01
Understand the working system
Review tables, relationships, queries, forms, reports and code with the people who use them. Record the exports, linked files and manual work around it.
Established businesses · Critical databases · Legacy software
Replace your Access database without losing how the business works
An Access database often contains years of useful business rules, not just tables. Before replacing it, we find out what it does, which parts people depend on and whether a repair or smaller change would be enough.
Fixed scopeQuoted before work starts
Human controlDecisions stay with your team
Honest boundaryKeep existing systems where they work
Where the time goes
The person who built it has left. Staff know which forms to use but not why a query excludes certain jobs. A spreadsheet now fills the gaps, and a new employee cannot use it confidently. Rebuilding the screens without understanding those rules can break work that currently succeeds.
How the system works
The scope follows your existing work. These are the stages we would review together.
02
Decide what to keep
Separate business rules that still matter from workarounds nobody needs. Compare repair, a supported packaged product and a bespoke replacement.
03
Agree the new workflow
Demonstrate the important tasks with users before committing to the whole build. Define roles, required reports and data access.
04
Rehearse the data move
Map fields and relationships, report unmatched records and compare totals and representative cases. Keep a recoverable copy of the original.
05
Prove the everyday jobs
Test the reports, searches and awkward transactions staff rely on. Agree what must pass before the new system takes over.
06
Plan the changeover
Define a final data transfer, responsibility for any parallel entry and a rollback decision point. Supply documentation and a usable data export at handover.
An example to make it concrete
Illustrative workflow: an Access job database produces a month-end invoice export. During discovery, staff explain that one query deliberately holds disputed jobs. That rule is documented, reproduced and tested against sample records. The replacement is not accepted merely because the customer and job counts match.
Working with your existing software
We check the actual database files, linked SQL tables, VBA, Excel exports and accounts connections. The replacement might be a browser-based system with a central database, but the choice follows the requirements. Passwords, dependencies and third-party interfaces need to be available for assessment.
AI can help with extracting or finding information where it earns its place. Records, calculations and approval rules use ordinary software where that is the dependable choice.
Starting point and price
Begin with a review of the database and one critical business task. Agree a migration plan and acceptance checks before quoting the replacement. A small system build starts from £1,495; that is not a blanket price for migrating an entire legacy application.
Fixed-scope builds start from £1,495, with the actual deliverables and price agreed in writing. If the workflow needs measuring first, the Operations Audit is £895. Hosting, support, licences and any additional work are set out in the quote. See pricing and what is included.
Is a bespoke system worth it?
A good fit
Useful when an important database has become difficult to support, share or extend and its workflow is not well served by an existing product.
When we would suggest something else
Age alone is not a reason to replace a working system. If a documented repair, backup procedure or supported database connection resolves the problem, that may be the better purchase.
How do you plan for downtime and protect the data?
Those are outcomes to design and test for, not promises to make before seeing the system. We agree backups, reconciliation, the changeover window and rollback criteria before moving live work.
Related workflows
Built and supported locally
Based in Horsham, we work on site across Sussex and Surrey. Explore the practical starting points for businesses in Horsham, Godalming and Haslemere.
Bring a description of the database and the report you cannot work without.
The first fifteen minutes are free. We will look at the work, explain the options and agree whether a small first project makes sense.
If the honest answer is that the process needs the system rebuilt rather than one step automated, that is a bespoke business system built around your work.