Step-by-step plan to move your restaurant email from Gmail to Microsoft 365 in 2025

Running a restaurant is hard enough without chasing lost emails. A missed reservation, a catering quote stuck in spam, or a staff member using a personal Gmail can all cost you real money.

That is why more restaurants are moving all their email into Microsoft 365, with strong security and better control across shifts and locations. In this guide, I walk through a clear, practical gmail to microsoft 365 migration plan that works for busy restaurants.

I will keep the language simple, focus on current 2025 screens, and give you a numbered checklist with times and “double-check” points so you stay in control.

Why restaurants are moving from Gmail to Microsoft 365 in 2025

For most restaurants, email is shared across many people. Owners, GMs, shift leads, catering coordinators, and even host staff all need access to addresses like reservations@, catering@, events@, and hr@.

Microsoft 365 handles this pattern very well. Shared mailboxes and role-based accounts let you give access by job, not by personal address. That fits restaurant life, where people change roles and shifts often.

Microsoft also keeps improving its migration tools. The current Exchange admin center includes a built-in Google Workspace migration wizard, and Microsoft’s official Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration overview matches the steps I describe here. For a different angle, you can compare with this step-by-step guide to Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration to see how closely your own checklist lines up.

Step-by-step restaurant checklist for Gmail to Microsoft 365 migration

Use this numbered plan as your working list. Time estimates assume a single or small group of restaurants.

1. Map every mailbox and shared address

List every email that touches your restaurant:

• Owners and managers
• Front-of-house and back-of-house leads
• Shared inboxes like reservations@, catering@, info@, gm@
• Vendor, delivery, and POS alert addresses

Put these into a simple spreadsheet with columns for “Current Gmail,” “New Microsoft 365 mailbox or shared mailbox,” and “Who should have access.”

Approximate time: 30 to 60 minutes per location.
Double-check before moving on: Every person and every shared address your team actually uses is on the list, including ones wired into your POS or kitchen screens.

2. Prepare Microsoft 365 with restaurant-focused accounts

In the Microsoft 365 admin center, add your restaurant domain, for example yourrestaurant.com, and confirm ownership. Then create:

• User accounts for each staff role that needs its own mailbox
• Shared mailboxes for reservations, catering, and general info
• Security groups for locations or departments, such as “Downtown FOH”

Turn on multi-factor authentication for owners, managers, and anyone with admin access. This is a simple but strong step for Cybersecurity Services, Endpoint Security, and Device Hardening on your new email platform.

Approximate time: 60 to 120 minutes.
Double-check before moving on: Every row in your spreadsheet has a matching Microsoft 365 account or shared mailbox, and each has the right license and time zone.

3. Prepare Google Workspace and back up your data

Sign in to the Google Admin console as a super admin. Confirm which users and groups you are actually using. Then:

• Back up Gmail for key accounts using Google Takeout or a trusted tool
• Enable the Gmail API and set up OAuth 2.0 for secure access
• Remove unused or test accounts so you are not migrating junk

These steps let Microsoft 365 talk directly to Gmail using modern, secure methods instead of old IMAP. Good planning up front keeps your Office 365 Migration clean and fast.

Approximate time: 45 to 90 minutes plus backup time.
Double-check before moving on: You can sign in as admin to both systems, your backup has finished, and your user list in Google matches your spreadsheet.

4. Set up the migration batches in Exchange admin center

In the Microsoft 365 Exchange admin center, open “Migration” and choose the Google Workspace migration option. Follow the wizard to:

• Create a Google migration connection using the OAuth details from step 3
• Upload a CSV file that pairs each Gmail address with its Microsoft 365 mailbox
• Start a first “pre-stage” migration to copy most mail, calendars, and contacts

While this runs, both Gmail and Microsoft 365 stay active. This is how you avoid downtime for your staff. If you want more technical depth about staged moves, this guide on how to migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 without disrupting your business is a solid reference.

Approximate time: 60 minutes to set up, several hours for data to copy in the background.
Double-check before moving on: Sample mailboxes in Microsoft 365 show old messages, folders, and calendars from Gmail, and your migration dashboard shows green status for each batch.

5. Schedule off-hours cutover and switch DNS

Once most data is copied, plan your “cutover” time when new mail will start landing in Microsoft 365. For restaurants, that usually means late night or early morning, when the phones are quiet.

In your domain host (often where you registered your domain), change the MX records so they point to Microsoft 365 instead of Google. Update SPF and DKIM records at the same time to keep your email trusted and out of spam.

Keep both Gmail and Outlook open during cutover day so staff can see any stragglers, but tell them to start sending new mail from Microsoft 365 only.

Approximate time: 30 to 60 minutes to update records, 2 to 24 hours for the internet to catch up.
Double-check before moving on: New test messages from an outside address arrive only in Microsoft 365, not in Gmail, for each key mailbox and for all shared addresses.

6. Connect devices, secure accounts, and verify restaurant workflows

Now tie everything into the way your restaurant actually runs every day:

• Set up Outlook on office PCs, manager laptops, and personal phones
• Update email settings in your Restaurant POS Support tools so receipts, alerts, and reports come from the new mailboxes
• Check Kitchen Technology Solutions, such as kitchen display systems or printers, for any hard-coded Gmail addresses
• Turn off direct sign-in to old Gmail accounts and remove them from staff phones

Enable strong Endpoint Security in Microsoft 365 by forcing MFA for all staff with remote access and applying basic device rules. This is where your Business Continuity & Security starts to feel real.

Approximate time: 2 to 3 hours per location.
Double-check before moving on: Staff can send and receive from every mailbox, shared inboxes work from opening to close, POS and kitchen alerts arrive on time, and no one needs to log in to Gmail for work.

Where a restaurant-focused IT partner fits in

When I help restaurants with Small Business IT, I do not treat email as a single project. I fold the gmail to microsoft 365 migration into a broader IT Strategy for SMBs and Digital Transformation that touches every part of your operation.

That includes Technology Consulting and Innovative IT Solutions around Restaurant POS Support, Kitchen Technology Solutions, Cloud Infrastructure, Cloud Management, Secure Cloud Architecture, and Data Center Technology. As a Business Technology Partner, I provide Tailored Technology Services, Managed IT for Small Business, Infrastructure Optimization, strong Cybersecurity Services, Endpoint Security, Device Hardening, and long-term Business Continuity & Security.

If you want to go beyond “just email,” I suggest also comparing your current process to other step-by-step resources like this how to migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 guide or this detailed Google Workspace to Office 365 step-by-step walkthrough. You will see how much smoother things are when the plan is built around restaurant life, not generic office work.

Conclusion and quick-reference checklist

A clean move from Gmail to Microsoft 365 gives you stronger control, better shift coverage, and real Business Continuity & Security for your restaurant. When you treat email as part of your wider Small Business IT picture, your POS, kitchen, and back office all benefit.

Here is a short checklist you can pin to your board and work through one by one:

1. List every personal and shared mailbox, including POS and kitchen alerts.
2. Create matching users, shared mailboxes, and groups in Microsoft 365 with MFA.
3. Back up Gmail data and prepare Google Workspace for API-based migration.
4. Use the Exchange admin center wizard to set up and run pre-stage migration.
5. Pick an off-hours cutover time and switch MX, SPF, and DKIM to Microsoft 365.
6. Configure Outlook on all devices and update POS and kitchen email settings.
7. Turn off old Gmail access, test mail flow for every address, and train staff.

Follow this plan, and your restaurant can move to Microsoft 365 with little drama, minimal downtime, and a stronger technology foundation for growth.