Should I use Access for development

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Guest

I own a Landscaping business and would like to track the services that I
provide to each client and create reports that show number of employees,
time, materials, etc. for each job. I would like to be to perform analysis
based on all information stored in the data base.

I have some programming experience and might decide to market the
application should it turn out to be a useful solution to other landscapers.

My concern is not to devote myself full time as a developer but to built the
application as needed as i have the time.

I currently have windows XP home edition but do not have the MS Office
package. Before I invest, I would like opinions about whether to go with the
Office solutions or another product.

Thank you in advance for your feedback.
 
Mr. Greenthumb,

Access will work very well for what you are wanting to
accomplish.

If you purchase ACCESS, take a look at the templates on
the Micorsoft > Office > Templates website. There are two
mdb's there that may do the trick for you, or you can
modify these for your needs (Time & Billing and Service
Call Management).

Good luck,

John Parkinson
 
Greenthumb said:
I own a Landscaping business and would like to track the services
that I provide to each client and create reports that show number of
employees, time, materials, etc. for each job. I would like to be to
perform analysis based on all information stored in the data base.

I have some programming experience and might decide to market the
application should it turn out to be a useful solution to other
landscapers.

My concern is not to devote myself full time as a developer but to
built the application as needed as i have the time.

I currently have windows XP home edition but do not have the MS Office
package. Before I invest, I would like opinions about whether to go
with the Office solutions or another product.

Thank you in advance for your feedback.
Click to expand...

If you ever envision it trying to cover any accounting aspects of your business
then you are better off going with QuickBooks, Peachtree, or similar as that is
a VERY big and complex wheel to attempt to reinvent. For what you have
described above, Access would do the job very nicely and you would be able to
start small and add functionality as you go.

You might want to first analyze and describe in these forums the basic table
structure you want to start with and get some tips on setting that up correctly.
Getting the tables correct will minimize rework as you try to add features later
on.
 
Thank you for those tips. I do use quickbooks pro for the accounting side but
is doesn't seem to provide the service detail that i would like to have.
 
No problem. I have used a lot of information from this
site and try to reply when I feel qualified.

John
 
Access is certainly the right tool for what you want! The learning curve
however is rather steep. If you need the database you describe up and
running soon, contact me at my email address below.
 
I also own a small landscaping business, to track customers and employees i
use Clip Sofware, a great little program. a bit pricey, but I tihink its
worth a try.
 
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