Methodology for active / inactive objects

[dougdrex]

Using Access 2010

I'm setting up a database that will track sales by several different measurements. One of those is by salesperson. As anyone knows, sales staff generally have high turnover. And so I would like to be able to include only active salespeople on the report. What is the best way to do this in Access?

I've seen databases with a field called Active, formatted as Yes/No. I've seen others use ActiveOn and ExpireOn fields in date format.

I would welcome feedback from experienced users who have thoughts on how best to handle this situation.

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas!


Doug

[pbaldy]

Our packaged payroll app uses a text field, as it has more than 2 possible statuses. I've used both a yes/no field and a related table with start/end dates (related table because people often come back). The first 2 are easiest to work with, but the 3rd isn't difficult either. I'd use what best fits your situation.

[dougdrex]

Thanks pbaldy, I appreciate the feedback. I'm a relatively new Access user, and want to avoid making silly mistakes if possible. Knowing that there is no right/wrong method makes me feel better. I'll try out the Yes/No field because it is not being used for payroll purposes, just literally to track and report sales data. I just didn't want a lot of salespeople listed on the report long after they're gone.

Thanks again!
Doug

[pbaldy]

No problem Doug!