Microsoft Access databases the business has outgrown
We take Access databases that have become business systems and put them on a sounder footing: the data in SQL Server, and the screens either kept in Access or rebuilt as a web application.
Vendor support
- Office and Access 2021
- Ending within a year
- Security fixes
- Ends 13 October 2026, in 10 days
What you probably want to know first
- Can you support our existing application?
- Yes, provided you hold the database file, which contains the forms, queries and VBA code, or can obtain it from whoever built it. Support is harder where the file is shared unsplit by several users, where it depends on 32-bit components or ActiveX controls that fail on 64-bit Office, or where the VBA was never documented.
- What happens in the first assessment?
- Our fixed-price code audit, one to two weeks. It starts with a short call, then read access to a copy of the database and, where possible, the server it sits on. We open every table, query, form, report and module, run automated analysis and read by hand the parts that matter. You get a written report and a walk-through call.
- What access do you need?
- Read access to the database file, which holds the code, and, where possible, read-only access to the server or network share it sits on and any SQL Server behind it. Nothing changes on the live system: we work from a copy. A confidentiality agreement can be signed before anything is shared.
- What sets the cost and the timescale?
- For the audit: the size of the database and the number of applications, whether we can see the server as well as the file, and unusual or mixed technology such as 32-bit components. Moving the front end to a web application is sized by the number of forms and reports, and the audit fee is credited against follow-on work.
- What have you done with systems like ours?
- We have worked mostly on the Microsoft stack since 2012, and most of the systems we maintain were built by someone else. Moving an Access database to SQL Server and rebuilding it as a web application is one of our fixed-price packages, and SQL Server is the database we know best. Our case studies are on the site.
How a database becomes a business system
Access is the desktop database in the Microsoft Office family. It lets someone who is not a programmer build tables, forms and reports quickly, and that is how most Access systems start: one person solves a real problem, colleagues begin using it, and over the years it becomes the place where jobs, customers, stock or cases are recorded.
Everything lives in one file: tables, queries, forms, reports and VBA code. That makes Access quick to start with, and it is also the source of most of its limits. Access is still a current product. The question is whether your use of it has grown beyond what a file on a shared drive can do.
Where Access runs out
- Corruption with several users. Every user’s PC reads and writes the shared file directly. If one connection drops in the middle of a write, which happens on Wi-Fi and VPNs, the file can be damaged for everyone.
- The 2 GB limit. An Access file cannot exceed 2 GB. Files also grow as records are edited and deleted, and need compacting to recover the space.
- No audit trail. Access does not record who changed a record or what it said before.
- Weak access control. Anyone who can open the file can usually read and change every table. The user-level security of the old .mdb format was not carried into .accdb.
- No remote access. Access needs a fast local network. Over a VPN it is slow and more prone to corruption, and it does not run in a browser or on a phone.
- Office upgrades break things. A database written for 32-bit Office can fail on 64-bit Office, because API declarations and some ActiveX controls need changing.
- One person understands it. The queries and VBA were written by whoever built it, and are rarely documented.
Your options
Split it and move the data to SQL Server. The tables move to SQL Server and the Access forms and reports stay, linked to the new tables. Users keep the screens they know. Corruption, the size limit and backups are dealt with, and the data becomes available to other systems.
Replace it with a web application. Forms and reports are rebuilt to run in a browser, with individual logins, permissions and a record of every change. Our Access to web application package does this at a fixed price, and the reasoning is set out under replacing an Access database.
Leave it in Access, properly looked after. For a small database with one or two users, a split file and a tested backup may be all that is needed.
How we handle the data
The move to SQL Server is more than a copy. Access is forgiving about data in ways a server database is not, so we check every table first: missing primary keys, dates stored as text, attachment and multi-value fields that have no direct equivalent, and lookups that hold a name where they should hold a key. A linked table without a primary key cannot be edited from Access, so each one is given a key.
Cleaning is agreed with you before it happens. Duplicate customers, codes spelled several ways and records pointing at parents that no longer exist are listed, and you decide the rule for each. The migration is then rehearsed on a copy and checked by comparing record counts and totals between the old file and the new database.
