days. A tight schedule with go/no-go moments prevents the real risk: a rushed cutover.

What is the biggest risk when migrating yourself?

The edge cases: shared mailboxes, aliases, connected applications and the DNS cutover. Mail that 'just works' is the visible part; the outages arise in whatever was not inventoried. That is why phase 1 and phase 4 are the most important on the checklist.

Get started

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