Legacy Systems
We Help Modernise
Many UK SMEs still rely on older ERP, accounting, database, reporting and bespoke systems. The real risk is usually not the system itself but the hidden dependencies around it — reports, spreadsheets, integrations, SQL jobs, custom workflows and ageing infrastructure. Our position is simple: assess first, then decide whether to stabilise, integrate, migrate, replace or retire the system.
Systems we currently cover
Detailed pages for the systems clients ask us about most.
SQL Server 2016
Typical risk
Mainstream support ends 14 July 2026. ERP, SSIS, linked servers and SQL Agent jobs often depend on it without anyone noticing.
Recommended first step
Inventory every database, job, integration and linked server before planning an upgrade or replatform.
Exchequer
Typical risk
Aged finance platform. Reporting often relies on direct file access, OLE/Excel links and custom extracts that break on migration.
Recommended first step
Map every report, Excel link and extract feeding the business before evaluating successor systems.
Pegasus Opera
Typical risk
Payroll, nominal and stock workflows entangled with bespoke reports and old SQL editions. SQL SE readiness is rarely tested in advance.
Recommended first step
Confirm SQL SE readiness, payroll calendar windows and reporting dependencies before any migration date is set.
Other systems we assess.
Detailed pages for these systems are in production. Until they publish, we still cover them in Health Checks and discovery calls.
- Sage 200
- Sage Line 500 / Sage 1000
- Microsoft Access
- Visual FoxPro
- VB6
- Windows Server 2012
- Classic ASP / VBScript
By business problem
The patterns that bring clients to us.
Most legacy decisions start with a problem, not a product. These are the patterns we see most often across UK SMEs.
Unsupported or near end-of-support systems
Vendors have stopped patching, or will soon. The system still works, but every month without security updates raises the operational and insurance risk.
Legacy systems that cannot integrate with modern tools
Each new CRM, e-commerce or marketplace integration needs custom development rather than a standard API connection.
Manual Excel workarounds
Spreadsheets quietly fill the gaps where the system cannot. They carry critical logic that nobody has documented and nobody else can run.
Data locked in old formats
Proprietary databases, custom binary files, or reports that only one client tool can open. Extracting clean data is a project in itself.
Original developer no longer available
Source code may be missing, partial or undocumented. Change requests stall because nobody is confident enough to touch the code.
Old databases under business-critical applications
SQL Server 2008/2012/2016, Access, Btrieve, FoxPro — quietly powering ERPs, finance suites and bespoke apps that the business depends on daily.
Finance, payroll or reporting workflows that cannot be interrupted
Month-end, payroll runs and statutory submissions cannot pause for a migration. The cutover plan matters more than the technology choice.
Recommended first step
Don't replace. Assess.
The lowest-risk first step on any legacy system is an independent assessment of what it actually does, what depends on it, and what the safest path forward is. The Self-Check is free; the Health Check is paid and detailed.
See our wider approach in Legacy Modernisation, how we work and pricing.