01 / just understand it
Understand & document it
We map what it does and write it down, so your system stops living inside one person’s head. You end up with real documentation – and someone who knows it.
Microsoft Access support when your developer has gone
Your Access developer retired. Your database didn’t get the memo.
Your database is still critical to your business. We can keep it running.
Now that Bob’s retired, who do you call?
We can help.
Sound familiar?
It's not the database that's the problem. It’s the “ask the person who built it”.
This wasn't the plan. Someone built something that you really rely on, kept it running for years, and then – annoyingly – got to retire. Or won the lottery. Yep. We feel your pain.
Nobody here quite knows how it works.
It runs okay, but now the expert has left. And each month, everyone holds their breath that that key process still works.
Or worse, it broke. And there’s no one to call.
The person you would have phoned has retired, changed jobs, or is gloriously unreachable on a beach somewhere.
You’re under strict instructions: “Don’t touch it”.
So nobody does. The database has become a small silent shrine that everyone tiptoes around, hoping it'll keep working.
It’s held together by one person’s memory.
And that person is dead, has gone mad or finally moved on. Something the whole business relies on is suddenly unsupported.
First, don’t panic
This is far more common than you’d think.
A huge number of the Microsoft Access databases happily running organisations larger and small were built years ago by one clever, capable person. A lot of those people are now reaching retirement at roughly the same time – so orphaned databases are a real, steady share of the calls we get. You are genuinely not the only one.
The first thing we do is help you just take a breath: we work out what you’ve actually got, and explain it back to you in plain English. No jargon, no judgement about how the organisation ended up here. Just a clear picture, so the decision about what to do next is an easy one.
The question you may be facing
“Who do I call when the developer who built our Access database has retired?”
Us, usually. We take on inherited Microsoft Access databases we didn’t build, make sense of them, and get you back to having someone who understands your system. Whether that ends in a tidy-up, a bit of training, or a full rebuild is a decision we make together based on your needs and our expertise.
What we can do about it
Four ways this might go.
We start by understanding what you’ve got. Where it goes from there depends entirely on what you actually need – not on what’s most profitable to sell you.
02 / train someone
Train someone to run it
Give whoever inherited it the confidence to keep it running and make small changes without fear. Often one-to-one. Access training →
03 / fix or rebuild
Fix, extend or rebuild it
Tidy it up, add what’s missing, or move it to the web if you feel that it’s outgrown the desktop and you'd like to use it on your phone wherever you are.
Moving to the web →
04 / hand it over
Take it on & look after it
Or hand it to us entirely. We become the people who maintain and support it – so there’s always someone to call. No more single point of failure.
We’ll tell you honestly which one you need – even if the answer is “leave it exactly as it is for now” and we can just hold your hand as and when needed.
One more thing
Sometimes the honest answer is: it’s fine, leave it alone.
Not every inherited database is a crisis. Plenty are doing their job perfectly well and just need documenting, so you’re not one retirement away from trouble. If that’s yours, we’ll say so. We’d rather you slept well than paid us to fix or rebuild something that really isn’t broken.
One team, whatever you need
The people who understand old Access databases are the people who build the new ones.
We’ve spent years inside other people’s Microsoft Access systems – and building their replacements in SQL Server and .NET. So whether your inherited database wants a tidy-up, someone trained to run it, or a proper rebuild, it’s the same team either way. (If you’re after PHP or open-source, we’re honestly not your people – and we’ll tell you that in the first five minutes rather than waste anyone’s time.)
Ready to talk?
Tell us what you’ve inherited.
In 30 minutes we can usually tell you whether we’re the right fit and give you a rough sense of what’s involved. No commitment, no obligation, no sales pressure.
Prefer to talk now? Call 020 3397 1333
Or book a free 30-minute conversation →Tell us about your database
A few details and we’ll take it from there. It’ll be us that replies, not a call handler.