Replacing an Access database
Most Access databases eventually matter more than Access can handle: several people work in them at once, the file lives on a network drive, and only one person understands the forms and macros. The replacement is a small web application with the same data, clear permissions and a history of who changed what.
How it gets solved
First the existing database gets read: tables, relationships, forms, reports and the macros behind them. The real business logic often sits not in the tables but in VBA code nobody ever documented.
The data moves into a proper database and the interface is rebuilt as a web application — in the browser, nothing to install, with roles instead of file shares.
The switch happens in steps. A first version runs alongside the old database until every workflow works in it. Only then is Access switched off.
What drives the effort
- How many forms and reports are actually still in use
- How much logic lives in VBA and how readable it is
- Connections to other systems, such as DATEV or Excel exports
- Whether the data needs cleaning before the move
Every quote is preceded by a free conversation in which the scope gets cut back as far as it will go.
How billing worksWhen it isn’t worth it
If one person works with the database alone, rarely changes it and the data isn’t critical, Access is perfectly fine. Then it’s enough to back the file up regularly and document the macros once.
Common questions
- Is any data lost in the move?
- No. The data is carried over in full and checked against the old database before the switch. While both run in parallel, Access stays in place as a fallback.
- Does everyone have to learn something new?
- Less than people fear. The workflows stay the same, only the interface changes — and it is built from the existing forms, not from a textbook.
More typical cases
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