Microsoft Access Database Migration to Power Apps takes a business-critical Access application — the .accdb running an order book, a job tracker, a lab register — and moves it to a supported Microsoft cloud platform before the one PC it lives on fails. We assess the database (tables, forms, queries, macros, VBA), choose the right exit path with you — a Dataverse + Power Apps rebuild, or an Azure SQL Database backend with a phased front-end — migrate the data, rebuild the forms and logic that matter, and run old and new in parallel before cutover. Priced by written quote after assessment, because VBA complexity varies enormously between databases; a typical single-application migration runs about 6 weeks.
Access databases rarely die loudly. They age in place — one maintainer who left years ago, a workgroup .accdb on a shared drive, forms that only open on the machine with the right Office build — until the day the business process they run stops. Microsoft gives you a real exit: Access itself ships a built-in migration tool (Database Tools > Export to Dataverse) that moves tables, relationships, and data into Microsoft Dataverse, and Power Apps rebuilds the front end as a cloud app your team opens in a browser or on a phone. What the tooling does not do is the part that takes judgment: Access forms, queries, reports, macros, and VBA do not migrate — they are redeveloped as Power Apps screens, Dataverse views and business rules, and Power Automate flows. That is why this engagement starts with an assessment, not a quote off a phone call. We inventory the objects, measure the VBA surface, and recommend one of two paths. Path one — Dataverse + Power Apps — suits databases whose value is the data model and the daily forms: the data lands in Dataverse, the working screens are rebuilt as a Power App, and automation moves to Power Automate. Path two — Azure SQL Database backend with a phased front-end — suits heavier databases: data moves to Azure SQL first (the risk of the aging PC is gone immediately), the existing Access front-end keeps working against linked tables, and screens are then rebuilt in Power Apps or a custom web application in prioritized phases. Either way you get a parallel-run period, a data-validation report, and a documented cutover — not a big-bang switch and hope.
We take a copy of the database and inventory every object, measure VBA line count and complexity, profile the data, and check multi-user patterns. Output: the assessment report, the recommended path, and a written fixed quote. This is where 'quote required' becomes a real number.
Dataverse path: tables, relationships, and data move via Access's Export to Dataverse tooling, with schema remediation where Access types or naming don't map cleanly. Azure SQL path: schema and data move with SQL Server Migration Assistant for Access, and the existing Access front-end is re-linked so the business keeps working from day one.
The agreed forms are rebuilt as Power Apps screens and the agreed macros/VBA as Power Automate flows and platform logic, in priority order — the screens people use daily come first. Demo checkpoints keep drift visible.
Your users run acceptance scenarios against the new app while the old database stays available. We reconcile data between the systems on an agreed cadence and fix in-scope defects until the UAT set passes.
On the scheduled date the Access application goes read-only, the Power App becomes the system of record, and the fallback plan stays open for the agreed window. Documentation, licensing summary, and the handover session close the project.
A scoped engagement that moves a business-critical Access application to a supported Microsoft cloud platform: an assessment of the database's tables, forms, queries, macros, and VBA; a written recommendation between a Dataverse + Power Apps rebuild and an Azure SQL Database backend with a phased front-end; the data migration; the rebuild of the forms and logic that matter; and a parallel run before cutover. Pricing is by written quote after the assessment.
Partly. Access includes a built-in Export to Dataverse tool (under Database Tools) that migrates tables, relationships, and data into Microsoft Dataverse, and it works well for the data layer. There is no tool from anyone that converts Access forms, queries, reports, macros, or VBA into a Power App — that layer is redeveloped by hand, and it is where most of the effort and all of the pricing variance lives.
It is inventoried, classified, and re-implemented — not converted. Simple form logic typically becomes Power Fx in the app; validation becomes Dataverse business rules; processes like batch updates, emails, and document generation become Power Automate flows. Some VBA turns out to be dead code nobody has triggered in years, and the assessment says so, because you should not pay to rebuild it.
Dataverse + Power Apps fits databases whose value is the data model and everyday forms: you get security roles, business rules, mobile access, and a fully managed platform. Azure SQL fits larger or more relational databases, cases where existing SQL skills or reporting matter, and situations where you want the data risk gone immediately while the front-end is rebuilt in phases — the current Access front-end keeps working against linked tables in the meantime. The assessment report makes a specific recommendation with reasons; if you want an Azure-side second opinion first, our SQL Server to Azure migration assessment covers that ground.
This is the honest part most write-ups skip: a Dataverse-backed Power App requires Power Apps Premium licensing for each user, and connecting Power Apps to Azure SQL uses a premium connector, so the same applies there. The limited Power Apps rights included with most Microsoft 365 plans cover apps built on standard connectors — not these paths. We state the exact per-user licensing delta in the assessment, before you approve anything, and licenses are bought from Microsoft at their published prices.
By written quote after the assessment — a genuine answer rather than a hedge, because two .accdb files of identical size can differ by an order of magnitude in VBA and report complexity. The assessment produces a fixed quote for the chosen path, you approve it before build begins, and you pay after you approve delivery.
A typical single-application migration runs about 6 weeks: assessment and path decision, data migration, front-end and logic rebuild, testing with a parallel run, then cutover. VBA-heavy applications and large report estates extend that, and the assessment quote states the real timeline for your database.
Yes — that is the point of the parallel-run design. Data entry continues in the old system while we build; we reconcile data on an agreed cadence, and only at the scheduled cutover does the Access file go read-only. On the Azure SQL path the old front-end even keeps operating against the migrated data during the phased rebuild. The one thing we ask you to freeze is structural change — new tables and form redesigns wait until after cutover.
Access reports do not migrate. The quote names an agreed core set that we recreate — as Dataverse or model-driven views for operational lists, or an agreed Power BI starter report where real reporting is needed. A large reporting estate is scoped as its own piece of work, and the assessment inventories every report so the decision is explicit, not discovered at cutover.
It changes the assessment inputs, not the approach. Split databases usually signal a real multi-user workload, which strengthens the case for migrating — shared .accdb back-ends on file shares are where corruption and locking problems live. We inventory both files, and concurrency requirements feed the path recommendation.
This service covers one application end to end. A portfolio is a different shape of work — shared reference data, cross-database links, and prioritization across apps — so we assess the estate and quote it as a program. Tell us the rough count on the first call and we will scope accordingly.
No — Access remains a supported Microsoft 365 desktop product, and we will not manufacture a deadline. The real risks are operational: a single maintainer, a single PC, file-share corruption, no backup discipline, and no mobile or remote access. If the assessment shows your database is genuinely fine where it is, the report says that, and the engagement ends at the assessment.
Everything: the Dataverse or Azure SQL data, the Power App, the flows, and the documentation all live in your tenant and your subscription. There is no proprietary layer and no ongoing dependence on IT Partner — follow-on enhancement work is available at our published rates if you want it, and unnecessary if you don't.