Once the data is on the server, queries and forms that drag whole tables across the network are reworked so that the server does the filtering. From that point the front end can be replaced one screen at a time, or not at all. See SQL Server for the database side, and the Access end-of-support dates for where each version stands.
Talk to us
Describe the system and what you need. You will hear back from someone who can answer technical questions.
Discuss your Access database 0800 433 7990What we do with Access databases
- Split the database
- Tables go into a back-end file and each user gets their own copy of the front end, which removes a common cause of corruption.
- Move the data to SQL Server
- Tables move to SQL Server and the existing Access forms and reports are linked to them.
- Tune the front end for SQL Server
- Queries and forms that pull whole tables across the network are reworked so the server does the filtering.
- Clean and migrate data
- Duplicates, orphaned records and fields used for several purposes are sorted out as the data moves.
- Replace with a web application
- Forms and reports are rebuilt to run in a browser, with logins, permissions and an audit trail.
- Repair and back up
- Damaged files are repaired where possible and a tested backup routine is put in place.
How a move off Access runs
Review the database
We open every table, query, form, report and module and establish which of them are actually used.
Secure what you have
Backups are set up and the file is split into front end and back end if it is not already.
Move the tables to SQL Server
The data is migrated and checked, and the Access front end is linked to the new tables.
Fix what the move exposes
Slow queries and forms are reworked, and data problems found on the way are cleaned up.
Replace the front end if needed
Screens are rebuilt as a web application in order of importance, against the same SQL Server database.
Support dates
Status is worked out against today's date each time this site is rebuilt. Dates come from the Microsoft product lifecycle; check there before relying on them.
| Version | Released | Mainstream support ended | Security fixes end | Status today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office and Access 2021 | 5 October 2021 | – | 13 October 2026 | Ending within a year |
| Office and Access 2016 | 22 September 2015 | 13 October 2020 | 14 October 2025 | Support ended |
| Office and Access 2019 | 24 September 2018 | 10 October 2023 | 14 October 2025 | Support ended |
| Office and Access 2013 | 9 January 2013 | 10 April 2018 | 11 April 2023 | Support ended |
| Office and Access 2024 | 1 October 2024 | – | 9 October 2029 | Supported |
A good fit when
- Several people use the database at once and it locks, slows down or corrupts.
- The file is approaching the 2 GB limit.
- People need to use it from home, from other sites or on a tablet.
- You need to know who changed what, and Access cannot tell you.
- The person who built it has left or is about to.
Probably not for you if
- One or two people use it, it is small and it causes no trouble; Access is a reasonable tool for that.
- A packaged product now does the same job and your process has nothing unusual about it.
Questions we are asked
Is Microsoft Access being discontinued?
No. Access 2024 is supported until October 2029. Older versions do run out: support for Access 2016 and Access 2019 ended in October 2025, and support for Access 2021 ends in October 2026. The reason to move is usually that the business has outgrown what a file-based database can do, not that Access is going away.
Can we keep the Access screens and just move the data?
Yes, and it is often the right first step. The tables move to SQL Server and the existing forms and reports are linked to them, so users see the same screens. Some queries and forms need rework to perform well, because Access can otherwise fetch far more data than it needs.
Why does our Access database keep corrupting?
Usually because several people have the same file open over a network and one connection drops in the middle of a write, which is common on Wi-Fi and VPNs. Sharing a single unsplit file makes it worse. Splitting the database helps, and moving the data to SQL Server removes the cause.
What happens to our existing data?
It is migrated in full and checked by comparing record counts and totals between old and new. Migration is also the moment to fix duplicates, inconsistent codes and broken links between tables. We agree the cleaning rules with you first and rehearse the migration before the real one.
How long does it take?
Moving the data to SQL Server behind an existing front end is typically a matter of weeks. Replacing the front end with a web application depends on the number of forms and reports. A review of the database gives a specific answer, and the work often suits a fixed price.
Tell us about your system
Say what it does, what it is built on and what is worrying you. We will reply with what we would look at first and whether we are the right people to help.