The verdict in three sentences
For a small or mid-sized company, migrating an MS Access or VBA application to the web costs between EUR 15,000 and 45,000 (about USD 16,000 to 49,000) with a nearshore team in 2026, against USD 25,000 to 75,000 with a New York agency, over 2 to 4 months. The biggest risk is not technical: it is the data migration of 15 years of records and the reliance on the only person who still understands the macros. A well-scoped migration pays back in 18 to 30 months through time savings and the end of workstations frozen on Windows 7 or Office 2010.
What the migration costs by complexity
Price is driven by the number of tables, forms, reports and the amount of VBA logic. A 2 to 4 day audit places your tool in one of these categories.
| Access tool profile | Tables / forms | Timeline | 2026 price, nearshore (order of magnitude) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple: customer or stock tracking | 10 to 20 / 15 to 30 | 6 to 8 weeks | EUR 15,000 to 20,000 |
| Medium: quotes, invoices, scheduling | 20 to 40 / 30 to 60 | 2 to 3 months | EUR 22,000 to 32,000 |
| Complex: in-house ERP, business calculations | 40 to 80 / 60 to 120 | 3 to 4 months | EUR 35,000 to 45,000 |
| Very complex + accounting interfaces | 80+ / 120+ | 5 to 6 months | EUR 50,000 to 80,000 |
| Prior audit and mapping | Any size | 2 to 4 days | EUR 1,800 to 3,500 |
| Annual maintenance after migration | Any size | Ongoing | 12 to 18% of build per year |
In New York, a senior freelance developer bills around USD 110 to 160 per hour, and a local agency USD 150 to 220. A hybrid model with a team in Dakar cuts the bill by 40 to 60% at equal quality, with a 5-hour time difference that still allows morning overlap.
Risks to price in before signing
| Risk | Observed likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Departure of the single in-house developer | High after 10 years | Tool can no longer evolve | Document from the audit stage |
| .accdb file corruption (2 GB limit) | Medium | Lost entries, business stoppage | Daily backup, priority migration |
| Inconsistent data (duplicates, free-text fields) | Very high | 15 to 25% of budget on cleanup | Migration script tested 3 times |
| Business rules hidden in VBA | High | Calculation gaps after migration | Regression tests on 12 months of history |
| User resistance | Medium | Back to Excel files | Screens close to the current tool, 1-day training |
| Outdated Windows workstations | High | Security hole | Web app usable from any browser |
The method in four steps
1. Audit (week 1). Schema extraction, inventory of queries and macros, interviews with 3 to 5 key users.
2. Design (weeks 2 to 3). Normalized PostgreSQL data model, mockups of priority screens, roles and permissions per site.
3. Build and data migration (weeks 4 to 12). Delivery in 2-week increments, migration script replayed at each increment on a copy of real data.
4. Cutover (1 weekend). Data entry frozen on Friday evening, final migration, total checks, go-live on Monday with the old tool read-only for 3 months.
The target app runs in the browser, hosted on AWS or Azure in the US region for USD 60 to 180 per month, which solves multi-site access and remote work.
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Mini case study
Maria, office manager of a building materials distributor in Queens (35 employees, 2 depots), uses a 2009 Access tool for quotes and delivery tracking. It only runs on 2 machines, and its creator retires in 8 months. The audit rates the tool as medium complexity: 28 tables, 45 forms, 15 years of data. Quote from a nearshore team: EUR 29,000 (about USD 31,500) over 3 months. Estimated savings: 6 hours per week of re-keying avoided for 4 people, i.e. 24 h × 46 weeks × USD 38 loaded = USD 42,000 per year. Payback in under 9 months, before even counting access from the second depot.
FAQ
Can we keep Access as the front end and move data to a server?
Yes, as a stopgap at EUR 5,000 to 10,000. It pushes the problem back 2 to 3 years without solving VBA dependency or mobile access.
What happens to our 15 years of history?
It is migrated into the new database after cleanup. Allow 15 to 25% of the budget for migrating a long, heterogeneous history.
Is Power Apps a cheaper alternative?
For a simple tool under 15 tables, yes, around EUR 8,000 to 15,000. Beyond that, licences at USD 20 per user per month and limits on business logic tip the balance toward custom development.
How long do users take to adapt?
On average 2 to 3 weeks if screens follow the existing logic. One training day per group of 6 to 8 people is enough in most cases.
Who owns the code?
You do. Source code and documentation are handed over at delivery, which removes reliance on a single person.
Let's scope your project. Send us an anonymized copy of your Access file: we deliver the audit, the scope and an indicative budget between EUR 15,000 and 45,000, with a 2 to 4 month plan. 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.
