# Rebased — FileMaker to Web App Migration > Rebased helps European SMEs migrate their FileMaker applications to modern, maintainable web applications. Based in Belgium. Serving businesses across Europe. ## What Rebased Does Rebased is a specialist migration service: we take your existing FileMaker application — your data model, your workflows, your business logic — and rebuild it as a modern web application you fully own. This is not a template product or a SaaS subscription. Every migration is a bespoke rebuild of your specific processes, delivered at a fixed price with a fixed scope and clear timeline. ## Who This Is For Rebased works with European SMEs that: - Run a core business process (CRM, ERP, production, logistics, operations) on FileMaker - Are spending €2000 - 5000+ per year on FileMaker licenses and specialist support - Need mobile access, web integrations, or a better user interface - Want to own their technology instead of renting it - Have received agency quotes that were too high, too vague, or too risky This is not for enterprises with 20 stakeholders and an 18-month roadmap, or for businesses that are happy on FileMaker and only need minor fixes. ## The Migration Process **Step 1 — Understand your app** The process starts with a free discovery call. The client walks us through their FileMaker setup: the workflows, the pain points, what works and what doesn't. We then ask for the DDR (Data Design Report) — a technical blueprint FileMaker can export in a few clicks. It contains the full data structure and logic, but no actual business data. **Step 2 — Rebuild it for the web** We rebuild the application using modern web technologies. The data model, logic, and workflows are translated into a fast, maintainable web app. Progress is shown in weekly demos. Throughout the build we work with mock data — no real business records are touched until go-live. **Step 3 — Go live. Stay in control.** The new app goes live. The client owns the code, the data, and the infrastructure. No vendor lock-in. No FileMaker license renewal. The client chooses where it is deployed and which services it runs on. ## What Is Delivered - Full data migration from FileMaker - Web-based application: works on any browser, any device - Modern stack: Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL (or SQLite) - Role-based access control - REST API for integrations (Zapier, Make, custom) - Clean codebase — no lock-in, no proprietary runtime - Documentation included - 3-month post-launch support window ## What Opens Up After Migration - **AI-assisted changes**: The new codebase works with modern AI coding tools, making small updates and new features faster and cheaper than FileMaker ever allowed. - **Real web portals**: Build customer portals, partner dashboards, and public-facing tools — without per-seat licensing or WebDirect's performance and cost problems. - **Conversational AI on your data**: We can add an AI layer so teams can query their own business data in plain language. - **Partial migration**: If part of the operation still makes sense in FileMaker (production floor terminals, legacy hardware, specialist tooling), we migrate what makes sense to the web and leave the rest. Fewer licenses. Less exposure. ## Why FileMaker Is Holding Businesses Back FileMaker has three structural limitations for modern businesses: 1. **Extensibility**: Nearly everything must be built from scratch. Plugins are brittle and expensive. On the web, thousands of plug-and-play libraries handle almost anything — payments, maps, PDF generation, e-signatures, email, calendars. 2. **Layout & UX**: FileMaker's layout system is rigid and designed for a handful of power users, not a modern workforce. On the web, full UI component libraries and shared components mean global style changes take seconds, not hours. 3. **Developer experience**: FileMaker was built to be accessible to non-developers, which crippled the ceiling for anyone with real proficiency. Modern web development, supported by tooling, documentation, community, and AI, has no equivalent ceiling. 4. **AI incompatibility**: FileMaker cannot meaningfully benefit from AI-assisted development. Documentation is thin, training data is scarce, and the proprietary structure resists code generation. The gap between FileMaker and what is possible on the web widens every month. ## Pricing - **Typical range**: €5000 – €25000 - Fixed price, fixed scope, clear timeline - No hourly billing, no surprise invoices - Scoped individually after the discovery call - Smaller apps can be done for less ## Europe-First Infrastructure Rebased is based in Belgium and operates across Europe. The default approach is to host client applications on European infrastructure governed by European law, run by European companies. Preferred hosting providers: - **Hetzner Cloud** (Germany) — reliable, affordable, GDPR-compliant. The default. - **Scaleway** (France) — strong focus on developer experience and data sovereignty. - **Koyeb** (France) — European serverless platform with EU-region edge deployments. European hosting is a strong preference in every project, not an afterthought. Data stays in Europe. ## About the Founder The founder spent years as a senior consultant at one of the largest FileMaker consultancy firms in Europe, building, extending, and maintaining FileMaker systems across dozens of industries. Since then, the focus has shifted to modern web technologies and AI — building applications with the same attention to data architecture and workflow logic that FileMaker demands. Most web developers do not know FileMaker. Most FileMaker developers do not know the modern web. Rebased knows both. Background: - Former senior FileMaker consultant — one of Europe's leading FileMaker firms - Product management background - Web technologies: Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, modern JavaScript - AI integration and tooling - Based in Belgium ## Contact - **Book a free discovery call**: https://calendar.app.google/1eYJP7dps3diLUWGA - **Email**: hello@rebased.agency - **LinkedIn**: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gommersthibo/ - **Personal site**: https://tsyg.be Response within 24 hours. Available across Europe.