Got a database that needs to be in Microsoft 365?
The SQL Server or Access system that runs the business, moved into Microsoft 365. SharePoint lists cost $4,000 to $10,000, taking two to four weeks for Access and up to five for SQL Server. Dataverse costs $8,000 to $18,000, taking three to six weeks for Access and up to eight for SQL Server. I fix the price after inventory. I'm Balu, Kove is just me, and the person who scopes the migration is the person who does it.
A firm under 20 staff, with a database that predates most of the staff. A SQL Server instance behind an Access front end or a bespoke app. An Access file on the shared drive that corrupts over the VPN. Industry software the vendor stopped updating. The server underneath is out of warranty, or the IT person who understood it has gone, or the Windows Server 2012 R2 it runs on got its last security update on 13 October 2026. You already pay for Microsoft 365 and you want the thing to live there.
You have probably already found that the large Microsoft partners either quote a discovery phase before a number or explain that the job is below their minimum. The mechanics for each source system, with the data-type map, are on the Power Platform migration hub. That is their cost structure, not your problem, and I have written down why it happens and what to expect at each size of provider. This size of job is the one I do. For the wider picture of who I work with across New Zealand, see the Power Platform and AI consultant page.
A SQL Server 2014 or 2016 database, often Express, behind a .NET app or a vendor product nobody updates. Data into SharePoint or Dataverse, front end rebuilt as a Power App. What transfers, what breaks, what it costs, or the cost and weeks on one page.
Fourteen tables, four forms everyone uses, two nobody understands, and it locks when two people open it. Microsoft's own migration tool moves the data; I rebuild the forms. What to use instead of an Access database in Microsoft 365, or Access to Power Apps in NZ: cost, weeks and method.
Not a database on paper, but it runs the business and nobody is allowed to sort it. A SharePoint list and an app, usually with no new licence at all. The decision tree.
The server is current and staying; the complaint is the app. A Power App through the on-premises gateway, with the licence line stated before anything is built.
Windows Server 2012 R2 lost its last updates on 13 October 2026, SQL Server 2016 already on 14 July 2026. Every date in one table, and a plan that fits the date.
A supported vendor product, a fine server with a bad front end, or 500 rows and one user: three cases where I say leave it alone, and mean it.
| Line | Into SharePoint lists | Into Dataverse |
|---|---|---|
| Build, migration included | $4,000 to $10,000 | $8,000 to $18,000 |
| Time | Two to four weeks for Access, up to five for a SQL Server system | Three to six weeks for Access, up to eight for a SQL Server system |
| Licence per user, per month | $0 on top of Microsoft 365 | NZ$32.40 (Power Apps Premium) |
| Afterwards | No on-premises server to patch. The handover records retention, recovery arrangements and who owns them. Source and credentials in your accounts, a 60-day warranty, no retainer required. | |
Which column you are in is decided by the data, not the app: row counts, whether money sits on the records, how many tables relate to each other. I answer that on the first call and put the licence number against your real headcount, because for 12 people NZ$32.40 a month is NZ$4,665.60 a year and it deserves a deliberate yes. The full reasoning is in SharePoint or Dataverse, how to choose, and the bands match the services page.
Already have a quote? Get a free second opinion before you sign.
A free 30-minute call, or the five prep questions first. Tell me the row count of the biggest table and what sits in front of the database, and you leave with a likely destination (SharePoint, Dataverse or leave-it-alone), an indicative price band and the inventory checks needed for a fixed quote. If the process needs mapping first, the $3,500 Workflow Review provides a written plan you keep whoever builds it, with a one-page summary and a 5 to 10 page report. Most builds are scoped on the free call without it, and the Review fee is credited against a build started within 90 days. The Power Platform page has the longer version of how I work on the Microsoft stack.
For a firm under 20 staff, migration is included in both routes. SharePoint lists cost $4,000 to $10,000, taking two to four weeks for Access and up to five for SQL Server. Dataverse costs $8,000 to $18,000, taking three to six weeks for Access and up to eight for SQL Server. The call gives an indicative band; I fix the price after inventory. Licences after go-live are $0 on top of Microsoft 365 for SharePoint and NZ$32.40 per user per month for Dataverse.
No. An enterprise agreement is a volume-licensing contract for hundreds of seats. A small firm buys Microsoft 365 and any Power Apps licences through the admin centre or a reseller and hires whoever it likes. The large partners are built for programmes of work, not one database; that size of job is exactly what I do.
It depends on the data, not the app. Simple tables under about 20,000 rows with no money on them go to SharePoint lists, included in Microsoft 365. Related tables, invoices, payroll hours, or anything that needs an audit trail go to Dataverse, which needs Power Apps Premium at NZ$32.40 per user per month. I tell you which on the first call and put the licence number against your real headcount.
They do not move. Forms become a Power App, reports become views or Power BI, and stored procedures, triggers and VBA become Power Automate flows or rules in the app. That rebuild is where the hours go, and it is where fifteen years of workarounds get removed rather than copied.
Yes, if the server is supported and staying. Power Apps and Power Automate reach an on-premises SQL Server through Microsoft's data gateway with no inbound ports. Every user then needs Power Apps Premium, because the SQL Server connector is premium, so it suits firms that already have a current server and only need the app.
No, I work across New Zealand. Everything runs remotely over video call and screen-share, recorded so nothing gets lost between sessions.
Everything. The lists or tables, the app and the flows live in your tenant from day one, source and credentials are in your accounts, and there is a written map of what lives where. A 60-day warranty covers the landing period. No retainer is needed to keep it running.