Hi all,
I've been building a database for our company for about a year now. It has gone through several iterations and I'm still miles of getting it to a workable state. I'm sure its not too hard of a task, but time is getting on and our existing Access 97 database is very fragile, so I'm turning to the forums for some help & advice.
A bit of background about my Access experience: None. Everything I have built so far has been based off of excel knowledge, various forum posts and youtube videos. I work in IT so technical language isn't an issue, I dabble with code too so coding lingo is OK too.
The old database. Access 97 database which does the following:
- Stores customer information
- Machine (computers/printers/Photocoiers etc) information
- Invoicing
- Jobsheet creation
- Contracts
It is used in a cringeworthy way also. The DB is stored on a central PC, and several users connect in and alter info. Naturally, this has made the database incredibly fragile, to the point where it now corrupts if opened at the same time as another user.
I am rebuilding the database as a more modern .accdb file, within Access 2019 with proper front-end/back-end usage on a server. What I really need help with is the following if possible:
- How do I properly plan a database?
- Relationships. I'm not 100% clear how they work, and I'm sure this is why most of my DB attempts failed so far. What do I need to know in this area?
- Any best practices?
- The DB needs to produce a printable jobsheet for the engineer to take around, get signed etc, which is used to invoice the customer. I cannot get this to work well, I think its a relationships/report issue due to my poor knowledge!
Thanks for your time, please treat me as an absolute beginner. I do understand various bits of Access but that doesn't mean I won't learn anything new. Any good advice or links to tutorials welcome!
P.S. Sorry if this is really vague, it's a stressful time with the world's events and trying to balance this DB around everyday work!