Is it feasible to create a simple membership database where members can sign in with a barcode.

[BLL]

Hello,



I'm a coordinator for a small community center. Sometime in the near future, we are looking to start a monthly paid membership program instead of our previous individual rentals. To do this we would like to have a similar system that is in place at many chain gym where each member has issued an ID card, preferably with a barcode where they can sign in/Check in at the front desk by having our front desk person scan their barcode. Once scanned it would be nice if the member information would pop up that we would have stored in a table or something and if it would also record the date and time of the check-in automatically. I've done a fair bit of research over the past few days but I haven't had any luck finding something the fits these needs without purchasing some software, which we probably can't afford.

So my question is, would this be a relatively simple database that I could create myself/with the help of people on this forum, or would it be fairly advanced and am I better off trying to purchase some software? I don't have a ton of experience with access but I do have some skills/can follow directions from the internet.

Thanks

[pbaldy]

You probably face a bit of a learning curve but it should be doable for you. Reading barcodes is fairly easy. You'd start by researching normalization, as getting the tables right is the foundation of the app.

[Micron]

Agree with the importance of normalization. However, once a novice feels they have a handle on that, they embark down a path full of pitfalls and do things we tell them that they shouldn't have when they come back here. Might as well avoid those (*) things...

Normalization Parts I, II, III, IV, and V
http://rogersaccessblog.blogspot.com...ng-part-i.html
and/or
http://holowczak.com/database-normalization/

Entity-Relationship Diagramming: Part I, II, III and IV
http://rogersaccessblog.blogspot.ca/...ng-part-i.html

How do I Create an Application in Microsoft Access?
http://rogersaccessblog.blogspot.ca/...cation-in.html

Important for success:
* One source about how to name things - http://access.mvps.org/access/general/gen0012.htm
* What not to use in names - http://allenbrowne.com/AppIssueBadWord.html
* About Auto Numbers
- http://www.utteraccess.com/wiki/Autonumbers
- http://access.mvps.org/access/general/gen0025.htm

* The evils of lookup fields - http://access.mvps.org/access/lookupfields.htm
* Table and PK design tips - http://www.fmsinc.com/free/newtips/primarykey.asp
* About calculated table fields - http://allenbrowne.com/casu-14.html