Challenge
20+ years of Microsoft Access cost management hit hard limits: single-PC access, ongoing corruption risk, no concurrent users. Loss detection arrived two weeks late, after monthly close, hampering management response.
Approach
Thoroughly reverse-engineered Access data and logic, then migrated to PostgreSQL without loss. In parallel, designed a mobile-friendly cost-entry UI for site staff, syncing in real time with HQ cost dashboards.
Implementation
Screen transitions echo the old Access forms, minimizing retraining. CSV integration with accounting and a 20-year archive search round it out.
Results
Loss detection dropped to next-day. Decision-making cycles shrank from two weeks to two days. Monthly cost reports went from 32 hours to 6, with multi-site concurrent visibility for the first time.