The verdict in three sentences
A business-critical Access or Excel file that nobody can modify anymore is an operational risk, not just an ageing tool. For a Dublin SME, replacing it with a custom web application costs 25,000 to 60,000 EUR excluding VAT in 2026 and takes 8 to 14 weeks, data migration included. The real budget driver is data migration and mapping the rules hidden in VBA macros, not the data entry screens.
What the replacement costs, by complexity
Price depends less on the number of screens than on the number of tables, data quality and the business rules buried in VBA. Here are 2026 ballpark figures for Irish SMEs, where developer day rates run slightly higher than in regional France.
| Scope | Access tables / Excel tabs | Rows to migrate | Budget excl. VAT | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shared Excel file (simple tracking) | 3 to 6 tabs | 5,000 to 50,000 | 12,000 to 20,000 EUR | 5 to 7 weeks |
| Single-department Access database | 8 to 15 tables | 50,000 to 150,000 | 25,000 to 34,000 EUR | 8 to 10 weeks |
| Contracts + stock + suppliers | 15 to 30 tables | 150,000 to 300,000 | 34,000 to 47,000 EUR | 10 to 12 weeks |
| Multi-department with heavy VBA macros | 30+ tables | 300,000 to 500,000 | 47,000 to 60,000 EUR | 12 to 14 weeks |
| Option: accounting connector (Sage, Xero) | n/a | n/a | 4,000 to 8,000 EUR | 2 weeks |
| Annual maintenance and hosting | n/a | n/a | 3,000 to 7,500 EUR / year | ongoing |
On a 40,000 EUR project, expect 25 to 35% of the budget to go to migration: extraction, de-duplication, normalising dates and product codes, then two rehearsal migrations before cutover.
What a web app delivers compared with Access
The gain is not only technical. The finance director gets traceability, access control and the ability to work concurrently without locking the file.
| Criterion | Access 2009 database | 2026 web application |
|---|---|---|
| Concurrent users | 3 to 5 before file corruption | 50+ without degradation |
| Access rights | One shared password or none | Role-based (read, edit, approve, admin) |
| Change history | None | Full log: who, what, when, previous value |
| Remote access | VPN + Windows PC | Browser, mobile, 2FA |
| Backup | Manual copy of the .accdb | Daily backup, 1-hour restore |
| Key-person dependency | Total (macro author) | Documentation + versioned code |
| GDPR compliance | Hard to demonstrate | Configurable logging and data purge |
The cost of today's risk
An Access database maintained by a single employee is a quantifiable risk. If the file gets corrupted or that person leaves, a 40-staff SME typically loses 3 to 10 days of invoicing or order picking. At 15,000 EUR of revenue per day, the incident costs 45,000 to 150,000 EUR, more than the replacement project itself.
The migration method that avoids surprises
- Database audit (1 to 2 weeks): inventory of tables, queries, forms and macros, mapping of implicit business rules.
- Target data model: PostgreSQL, real foreign keys, validation constraints the old file never enforced.
- Re-runnable migration scripts: each run is reproducible and produces a report of rejected rows.
- Two dry-run migrations: key users check stock balances and contract renewal dates.
- Friday-evening cutover, with Access switched to read-only for 30 days for comparison.
Mini case study
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Aoife, finance director of a 38-staff food distributor in Dublin, manages 1,200 supplier contracts and 4,000 stock items in a 2009 Access database written by a former accountant. Three people each spend 4 hours a week re-keying data between Access and Excel, 624 hours a year. At a loaded cost of 45 EUR per hour, that is 28,000 EUR a year.
The chosen project costs 42,000 EUR excluding VAT (210,000 rows migrated, 11 weeks) plus 5,200 EUR a year for maintenance and hosting. Re-keying drops to 1 hour per person per week, saving 21,000 EUR a year. Payback comes in under 30 months, not counting the now-eliminated risk of losing the database.
FAQ
Can we keep Excel for some tasks?
Yes. The web app offers on-demand Excel and CSV exports, and sometimes a controlled import for supplier files. Around 70% of SMEs keep Excel for ad hoc analysis, but no longer for master data.
What happens to 15 years of historical data?
It is fully migrated if usable, or archived read-only if too degraded. In practice, 5 to 15% of older rows need manual correction or a business decision.
Wouldn't an off-the-shelf product be cheaper?
For a standard need, a SaaS at 30 to 80 EUR per user per month may be enough. If your contract and stock rules are specific, customising a package often exceeds 25,000 EUR and keeps you dependent on the vendor.
How long do users take to adopt the tool?
Plan half a day of training per role and two weeks of support. Screens follow the business logic people already know, which limits resistance to change.
Who owns the code and the data?
You do. Source code, database and documentation are delivered and contractually assigned, with hosting in Ireland or the EU.
Let's scope your project. Send us your list of Access tables or Excel tabs and the row count: we will price the migration and the application, indicative budget 25,000 to 60,000 EUR, 8 to 14 weeks. 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.