Access™ Databases

When is an Access database suitable?

If you have duplicate data items spread across different files and applications, it would be easier to store the information in one place in a database. The data would be more readily available and any updates only need to be performed once.

If your data system is likely to expand as you add new customers or new users, storing the data in one place in a database makes it a lot less complicated.

If you need to archive old data, databases have the capacity to store old data.

If more than one person needs to access the data at the same time, an Access database has multi-user capability.

If you need to control and validate data entry then Access provides this functionality.

Microsoft® Access is an ideal solution for a departmental database, a small company information system or any other requirement to store and manage large quantities of data. An Access database can help you keep track of customers, orders, stock or personnel. It can be used as an executive information system, a decision support system or an accounting system.

Microsoft Excel® may be good for storing small amounts of data on which you need to perform calculations but in some cases an Access database solution might be more suitable (see sidebar). As all the Microsoft programs integrate together so well, data can be stored in Access but displayed and presented in Excel, Word or PowerPoint®. Storing data in an Access database provides greater accuracy and consistency and makes data more maintainable.

We can make data entry easy with user-friendly, intuitive forms. Default values, drop-down option boxes and check boxes can all help to save time and reduce input errors. Data validation and lookups can be performed as data is entered.

Access databases can present data in many different ways. Printed reports can show detailed or summarised data. Online forms can show different levels of data and highlight data in different colours according to different attributes. Data can also be extracted to Excel spreadsheets, Word documents or PowerPoint presentations. You can also print out labels and use the data for a mail merge project.

You can use an Access application to produce regular reports and it could also produce invoices, quotations or purchase orders. You could also analyse and manipulate Access data using Excel pivot tables® and graphs.

We can write an automated procedure to import data stored in different sources - spreadsheets, another database, maybe a text file produced as an overnight extract from a mainframe system - at the press of a button. No need for any time-consuming and error prone cutting and pasting.

You do not even need a copy of Access on your PC to run an Access database. Microsoft provide a run-time version of Access that we are licensed to distribute. This enables users who do not have the full version of Access to benefit from a custom database application.

Examples of Access databases we have developed

A job tracking system that generates purchase orders and provides an invoice reconciliation facility. Users can enter job details and monitor progress on jobs and invoice processing. Management reports show job statistics such as costs, estimates and lead times.
A job management and timesheet system to record job quotations, job status and staff timesheets. Standard prices for jobs are held in the database to enable quotations to be generated automatically. Reports can be produced showing job status for each member of staff.
A timesheet and activity log system to record time spent on various tasks and projects. Users click on a start button on their desktop to start a timer when they start a task and a stop button stops the timer when they finish the task. The time taken is recorded and compiled to reports for management analysis and as supplements to client invoices.

Microsoft, Access, Excel, Visual Basic, Outlook and PowerPoint are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

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