Your school's FileMaker system still works. Let's keep it that way.
Thousands of US schools built their administration systems on FileMaker in the 2000s and early 2010s. Many of those systems are still running. The developer who built them is long gone. Nobody wants to touch them. And US-based FileMaker support, when you can find it, is expensive.
BasicData takes over and supports legacy school FileMaker systems. We are based in Cape Town, we cover US East Coast business hours, and we have a Miami local number. Our rates are significantly more competitive than equivalent US-based FileMaker developers.
What supporting a legacy school FileMaker system actually involves.
Taking over a school FileMaker system is not the same as a new build. It requires understanding decisions made years ago, documenting what is undocumented, stabilising what is fragile, and making improvements without breaking what works. We have done this enough times to know how.
Legacy system audit and documentation
System takeover from departed or unavailable developers
FileMaker version upgrades and compatibility fixes
Ongoing hosting, monitoring, and backups
Bug fixes and break-fix support
Student and staff records management updates
Enrolment, billing, and administration improvements
Performance tuning and infrastructure modernisation
Staff training and handover documentation
The system nobody wants to touch is still the system the school runs on.
The FileMaker systems we inherit from schools share a common profile: built by a developer who has since left, running on hardware that has not been replaced in years, doing its job well enough that nobody prioritised fixing it, and now sitting in a risk position where one hardware failure or OS update could take it down. The school knows it is a problem. They just cannot find anyone willing to take it on at a price that fits a school budget.
BasicData has been taking over and supporting production FileMaker systems since 2018. We do not need to be on-site to assess, stabilise, and support a FileMaker system. We cover US East Coast business hours and our Miami number means a local point of contact. Our South Africa base means rates that work for institutions managing tight budgets.
We are a registered member of the Claris FileMaker Business Alliance, the formal partner programme for professional FileMaker development companies.
Schools with FileMaker systems that are overdue for a proper support arrangement.
Our school clients range from independent K-12 schools with a single-database student records system, to larger institutions with multi-module FileMaker environments covering enrolment, billing, and staff administration. If your system is running but unsupported, undocumented, or one update away from a problem, we can fix that.
Questions about FileMaker support for schools.
Takeovers, old versions, tight budgets, and what ongoing support costs.
Our FileMaker system was built years ago and the developer is gone. Can you take it over?
Yes. This is one of the most common situations we encounter. We run a structured audit of the system, document what we find, and take over hosting and support. Most school systems we inherit are stable enough to continue running while we work through any remediation in stages. We will not commit to taking something on until we understand what we are dealing with.
We are worried about breaking something that still works. How do you handle that?
We work in a copy of your system, not the live environment. Any changes are tested before they touch production. For schools with term-time constraints, we schedule updates during holidays or low-activity periods. Our approach is to stabilise first, improve second.
Our system is running on a very old version of FileMaker. Is that a problem?
Old versions are something we deal with regularly. We can assess the system in its current state, advise whether a version upgrade is necessary or beneficial, and handle the upgrade process if it is. Some older systems run fine as they are. Others have accumulated enough technical debt that modernisation makes more sense than patching.
We have a very limited IT budget. Are your rates realistic for a school?
Our team is based in South Africa, which means our rates are significantly more competitive than equivalent US-based FileMaker developers. We have a Miami local number and cover US East Coast business hours. For schools managing tight budgets, that combination of quality and cost is exactly the gap we fill.
Do you understand how school administration systems work?
We understand the operational complexity of school systems: enrolment workflows, student records, billing and fee management, staff administration, and the compliance requirements that come with managing data about minors. We ask the right questions before we start building or changing anything.
Can you help us move our FileMaker Server off old hardware?
Yes. We migrate FileMaker Server to modern infrastructure, including Ubuntu Linux, which is significantly more cost-effective than running on ageing Mac hardware or Windows Server. We handle the full migration with minimal downtime and can host the server for you on an ongoing basis.
What does ongoing support cost for a school?
Support retainers are priced based on hosting requirements and the number of development hours per month you need. For schools with stable systems that need light maintenance, retainers start at a modest monthly fee. We give a clear quote after reviewing the system and understanding your needs.
Tell us about your school's FileMaker system.
Describe what version you are running, what the system does, and what your current support situation is. We will tell you honestly what taking it over would involve.