What replacing an Access database means
Replacing an Access database means moving its data, forms, queries and reports into a web application with a proper database behind it. Several people can work at once, from any device, without the file locking or corrupting. We build these replacements for UK businesses that have outgrown the file.
Why Access databases get replaced
- Two people open it at once and someone gets locked out, or the file corrupts.
- It lives on one shared drive, so remote working means a VPN or nothing.
- The person who built it has left, and changing a form feels risky.
- It needs a desktop copy of Office that IT wants to move away from.
- The data needs to reach a website, a portal or the accounts, and Access can't send it.
The options, side by side
Not every Access database needs a bespoke rebuild. These are the routes we weigh up with you.
| Option | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Keep Access, move the data to SQL Server or Postgres | A quick fix for corruption and file size | Still a desktop app; remote working barely improves |
| A no-code tool (Airtable, SharePoint lists, Power Apps) | Simple lists and forms with few rules | Per-user fees, and complex logic gets awkward fast |
| An off-the-shelf package for your sector | Businesses whose process matches the package | Changing how you work to fit it |
| A bespoke web app | Databases with real business rules, many users, or integrations | Needs a proper scope; worth it when the rules are the business |
How the move runs
Read the file
We open the database and list every table, query, form, report and macro, and find which ones are still used.
Clean the data
Duplicates, blank fields and free-text dates are found and agreed with you before anything moves.
Build the app
Forms become screens, queries become searches and reports, macros become rules, with a demo every week.
Move and check
The data is migrated in rehearsals, with record counts compared on both sides each time.
Switch over
The team moves to the web app, and the Access file is kept read-only as an archive.
What moves the price
The number of forms and reports still in use, how tangled the queries and macros are, how clean the data is, and what else the new app has to talk to. A short look at the file tells us most of this, and each phase is a fixed price agreed before we start.
If the database runs on an old version of Access with unusual add-ons, we check we can read it first in a discovery spike.
Questions about replacing Access
What is the best Microsoft Access alternative?
It depends on what the database does. Simple lists suit a no-code tool. A database full of business rules, used by many people, usually suits a web app built around it. We'll tell you which after looking at the file.
Can you keep our existing data?
Yes. Every table moves across, cleaned and checked, with record counts compared on both sides before the switch. The original file is kept as a read-only archive.
Will the new system look like our Access forms?
It will do the same jobs, usually with fewer screens. We start from the forms your team uses daily and keep the order of fields they know, so training is short.
Can several people use it at once?
Yes. That is one of the main reasons to move. A web app with a proper database behind it handles many users at once without locking or corrupting.
Send us a description of the database
On a free call, tell us what the database holds and who uses it. We'll tell you which of the four routes fits, including the ones that don't involve us.