The verdict in three sentences
An Access database or business-critical Excel workbook used by more than 10 people becomes an operational risk: file corruption, no fine-grained permissions, no access outside the local network. For a mid-sized firm in Toronto or Europe, migrating to a custom web application costs EUR 12,000 to 35,000 excl. tax (about CAD 18,000 to 52,000), plus EUR 2,000 to 6,000 for data migration, with go-live in 2 to 4 months. Low-code (Airtable, Power Apps) still makes sense below 10 users and 5 tables; beyond that, licences and technical limits tip the balance toward custom.
Why Access and Excel hit their limits in 2026
Access has barely evolved for several versions, its engine struggles with concurrent access beyond 10 to 15 simultaneous users, and an .accdb file caps at 2 GB. The usual symptoms all point to the same place: a locked file on Monday morning, a VBA macro nobody dares touch, an Excel export emailed to sales reps on the road.
| Criterion | Shared Access / Excel | Low-code (Airtable, Power Apps) | Custom web application |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comfortable concurrent users | 5 to 15 | 50 to 500 depending on licence | Unlimited, depends on hosting |
| Multi-site and mobile access | VPN required, slow | Native | Native, responsive |
| Role-based permissions | Basic or none | Per table, sometimes per field | Per role, per field, per row |
| Automatic backups | Usually manual | Included, limited retention | Daily, 30 to 90 day retention |
| Data volume | 2 GB per file | 50,000 to 500,000 rows per base depending on plan | Several million rows |
| Upfront cost | Already paid | EUR 3,000 to 12,000 configuration | EUR 12,000 to 35,000 excl. tax |
| Recurring cost for 15 users | Office licences | EUR 2,700 to 7,200 per year | EUR 1,200 to 3,600 per year (hosting and maintenance) |
2026 estimate, order of magnitude for a firm with 15 to 50 staff.
What the migration costs, line by line
Price depends less on the number of screens than on the complexity of business rules buried in queries and VBA code. A 3 to 5 day audit maps tables, relationships, forms and reports before any quote.
| Line item | 2026 range (EUR excl. tax) | What drives the price |
|---|---|---|
| Audit of the existing tool and specification | 1,500 to 4,000 | Number of tables, VBA macros, printed reports |
| UX design and mockups | 2,000 to 5,000 | Number of user profiles and journeys |
| Business module development | 7,000 to 22,000 | Calculation rules, approval workflows |
| Data migration and cleansing | 2,000 to 6,000 | Duplicates, free-text fields, 15 years of history |
| Permissions, audit logs, backups | 1,000 to 3,000 | Privacy requirements, change traceability |
| Training and support | 500 to 1,500 | Number of sessions and sites |
| Typical project total | 14,000 to 41,000 | Observed median around EUR 24,000 excl. tax |
The typical schedule runs 2 to 4 months: 2 to 3 weeks of audit and mockups, 6 to 10 weeks of development in phases, 2 weeks of acceptance testing alongside the old tool, then a Friday-evening cutover with a 24-hour data-entry freeze.
Low-code or custom: the decision rule
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Power Apps appeals to companies already on Microsoft 365, but the Premium licence costs around EUR 20 per user per month, or EUR 3,600 per year for 15 people, and connectors to a SQL database add cost. Airtable quickly hits limits on volume and row-level permissions. Custom becomes cost-effective once any of these thresholds is crossed: more than 15 users, more than 8 linked tables, specific business calculations, or a client and partner access to open later.
Mini case study
Emily, office manager at a wholesale distributor in Toronto, runs quotes, stock and invoicing on an Access database built in 2009 and used by 15 people across 2 sites. She estimates 45 minutes per person per day lost to re-keying, locks and exports, so 15 × 0.75 h × 210 days = 2,362 hours a year. At a loaded hourly cost of EUR 32, that is EUR 75,600 a year. The chosen project costs EUR 26,000 excl. tax for development, EUR 4,500 for data migration and EUR 2,400 a year for hosting and maintenance. If the new application recovers only half of the lost time, the annual gain reaches EUR 37,800 and the investment pays back in under 10 months.
FAQ
Can we keep Access running during the migration? Yes, it is recommended: the old tool stays read-only during 2 to 4 weeks of parallel testing. The final cutover involves a data-entry freeze of about 24 hours.
Is all historical data migrated? Usually yes, with duplicate cleansing that often affects 5 to 15 % of customer records. History older than 10 years can be archived read-only to lower migration cost.
Can the VBA code be reused? Not directly, but it serves as the specification: each macro is documented then rewritten server-side. Allow 0.5 to 2 development days per significant business macro.
What hosting should we plan for? Hosting in Canada or the EU with daily backups kept 30 days costs EUR 50 to 200 per month for 15 to 50 users.
What if we want a mobile app later? A responsive web application already covers 80 % of field use; an installable PWA adds EUR 3,000 to 8,000 excl. tax without starting over.
Let's scope your project. Send us your Access or Excel file and your user list: we will price the audit, migration and data transfer within an indicative EUR 12,000 to 35,000 excl. tax budget and a 2 to 4 month schedule. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
