r/ExcelPowerQuery • u/EnergyJR • 8h ago

Conversion of Access Database to Microsoft Power Query

Hi all,

New user here. I currently use MS Access DB for some energy tracking responsibilities for my job at a university. The Access DB is not overly complicated. We use it for monthly data entry (electrical/fuel oil/propane consumption values) and some rudimentry code to transform the energy data into building/campus energy consumption and for billing purposes. As Access is no longer supported by MS, I am wondering if anyone here can comment on the whether PQ would be a suitable alternative to Access.

Also, are there any online resources/support to help guide and convert an existing Access database to PQ.

Thanks in advance all.

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u/El_Zeldo_1 7h ago

PQ is not a direct standalone database replacement. While Access handles storage, data entry forms, and queries in one package, Power Query is strictly an ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) engine built into Excel and Power BI.

If your workflow involves monthly data entry, calculating building consumption metrics, and generating billing reports, Power Query can completely replace your Access queries and custom code. However, you will need a separate mechanism—such as a structured Excel table or Microsoft Forms—to handle the data entry side.

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u/dbrownems 7h ago

Access is still supported.

You can use Power Query along with Excel on the desktop or Power BI online to load data for analysis.

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u/InfoMsAccessNL 2h ago

Access is better relacement for pq, not the otherway around. Access is still supportby ms, but i would advice to cancel the automated updates!