labs@atheron:~/industries/research-universities/rescue$ recover --codebase --modernise

Research systems rescue

Macro workbooks and old databases, moved and made safe.

Many research offices depend on a workbook or a database built by someone who has since left. We move every record out, check it with the people who use it, and rebuild it as a web app with proper sign-in, roles and backups, keeping the old system readable until you are ready to retire it.

Start a project See the example projects

// what matters here

What is different in this industry.

Nothing lost on the way

Every grant, application or record moved and counted, with differences shown to your office.

The macros, understood

We read what each macro does and rebuild the rules it carried, then check the results match.

The old system kept readable

Your workbook or database stays readable until you retire it.

Proper access

University sign-in, roles and a log of every change, in place of a shared file.

// example projects

Priced examples for this service.

Each one is hypothetical, labelled as such, and priced live from our rate card. Open any of them in the estimator and make it yours.

Example projectWeb app

Grant budget tracker, rescued from macros

Hypothetical. Not a client, not a result.

// The problem

A research office tracks every grant in an Excel workbook full of macros written by someone who retired, and principal investigators find out they are overspent when the finance office refuses a purchase.

// What we would build

We move every grant, budget line and commitment out of the old workbook, check it with your research finance team, and rebuild it as a web app fed from your finance system each night, so each investigator sees their own grants, spend and commitments, and the office sees them all.

// What is in it

Every grant and budget line moved out of the old workbook, and checked with you
Actuals from your finance system each night
Commitments, salaries and planned spend by grant
A view for each investigator of their own grants only
Alerts before a budget line runs out, and before a grant ends
Reports in the formats your funders and finance office ask for

// Stack

Next.js
PostgreSQL
Excel import
Metabase
DigitalOcean Toronto

// estimate

Build: ≈ US$87,600 to US$134,000, delivered within 19 weeksCAD 124,700 to 190,700
Hosting: ≈ US$176 a monthCAD 250 a month
Support: ≈ US$2,500 a monthCAD 3,565 a month

Prices in your currency are estimates from today's Bank of Canada rate. All invoicing is in CAD or USD.

Timeline by milestone

Discovery: 2.9 to 3.4 weeks
Design approved: 2.9 to 5.4 weeks
Core features: 2.9 to 4.4 weeks
Full build: 1.9 to 2.9 weeks
Testing and fixes: 0.9 weeks
Moved records checked with your office: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Launch: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks

Outside our hands, and added to the calendar

Your IT department's security and sign-on review: 4 to 8 weeks
Test access to your finance or research system: 1 to 4 weeks

How it is paid

Deposit 20%: CAD 24,940 to 38,140
Discovery 6.8%: CAD 8,479.60 to 12,967.60
Design approved 6.8%: CAD 8,479.60 to 12,967.60
Core features 20.4%: CAD 25,438.80 to 38,902.80
Full build 13.6%: CAD 16,959.20 to 25,935.20
Testing and fixes 6.8%: CAD 8,479.60 to 12,967.60
Moved records checked with your office 8.7%: CAD 10,848.90 to 16,590.90
Launch 6.9%: CAD 8,604.30 to 13,158.30
Holdback, 30 days after launch (10%): CAD 12,470 to 19,070

Start from this example

Example projectWeb appAIOpen-source model

Ethics application workflow

Hypothetical. Not a client, not a result.

// The problem

A university's research ethics office receives applications as Word files by email, tracks them in an old FileMaker database, and spends hours each week telling applicants where their file stands.

// What we would build

Workflow software for ethics applications: online forms built from your board's own templates, routing to reviewers, versions and comments kept together, and a status page applicants can check. An assistant on an open-source model, served for you in Canada, checks an application against your board's own checklist for missing sections. It never gives ethics advice; decisions stay with your board.

// What is in it

Online application forms built from your board's templates
Routing to reviewers, with versions and comments kept together
A status page for applicants and reminders for reviewers
A completeness check against your board's own checklist, on a private model
Records moved out of the old FileMaker database
Access by role, with every view and change logged

// Stack

Next.js
PostgreSQL
Open-source LLM
FileMaker import
DigitalOcean Toronto

// estimate

Build: ≈ US$174,000 to US$266,000, delivered within 28 weeksCAD 247,400 to 378,100
Hosting: ≈ US$4,530 a monthCAD 6,450 a month
Support: ≈ US$2,500 a monthCAD 3,565 a month

Prices in your currency are estimates from today's Bank of Canada rate. All invoicing is in CAD or USD.

AI route: Open-source model
Model running cost: ≈ US$4,190 a monthCAD 5,960 a month

Timeline by milestone

Discovery: 2.9 to 3.4 weeks
Specification and evaluation plan: 0.4 weeks
Design approved: 3.9 to 6.9 weeks
Core features: 1.4 to 2.4 weeks
Full build: 0.9 to 1.9 weeks
Working pilot: 4.9 to 8.9 weeks
Testing and fixes: 0.4 to 0.9 weeks
Moved records checked with your office: 1.4 to 1.9 weeks
Launch: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Production: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks

Outside our hands, and added to the calendar

Your IT department's security and sign-on review: 4 to 8 weeks

How it is paid

Deposit 20%: CAD 49,420 to 75,560
Discovery 1.7%: CAD 4,200.70 to 6,422.60
Specification and evaluation plan 9%: CAD 22,239 to 34,002
Design approved 1.7%: CAD 4,200.70 to 6,422.60
Core features 5.2%: CAD 12,849.20 to 19,645.60
Full build 3.5%: CAD 8,648.50 to 13,223.00
Working pilot 27.2%: CAD 67,211.20 to 102,761.60
Testing and fixes 1.7%: CAD 4,200.70 to 6,422.60
Moved records checked with your office 8.7%: CAD 21,497.70 to 32,868.60
Launch 1.7%: CAD 4,200.70 to 6,422.60
Production 9.6%: CAD 23,721.60 to 36,268.80
Holdback, 30 days after launch (10%): CAD 24,710 to 37,780
GPU time for training and testing, at cost: CAD 300. Billed up front, at cost, outside the milestones

Start from this example

// questions

Questions we get about this.

Our grant workbook's macros were written by someone who retired. Can you still rebuild it?

Almost always. We read the macros, rebuild the rules they carry, and check the new figures against the old ones with your team.

Can you move our old FileMaker ethics records into the new workflow?

Yes. Applications, decisions and attachments are moved and checked with your ethics office.

Do research administrators need much training on the rebuilt system?

Usually a short session. The new screens follow the way your office already works.

Back to the industry: Universities and research labs About the service: Rescue and modernization

// next

Not quite your project?

Tell us what you have in mind. We will come back to you with a range and the questions that would narrow it. Or book a call and talk it through.

Start a project Book a call