Using access for invoicing/ billing

[sahmed95]

Hello, this is my first post.

I am in entry level finance and someone who has now left created a invoicing tool based on excel code in access.

Basically every short post code (the first two letters) has a rate, if a consignment is sent here the rate is applied.


As it's transport sometimes we send small boxes and sometimes pallets, each with different rates, small boxes have weight charges etc.

I am wondering if this can be simply made into an access tool
(the detail, ie weights, surcharges etc. im sure can be written in later)

But I was wondering how (for a beginner) to insert a massive postcode rate table, with clients on the left would be.

I am fairly comfortable in excel and can write this to split the post code, and run lookups to return the rates and even cancel out/ add weights if necesssary, how hard is it to move excel code over to access?

Thank you

[Micron]

You cannot simply move excel code over to Access but I'm not understanding why you would want to. If Access is a hammer, Excel is a wrench. Being proficient in spreadsheets and approaching db design with that mindset is actually a bad thing. Your task might not be too onerous for someone with Access experience but if you are a novice who has done no prior research or learning you will likely be here asking for help often. You will do all sorts of things that you shouldn't. Unfortunately the advice given is often to fix the design.

Your code rate data likely can be imported into a properly designed table in one of a few ways. What's best will depend on how you have laid that out in a sheet. If it resembles a normalized db table, TransferSpreadsheet function may be all that you need. If it's not, then queries, perhaps on the sheet, linked or imported as a staging table.

Maybe what you should do is some research - assuming you're the one who would build this. Access is probably a better tool for your needs, but not if you build a bad too with it. Suggest you start with db normalization. I have a bunch of links for beginners if you'd like to review various subjects.

[NoellaG]

I think the hardest part is the total different way of thinking between a spreadsheet and a database. In access you find related data through linking the different tables in queries, not using lookup functions, although these exist as domain functions.
So, while the VBA language on itself is similar, the concept is entirely different. Maybe you can first have some reading about relational tables and normalization before starting with access.