Exchange Sync BridgeTime Matters Sync Without AMP: Your Options When There's No Vendor Update Coming
Microsoft begins disabling Exchange Web Services — the API your Time Matters Exchange Synchronization runs on — on October 1, 2026. The vendor's fix exists, but it's Time Matters 2026, and upgrading requires an active AMP membership. If your firm let AMP lapse or is staying on an older version by choice, here's what you can actually do.
Letting AMP Lapse Was A Rational Decision
AMP — the Annual Maintenance Plan — is how PCLaw | Time Matters delivers upgrades. Plenty of firms looked at the renewal cost against a stable system that did everything they needed, and made a defensible call: stay on the current version, let the maintenance lapse, revisit when there's a reason.
That calculus worked for years. What changed isn't your software — it's Microsoft's calendar. Exchange Synchronization on pre-2026 versions connects to Exchange Online over EWS, and Microsoft begins disabling EWS on October 1, 2026, with a final shutdown on April 1, 2027, per Microsoft's EWS retirement FAQ.
The vendor did ship a fix: Time Matters 2026 (released May 2026) syncs over Microsoft Graph, per the official release notes. But the upgrade is gated behind an active AMP membership. If you're off AMP, the vendor path isn't "update and carry on" — it's "renew, then schedule an upgrade project, under deadline pressure."
Sync Doesn't Error. It Just Falls Behind.
When EWS is disabled for your tenant — sometime after October 1, on a phased rollout you can't predict — Time Matters will look completely normal. No warning, no error anyone will notice. Calendar entries, contacts, and tasks simply stop moving between Time Matters and Outlook.
Outlook itself keeps working, because Outlook doesn't use EWS. That's the trap: email flows, the software opens, and the first visible symptom is a stale calendar — a missed court date, a double-booked attorney, a client record that's three weeks out of date.
Waiting is not a neutral choice. It's choosing to have this conversation in a panic after sync stops, when every affected firm in the country is having it at the same time.
Three Ways Forward Without A Planned Upgrade
Option A: Renew AMP and upgrade to Time Matters 2026.
This is the vendor path, and for firms that want the new version anyway, it's legitimate. Go in clear-eyed: get the total cost in writing (AMP reinstatement plus the upgrade engagement), get the timeline in writing, and hold both against October 1. Upgrade projects are measured in weeks-to-months in the best of times; this fall, every affected firm will be competing for the same consultants.
Option B: Buy time with Microsoft's allowlist.
A tenant admin can explicitly re-enable EWS and allowlist Time Matters, extending access until the final April 1, 2027 cutoff — here's how the configuration works. It's free and it buys real months. It is not a fix: on April 1 it ends regardless. Use it as breathing room to execute Option A or Option C properly, not as the plan itself.
Option C: Bridge your current version to Microsoft Graph.
Exchange Sync Bridge keeps your existing Time Matters working exactly as it does today: Time Matters sends the same Exchange Sync (EWS) requests, and the bridge translates them to Microsoft Graph on a hosted service. No upgrade, no AMP renewal, no change for staff. Setup typically takes minutes; pricing is $40 per sync-enabled user per month, no setup fees, no minimum term. Your data is never stored, and sign-in runs through Microsoft — we never see a password (security details).
Compare Total Cost, Not Sticker Price
The honest comparison isn't "AMP renewal vs. $40/user/month." It's the full cost of each path: reinstatement fees plus the upgrade engagement plus consultant time plus staff disruption, against a flat monthly subscription with no project at all. For a firm that wants Time Matters 2026 on its own merits, the upgrade math can still win — take that path with our blessing. For a firm whose only reason to upgrade is "Microsoft turned off the API our sync uses," the bridge exists precisely so you don't have to make a five-figure decision on someone else's deadline.
Not sure the bridge covers your setup? That's what the compatibility review is for: send us your Time Matters version and what you synchronize, and we'll tell you straight — including when the right answer is the vendor path. How compatibility review works.
Off AMP and not sure where you stand?
Tell us your Time Matters version and what you sync. We'll confirm whether you're covered — before October 1, not after.
Find Out If You're Impacted