profile

Simply SharePoint

Simplifying SharePoint, Maximising Microsoft 365

Subscribe if you want to simplify SharePoint and make the most of Microsoft 365! Every Friday, you'll get practical tips, best practices, and real-world solutions delivered straight to your inbox. Stay ahead with expert insights, time-saving strategies, and exclusive content to help you collaborate smarter and work more efficiently.

PostsLinksProductsRecommendations
Jul 06 • 2 min read

Should I save this in OneDrive or SharePoint?

Simply SharePoint Weekly — Week 1

The Simply SharePoint Weekly

Practical SharePoint & Microsoft 365 — every Tuesday

This week

One question comes up in every organisation I work with. It sounds simple. Getting the answer wrong costs teams entire client histories, months of cleanup, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting bills that could have been avoided.

The question

“Should I save this in OneDrive or SharePoint?”

Here’s the rule I give every organisation I work with:

If only YOU will ever need this file, save it to OneDrive. The moment a second person might need it — even just to read it once — save it to SharePoint.

That’s the rule. Everything else is detail.

The reason it’s so specific: the cost of guessing wrong is not symmetric. If you save something to SharePoint that could have stayed in OneDrive, worst case is a little tidy-up later. If you save something to OneDrive that belonged in SharePoint, worst case is that it’s on a deletion timer from the day your account is deleted.

This is not hypothetical — it’s how organisations lose work. Delete a departed employee’s account and the OneDrive deletion timer starts: 30 days by default. IT can extend that window, and a manager can retrieve business files while it’s open — and for a while afterwards an administrator can still rescue things. But every one of those safety nets depends on someone remembering to act before a deadline they can’t see. No warning email goes to the team. And in my experience, nobody remembers to look until it’s too late.

The mess

Files scattered across individual OneDrives. Sharing done ad-hoc. Nobody sure which version is authoritative. Content that disappears when people leave. Copilot can barely find anything.

 

Structured

Team files in SharePoint from day one. Personal drafts in OneDrive. Clear metadata. Content that survives when people move on. Copilot immediately useful. Institutional knowledge protected.

The difference isn’t complicated. It’s the discipline of asking one question before you save: “Might anyone else at work ever need this?” Then acting on the answer. (The full written version of this rule — including where Teams fits — is in my SharePoint vs OneDrive guide.)

One action step this week

Look at your top 20 OneDrive files by size. For each one, ask the question. If yes — move it to SharePoint (right-click → Move to → pick the library). If no — leave it alone. Fifteen minutes. Prevents 90% of future disasters.

📌 This week’s pick

The Microsoft 365 Knowledge Base

240+ free step-by-step cards covering the everyday tasks in SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive and Copilot — written in plain English and kept updated as Microsoft changes the interface. So you’re never following instructions from three versions ago. No sign-up, no jargon, just the answer to “how do I actually do this?”

Browse the Knowledge Base →

🎯 If this hit home

The File Sanity Kit

If you’re staring at a messy SharePoint library right now and don’t know where to start, the File Sanity Kit walks you through the Container Method™. Audit, restructure, and future-proof your environment so files stop disappearing. Complete methodology, workbooks, and templates — one-time purchase, use it forever.

Get the File Sanity Kit — $27 →

That’s this week.

Liza

P.S. Build the habit: once a quarter, spend one hour on the same audit. Top 20 OneDrive files by size. Would anyone at work benefit from finding this? Yes → move to SharePoint. No → leave. Four hours a year prevents 90% of the “we can’t find anything” problems in your team. And if you look after Microsoft 365 for your organisation: that 30-day OneDrive retention default is configurable in the SharePoint admin centre — many organisations lift it to 90 or 365 days. Worth reviewing before you need it.

Not signed up for the free guide yet?

The SharePoint 12 Tips Guide — twelve practical fixes for the most common Microsoft 365 problems. Free, one download, use it forever.

Get the free guide →

Simply SharePoint — run by Liza Tinker, Microsoft MVP

Practical Microsoft 365 & SharePoint education for everyday users.

simplysharepoint.com  ·  The Hub

Simplifying SharePoint, Maximising Microsoft 365

Subscribe if you want to simplify SharePoint and make the most of Microsoft 365! Every Friday, you'll get practical tips, best practices, and real-world solutions delivered straight to your inbox. Stay ahead with expert insights, time-saving strategies, and exclusive content to help you collaborate smarter and work more efficiently.

Read next ...