Needs Guidance - How to go about

[fareed]

I am novice to Ms access but can make simple database.
Now I want to make a database, tracking, accounting and inventory system (iI assume) for my self.

Situation: OPTION # 1
1. I want to start a construction business. At first instance, I want to construct four small houses Therefore, I want to put all data of each house for example No of rooms, No. of bathrooms, No of Living Rooms, No of Dinning rooms, No of Kitchen, etc etc along with their dimensions along with their location for example ground floor, First floor or second floor.

2. Now, I want to tell the system that Each segment for example Master Bed Dimension, each wall size and its position for example a common wall with dinning room, No of doors, No of electric points etc etc. So that it can calculate the No of bricks to be utilized for that room, can calculate no of floor tiles (tile size to be given) etc.

3. The same can be accumulated in one sheet of already data making it total of Bill of Quantity of Each House. Where I can put estimated cost of each item as well. Similarly, One more, Grand BOQ should also be generated with accumulative items of four houses.

4. Should have Service provider (Maison, Labor, Wood worker, Electrician etc etc) and Vendors List according to their category for example Cement, Iron, Sand, Bricks, Electric (Having further sub categories e.g Electric an, Tube lights, LED Lights etc), Wood (Doors, windows etc)

5. I thinks its final, that my worker ask for any item, then I make a purchase order to keep track when the item is demanded for a specific house for example, Date demanded, Qty Demanded, Item type for which house, percentage of work done etc etc

6. Now, another form where I fill up which vendor is ordered, qty ordered, date ordered, cost of each unit and when I receive the date of receiving, qty received as well as bill number and amount.

7. Now I can generate a report, which can show me details of each house as well as total number of items as per total BOQ and items received and balance and total amount spent so far on that specific date.

8. Can calculate total number of bricks, floor tiles, wall tiles etc etc.

I really don't know whether I'm thinking in right direction? Frankly speaking it sounds weired to me what I wrote above.

OPTION # 2 (SIMPLE WAY)

1. Service Provider and Vendors List along with their categories and contact numbers.
2. BOQ List of Each House and a consolidated BOQ list
3. Purchase order for any item for any house


4. Demand Order and Receiving item details
5. Report Generation for each house as well as a consolidated report. Total received item till date, Balance items and expenditure done

I think its easy, I should stat from here, any one can guide me please

[kd2017]

I vote for simple way. Option number 1 is very ambitious for a new access developer that is also trying to start a new business.

As the home builder won't you be hiring trades to do the actual building? If so won't they be doing the qty takeoffs and ordering/supplying labor and material? What part of the world are you located?

[Micron]

In replying, at least I can say I built my own house. Not the Taj Mahal, but just under 3,000 sq ft 2 storey, all brick. I contracted everything that I didn't do myself. Only things I didn't do were pouring footings (I laid out and constructed the forms), didn't do foundation walls, rough in plumbing, septic bed or roof. Everything else I had a hand in or did myself (I did complete wiring, fixtures, doors, trim, flooring, windows/doors installation except for garage doors). Even constructed under garage 10,000 gal cistern and formed for the garage slab over it.

So I cannot imagine where you could ever be successful as a contractor while taking the time to
a) develop such a db in the first place, even if you had db design experience, which it seems you don't
b) populate and update all the data this would need according to your stated goal
c) maintain and modify said db according to the changes in building codes, or variations in such codes from one locale to another,
- variations in brick size (no such thing as a uniform size) or in other materials
- addition, removal of materials from the market
- material take-off variations caused by options (size/amount of rebar or other embedded material or structures alters the volume of concrete for a pour)
d) I could go on and on.

The point has already been made regarding sub contractors doing the estimating for their portion and I agree 158%. Then the customer...what will your db do for you when they say, "Ya know, we really think that wall needs to be moved, and that doorway is too small." My sincere advice is to forget your idea. Besides, if you need to do any of your own estimating, there are already lots of tools to calculate stud/joist/insulation bundles/shingles, etc required. You add a contingency factor and then your profit on top of that. You would spend WAY too much time playing around with something that will only distract from job 1 - keeping on top of your business by being out in the field ensuring suppliers and subs don't screw up.

EDIT: at most, a spreadsheet since I don't see how a database would be as useful as a spreadsheet. Of course, you do want to control costs, and accumulating/summarizing/totaling/averaging/etc. expenditures is a job for a spreadsheet.