Forum Moderators: phranque
I want to setup a database that records customer details including name, address, email, etc and for what the customer orders. I am familiar with MS Access, but was wondering if this is the best?
Advice appreciated.
For what you need, the database you have now would certainly work fine. Even a flat file system may work OK.
On a *nix system I like MySQL. Its fast, free, and does everything I need it for.
Are you using it as a desktop application of web based application?
How many customers are you talking about?
Access is really designed as a desktop application so should be OK there as long as the customer numbers don't get too high. You can use it as the backend for web applications as long as the data file is not too large and not too many connections as once.
I am serving a site with around 20,000 records using access, an 8Mb file, and it is OK but starting to show signs of stress.
If you are tracking daily data be careful as the database can easily grow in size. I set up search tracking on one site and forgot about it until I got a call from the host to tell me the database file was over 40Mb. Not a good situation. I got around it by using a different file each month which keeps the size down.
So, access is OK within limits. Other members have also had success using mySQL although I have no experience there. If your requirements are vastly greater than what I have described then you need to be thinking of something more robust like SQL server.
Onya
Woz
~~typo~~
[edited by: Woz at 1:52 pm (utc) on May 1, 2003]
That's a bit of a subjective question and depends on a number of things.
Microsoft Access is a very capable database for small scale, personal use - and if it is you that is to be developing the system and you have experience of Access then it is probably your best choice for now.
Later, you could develop a web based Interface to your database by using the "Personal Web Server" (search the Microsoft website) on your PC.
Moving on again, as your business grows you could then take the same web pages you have written, but move up to the full featured IIS (Internet Information Server) and the extremely capable SQL.Server.
Good Luck!
(you mistyped it)
:-)
If it is commerical, I would say there are 2 options. Free one is postgreSAL. Not the best, but certianly not bad.
And if you want a commercial product, go with Oracle.
THis is all being said only if you have a BIG database. Access can hold up fine for small sites (note: small)
At the moment, when I get an order I copy the cutomer's name & address from the email confirmation (via WorldPay)and paste it into an invoice I created in Excel. Then in this invoice I type in the 'widget/s' they ordered.
What I want is to make a database which would mean when the order comes in I add their details to a database and then I can get it to generate an invoice report.
But not just that. I also want it to keep a record of all the orders. I was also thinking I could use it to log all the expenses, etc so I can generate different reports for different purposes.
The primary purpose is to just keep a record of all transactions. I don't require a database which is linked to the site, i.e. one that says if there are products left in stock. I believe this is when something more powerful such as mySQL is used?
I currently have MS Access 97. Is there an MS Access XP? and if so, how much better is it? Is it worth upgrading to this one, or will '97 suffice for my purpose?
Thanks for all your input.
But you have that already in your email box :)
I just create two sub-folders; sales and invoices
If its mainly for the automation of invoices I would go for web-based database/email generation, or locally with a script running in your email client.Either way Access97 will do the job.
I strongly reccomend any database (if integrated well) is better than "cut and paste".
Figure you c&p the invoice, then the data into Quickbooks or other, then again into any customer tracking database or ACT for contact management (maybe for stats, maybe for future marketing) and then again into something for inventory...
A recent new customer described how they took a "sale" and hand entered it into Access, and then Quickbooks, and then Peachtree -- what a nightmare! And I am certain that this data + practice goes back for years and years...
Sooner or later, you have q&p'd yourself to carpal tunnel syndrome or worse (meaning you just never get around to it...and subsequently can't mine the value out of this info).
Build a web form that updates a database. Doesn't matter what you use. I do it in Access only because it is ubiquitous at the smaller business level. Some like Filemaker. Others like MSDE. It really depends on many exogenous variables.
Pay money to someone to teach you the basics or do it for you. I am always impressed at the time wasted by not using the right tools for the right jobs.
Have fun,
Chew
I would go that route, you can do a lot with Outlook. I have set up a few apps like this that parse the email body into access, or create an item in the contacts folder, automate word template etc.
I have a specific question about Access. For the customer address, I was thinking of entering as 'address line 1', 'address line 2', etc then 'postcode'. However I would much prefer to enter it all as one, i.e copy from email and paste into one column. However, I want it to come out on the invoice in a neat fashion. For example:
"Mr Joes Bloggs, 123 Acacia Ave, London, E4 OTH."
comes out on the report as:
"Mr Joes Bloggs
123 Acacia Ave
London
E4 OTH."
How can this be achieved? It would save a lot of time.
Thanks.
