Set the start date or finish date for your project in Project desktop

Choose only one scheduling method

A project can only be scheduled from the start date or from the finish date at any one time. It cannot be scheduled from both dates simultaneously.

Move the start time of a project

You can change the project start date or finish date whenever you want to, even after you build the project plan. Select Project > Move Project.

When you move a project, you can decide whether you want Project to also move dates on actual work performed. To have more control over how actual and uncompleted parts of tasks move, use the Project Update feature before you move it. Select Project > Update Project, and then select the Reschedule uncompleted work to start after option. Now, set a time in the future after which uncompleted work can be scheduled; actual dates on tasks will not move. Once you've done that, you can use the Move Project feature.

Consider scheduling from a finish date

You might want to schedule from a finish date in these cases:

• You want to identify the date when a project must start in order to finish on a specific required date. It is often still a good idea to switch back to scheduling from the start date when work on the project begins.

• You are not sure when your project will begin.

• Your project management methodology requires you to schedule from a finish date.

What happens when Project schedules from a finish date?

• When you enter new tasks, Project automatically assigns the As Late As Possible (ALAP) constraint to those tasks. You should set other constraints only if they are necessary.

• If you drag a Gantt bar to change the finish date of a task, Project automatically assigns a Finish No Later Than (FNLT) constraint.

• If you use automatic leveling to reduce resource overallocations in your project, Project automatically adds a negative number for the leveling delay for the sake of balancing resource availability. Because the project is scheduled from the finish date, negative leveling delays add time after a task, rather than before a task.

• If you change a project that was previously scheduled from a start date so that it is now scheduled from a finish date, Project automatically removes all leveling delays and leveling splits from tasks and assignments.

Look out for date constraints

If the finish date doesn't change after you change the start date, then one or more tasks may have a date constraint applied. Review the constraints in your plan to make sure that they are all necessary and appropriate. To view a task's constraints, right-click on the task, select Information, and then select the Advanced tab.

Look out for actual progress reported on tasks

If the start date doesn't change after you change the finish date, one or more tasks may either have actual progress reported or have a date constraint applied. Review the constraints in your plan to make sure that they are all necessary and appropriate. To view a task's constraints, right-click on the task, select Information, and then select the Advanced tab.