Intro / Is Access right for our Biz

[Unfiltered Thoughts]

Hello all!!
I am new here and have been out of the software side of business for some years so i would now unfortunately consider myself a nOob.
I was a self employed manufacturer for 10yrs and used a basic form of Quickbooks for my quotes, inventories, reports and general acct. I was never very diligent at that tho lol as My hands were always too dirty.
I sold that biz 2 years ago and have been working at a new yet similar company that is VERY old school when it comes to their paper, software side of things. As in they use a not so pretty and very basic manual excel form to generate quotes, work orders etc etc.... Limited tracking/database of previous quotes and orders.

I am slowly getting drawn back into the office side and am looking to modernize the process(es). It All started when i attempted to use the mentioned basic (non-intuitive) excel form to build a quote. I was so confused trying to swim in those muddy waters i almost gave up and quoted from gut feeling!! However i managed to push on and am committed to at the very least implementing a new excel workbook with proper data dropdowns, formulas etc.

While doing some research I have found a pretty decent looking database template called "desktop services template" direct from MS. It actually looks like it might fit the bill as it contains most components im looking for. (multiple users, inventory, products, sales, services, customers, employees) Only short fall i see as of now is no built in purchasing side (should be easily added in i assume). Implementing some form of database software should benefit others as well and not just me doing a few quotes now and then. *fingers crossed*

Now to my ques........

Would access be a good product to use for our business or would a quickbooks type prog be better suited?
What advantages would Access have over the alternative.
Are quickbooks and the like just pretty versions of MS Access?
How stable is a database as mentioned, can one wrong key stroke mess everything up?


Thanks for any replies and/or helpful advice!!

[June7]

I used QuickBooks and found it very nice for Little League and a small retail business. I don't think QuickBooks is designed for multiple simultaneous users. I don't know if it has a limit on number of records or file size.

Access has a 2GB file size limit but can be set up for multiple simultaneous users. An Access database is not the most robust app - it tends to 'corrupt' occasionally, especially during development when a lot of design edits take place. Regardless, we have been using it for 6 years now for tracking our laboratory data and it gets the job done. It is a split design and mods are few and far between now and the frontend seldom corrupts. Never had a corruption issue with the backend.

An advantage with Access is that you can build to suit your business model instead of trying to fit into an OTS package.

A disadvantage is you have to build it.

[Xipooo]

It really depends on how much effort you want to put into learning how to develop in Access. It is not easy.

As far as I see it, you have 3 different ways you can go:

1. Design and develop an Access Application by yourself to take advantage of the flexibility Access has to offer.
2. Use an application like Quickbooks or NolaPro which comes pre-developed and has limitations.
3. See if you can find an Access Database already in existence with most (if not all) of the functionality you want, then make whatever tweaks you need to it.

FWIW, there are lots of good sites with pre-designed Access databases available as well as the Microsoft Office site itself.

[ItsMe]

Would access be a good product to use for our business or would a quickbooks type prog be better suited?
Access would benefit most any business. Users interfacing with and storing data in Excel could indicate the need for a desktop solution like Access.

What advantages would Access have over the alternative.
Access is rather unique and I am not sure what I would consider to be an alternative. If you want to develop your own desktop apps, Access would probably be the most intuitive for beginners.

Are quickbooks and the like just pretty versions of MS Access?
No. Accounting software like Quickbooks and Peachtree are desktop data bases that use database engines that rely on the client machine's system files, processor, and RAM. Because of this, they are similar to Access. Beyond that the similarities stop. Access is a tool to create an RDBMS that will manage any Business Rules you choose. Access is a tool to create custom desktop applications. Off the shelf accounting software does not help you to develop custom apps. You are bound by their "off the shelf" solution to try and match your Business Rules. Quickbooks is a desktop application for accounting where Access is a developer's tool.

I believe it is possible for the average developer to have their custom application retrieve data from and update data in Quickbooks using Quickbooks’ API's like "IIF". This is no longer an option with Peachtree (Sage50) for the average Joe. Creating a custom app for Back Office accounting purposes is not recommended.

How stable is a database as mentioned, can one wrong key stroke mess everything up?
Any application you create will need to be developed in a way that enforces Constraints. A template you find on the web may or may not have these constraints built into it. I feel comfortable using Access to develop applications. I do not feel comfortable using templates or trying to adapt a template to suit a particular set of Business Rules. There are instances where redesigning or fixing an existing DB is feasible. Building an app from the ground up is, most often, the best approach.