Should you stay on Microsoft Access?
Ten questions about how your database is used. You get a plain answer: stay as you are, fix the setup, move the data to SQL Server or the cloud, or build a web app. Most businesses need less change than they fear.
From "change nothing" to "build something new"
The quiz places you on one of these. They run from the smallest change to the largest, and each one keeps as much of what you already have as it can.
-
1
Stay as it is
- Fits when
- One person or a small team in one office, a small file and no real trouble.
- What changes
- Nothing, apart from backups and an occasional tidy-up.
- Effort
- Little or none
-
2
Stay, set up for a team
- Fits when
- Two to fifteen people sharing one file, with locks, slowdowns or the odd corruption.
- What changes
- The database is split: data on the server, screens on each PC.
- Effort
- Days
-
3
Data to SQL Server
- Fits when
- More than 15 users, a file past 1 GB, or data that needs permissions and an audit trail.
- What changes
- Tables move to SQL Server. Your Access forms and reports stay.
- Effort
- Weeks
-
4
Data to the cloud
- Fits when
- Several offices, or home workers who need the same live data.
- What changes
- Tables move to a hosted database. Access stays as the front end.
- Effort
- Weeks, plus hosting
-
5
Build a web app
- Fits when
- Customers, partners, phones, tablets or Macs need to use it.
- What changes
- Web screens are built for them. Office staff can often keep Access.
- Effort
- Months
Outgrown it, or just set up wrong?
Most complaints about Access come from the setup, not from Access. These two lists are the quickest way to tell which side you are on.
Signs Access still fits
- Fewer than about 15 people are in it at once.
- Everyone works on the same office network.
- The file is well under 1 GB after a compact.
- Problems are occasional, and a restart or repair clears them.
- The people who use it are your own staff on Windows PCs.
Signs the setup is the problem
- Everyone opens the same single file from a shared folder.
- The file lives in OneDrive, Dropbox or SharePoint sync.
- Someone opens it over Wi-Fi or a VPN.
- It slows down only when several people are in.
- "Database is locked" or "already in use" messages.
Signs you have outgrown it
- The file is past 1 GB and still growing.
- More than 15 people need it at the same moment.
- You need to prove who changed what, and when.
- Other offices, or people at home, need live data.
- Customers, phones or Macs need to get in.
How the quiz decides
There is no hidden scoring. Three kinds of answer settle the result on their own, because no amount of tuning gets around them:
- Who has to use it. Customers, suppliers, phones, tablets and Macs cannot run Access. That part needs a web app.
- Where they are. Several offices cannot share one Access file safely. The data has to sit on a server everyone can reach.
- How much it has to carry. A file over 1 GB, more than 15 people at once, or data that needs permissions and an audit trail all call for SQL Server behind your Access screens.
If none of those apply, staying on Access is the default answer. The quiz then looks at the softer signs: one shared file, slowdowns when it gets busy, regular corruption. When those add up, it recommends fixing the setup, which is a job of days. When they do not, it tells you to leave a working system alone.
Where two answers are equally strong, the smaller change wins. A bigger project is easy to sell and hard to justify, and I would rather you fixed the real problem first.
What the quiz cannot see
It knows what you tell it, not what is inside the file. A database with ten years of patched queries, or one that nobody has documented, can change the picture. For the facts about the file itself, run the free Access Database Health Check. For a view from someone who does this work every week, the result screen has a button that sends your answers to me.
Questions about staying on Access
Is Microsoft Access being discontinued?
No. Access is still part of most Microsoft 365 business plans and still receives updates. What Microsoft retired were side features such as Access web apps. The desktop database that most businesses use is not on any end-of-life list, so "it is old" is not a reason to replace it on its own.
How many users can an Access database handle?
The technical limit is 255 connections, but the practical number is much lower. A properly split database on a wired office network is comfortable with up to about 10 to 15 people working at once. Past that, the usual step is to keep the Access screens and move the data to SQL Server, which handles hundreds.
What is the size limit of an Access database?
A single .accdb or .mdb file cannot grow past 2 GB, and that includes space left behind by deleted records until the file is compacted. Trouble usually starts earlier, with slow queries and long repairs once the file passes 1 GB. Our free Access Database Health Check shows where your file stands.
Can I keep my Access forms and reports if the data moves to SQL Server?
Yes, and that is the usual way to do it. The tables move to SQL Server and Access links to them, so your team sees the same screens. Some queries and a few field types need rework during the move, which is where most of the effort goes.
When is a web app the right answer instead of Access?
When someone who needs the system cannot run Access: customers, suppliers, staff on phones or tablets, or anyone on a Mac. Access only runs on Windows inside your company. A web app is the biggest project of the five paths, so it is worth doing only for the part of the system those people use.
Are my quiz answers stored?
No. The quiz runs in your browser and your answers are not sent anywhere. The page only reports an anonymous count that the quiz was completed. If you press "Send my answers for a second opinion", your answers are copied into the contact form, and nothing is sent until you submit that form yourself.
Want the answer checked against your real database?
Tell me how many people use it, how big the file is and what goes wrong. I will tell you which of the five paths I would take, and why.