Migration process
From FileMaker Audit to FileMaker Retirement, Step by Step.
Six phases, each ending in a deliverable you review before the next begins. Whether you replace everything at once or module by module, the destination is the same: an independent web application and FileMaker retired.
- A reviewable deliverable per phase
- Risks named up front
- No fixed price without an audit
The roadmap
Six Phases. Each Ends With Something You Can Review.
Select a phase to see what it delivers, what your team contributes, and what can go wrong.
Phase 1 of 6
FileMaker application audit
We review how your system is built and used: layouts, scripts, relationships, integrations, and who depends on it.
Deliverable
System inventory and migration assessment
Your part
- Give access to a copy of the solution or its Database Design Report
- Name the people and systems that depend on it
Risks in this phase
Undocumented dependencies, such as a script another team runs monthly
How we reduce it: Interview the people who use the system, not only the people who own it.
Scope that grows once hidden features are found
How we reduce it: The assessment lists every area with a complexity note before any estimate is given.
What runs through every phase
The Work Inside the Six Phases
Six phases give you the order. These workstreams are the substance: what actually has to be done well for a migration to hold.
AI-assisted discovery
AI tools read the structure of your solution and produce an inventory, script summaries, and risk flags, so the first conversation starts from your real system. Developers verify the output.
How AI-assisted discovery worksData migration
Tables, relationships, and records move to a relational database. Data is profiled, mapped, transformed, and reconciled against the source, with differences explained rather than hidden.
Workflow reconstruction
Scripts, calculations, and layouts are rebuilt as application logic and screens designed for the browser. What the business depends on is carried over deliberately; what it does not is left behind.
Testing and validation
Critical workflows, user roles, reports, and migrated data are tested, and your team performs acceptance testing against real scenarios before go-live.
Parallel operation, where needed
Larger systems often cannot stop for a switchover. In a phased migration FileMaker and the web application can run side by side for a limited time, with data kept in sync and validated.
FileMaker retirement
The goal is independence, not permanent coexistence. Retirement means a documented end point: licenses, hosting, and remaining dependencies are wound down on an agreed plan.
Complete or phased
Two Ways Through the Same Process
Both routes use the six phases above. They differ in how development, data migration, and switchover are sequenced.
| Aspect | Complete replacement | Phased migration |
|---|---|---|
| Switchover | One planned switchover date after testing is complete. | Module by module, each with its own switchover. |
| FileMaker during the build | Runs unchanged until go-live, then is retired. | Runs alongside the web application, shrinking as modules move over. |
| Data synchronization | One migration and reconciliation. | Ongoing synchronization and validation between both systems until the last module moves. |
| Often a fit when | The system is self-contained, or a clean switchover date is possible. | The system is large and daily operations cannot pause. |
| Main risk | More changes land at once, so acceptance testing carries more weight. | Running two systems costs more coordination, so the plan needs a firm end point. |
Both routes end with FileMaker retired. Which one fits is something an audit decides, not a sales preference.
Continue exploring
- OverviewComplete or phased migration, and a free consultation
- Why Leave FileMaker?A technical comparison with documentation links
- AI-Powered MigrationHow AI-assisted analysis informs a migration plan
- Case StudiesOur own FileMaker system and the Satnica web app
- Cost CalculatorTest cost assumptions with your own numbers
- Insights & ResearchGuides and articles on FileMaker modernization
Free consulting
Your FileMaker Exit Strategy Starts Here.
Get 3 hours of free consulting to explore how your business can move beyond FileMaker.
We will discuss
- Your current application architecture
- Operational challenges
- Migration complexity
- Complete vs. phased replacement
- Modernization opportunities
- Recommended next steps
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