• 0

Using Access over Excel for database management


Question

So... right now at my job I have 10 different outlook files for different sales people.  Each file has the accounts they handle and the monthly revenue going back - 10 years.

 

The problem - is having to update 10 different files each month...

 

I would love to be able to use access to have every account in one place and then when I update those each excel sheet gets updated for the staff?

 

Is that easily doable in Access?  

 

I consider myself a strong user of excel but have never used access..

 

Thanks in advance! 

12 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

sure, but it does require a bit of programming to get the fields to do what you want, and if you want a front end well you will need to design that too. 

 

Might I suggest something like ACT!, it would probably work better or some other customer relations manager (crm).  Each can have their own logon and enter their own data.

  • 0
  On 20/07/2015 at 15:44, sc302 said:

sure, but it does require a bit of programming to get the fields to do what you want, and if you want a front end well you will need to design that too. 

 

Might I suggest something like ACT!, it would probably work better or some other customer relations manager (crm).  Each can have their own logon and enter their own data.

 

Gotta stick with MS suite... since that's what the company uses... 

  • 0

Yeah there are much better contact management systems other than outlook contact files that is for sure..  The mentioned ACT is one of the major players in that area.  http://www.act.com/

  • 0
  On 20/07/2015 at 15:56, Ice_Blue said:

If you give me an outline of what data you need to track, I may be able to give you some guidelines as to how to develop an access database to accomplish this.

 

 

We have 10 sales people who handle different accounts.  Right now I update 10 different excel worksheets every month so they have updated figures of how much those customers spent last month.  I am basically opening/closing 10 different workbooks.  And then lets say someone leaves and we hire someone new I then have to create a new sheet and transfer the accounts.

 

I would love to be able to have ONE master sheet and a field with a salespersons initials and then I update that one sheet monthly it automatically updates 10 individual sheets for the sales people.

 

Hope that makes sense.

  • 0
  On 20/07/2015 at 15:53, Sk8Surfr said:

Sorry, maybe my initial post wasn't clear... 

 

It is more about the DATA than it is the customers.  

 

I'm not concerned with addresses, and contact name etc.

 

It's about revenue 

Fully understand that, however instead of trying to recreate the wheel you could do something that is a bit better in doing what you are trying to do.  A crm like act is a bit more than just a contact list to look up customers in, it helps you manage the account...follow their purchases, alert you when you haven't heard from them in a while, let you know trends as well as their weekly, monthly, quartly, yearly, 5 year, etc totals.  

 

square peg in a round hole, you have a lot of filing to do to make it work, vs getting a solution talored to do what you want.  There are some free/open source crm solutions out there. 

  • 0
  On 20/07/2015 at 16:01, Sk8Surfr said:

We have 10 sales people who handle different accounts.  Right now I update 10 different excel worksheets every month so they have updated figures of how much those customers spent last month.  I am basically opening/closing 10 different workbooks.  And then lets say someone leaves and we hire someone new I then have to create a new sheet and transfer the accounts.

 

I would love to be able to have ONE master sheet and a field with a salespersons initials and then I update that one sheet monthly it automatically updates 10 individual sheets for the sales people.

 

Hope that makes sense.

When you open Microsoft Access 2013 (not sure about 2010) you can choose from a selection of database templates.

The one you are looking for is the "Desktop Northwind 2007 Sample Database".

 

Click on this and enter a name and path for the database. It will be downloaded and opened directly in Access.

 

See if this is something like what you want.

If so, this database can be easily modified to more suit your needs.

 

The Northwind Traders sample database contains the sales data for a fictitious company called Northwind Traders, which imports and exports specialty foods from around the world.

  • 0

Connect an Access database to your workbook

 

It's certainly possible. There are many things to consider though: data integrity, data security, data consistency. There are too many moving and distinct parts. I would consider what sc302 said, and said well: don't reinvent, you probably don't have the time, the support or the experience. Besides, already built solution will sound good when you're about 10-15% into this new, heavy thing and you realize expertise doesn't happen overnight. 

  • 0

Your scenario sounds like a good use of MS Access. Keep all your data in one Access .mdb file, and modify your spreadsheets to query the mdb and refresh the contents.  If you like, you can build forms to make it easier to keep the Access data up to date.  An alternative is to use the free version of MS SQL, which offers a better database (full use of T-SQL) but doesn't have the built-in forms development that Access offers. (However, an Access front-end can use a SQL back-end db.)

 

If the xls is just serving as a report and not being used for calculation, you could use Access Reports or SQL Reports instead of distributing the xls files. That way the reports would always be current and the spreadsheets would not need to have embedded queries.  Reports can be exported to xls if desired.

  • 0

I have to agree with sc302 here, why are you wanting to reinvent the wheel here.  There are lots of companies that do this for their bread and butter.. Something like sugarcrm which does have a FREE community version if you don't want to just license its use.  Salesforce, Zoho crm 2 other major players in the CRM market.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • From cars to cosmos: Honda's experimental rocket aces first landing test by Paul Hill Image via Honda Watch your back SpaceX, the Japanese company Honda has just performed a successful first launch of its experimental reusable rocket. The 6.3 meter rocket, which weighs 900kg, reached a modest altitude of 271.4 meters, but managed to land within 37cm of its target (1.2 feet), which is certainly pretty close. The rocket took off from a Honda facility in Taiki Town, Hokkaido, a growing space town in Japan. The flight time was also modest, coming in at just 56.6 seconds, but in that time, Honda was able to demonstrate key reusability technologies such as flight stability and landing capability. This marks a significant milestone for Honda’s space R&D department, which began work just four years ago. If you remember the tests SpaceX was performing around 2012 with Grasshopper, well Honda is at about the same stage with its reusable rocket. Why Honda is building rockets: Beyond cars and motorcycles Honda said that it wants to leverage core technologies it already works on for offering space services. It said that reusable rockets are a key part of sustainable space transportation. By 2029, the company wants to be able to perform suborbital launches, and while commercialization hasn’t been decided yet, it sees itself launching remote-sensing and wide-area communication satellites in the future. The Japanese car maker sees growing demand for satellite launches and wants to be involved by developing reusable rockets which could help it perform such launches economically. If it does end up finding customers, it will add more competition to the rocket launch sector. While the company hasn’t confirmed this, by developing its own launch system, it could eventually be in a position to launch its own satellites that could provide services to its cars to add value for customers. The competitive landscape and Japan's space ambitions Honda is just the latest company to join the growing list of companies trying to develop reusable rocket technology. The most famous companies doing this are SpaceX and Blue Origin, but there are also lots of other companies around the world also developing this technology. Honda is still taking baby steps compared to SpaceX, but it shows that the company is taking a focused, step-by-step approach, and achieving successes as noted by this launch. Hopefully, the company ends up providing tough competition against SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other companies so that it can help to drive down prices and spur on innovation.
    • Does that subscription include international data roaming, inclusive of Russia?
    • If you're stupid enough to try and get one, each and every headache along the way is on you. I can only hope that these roadblocks on a pre-order are enough to dissuade people.
    • "You should have a Microsoft Account because we can help keep your data safe...until we can't." As an IT guy I know that I should never put my trust in one backup solution if the data is important. But for non-IT people, they are getting tricked into Microsoft's practices with falsehoods.
    • it is delayed and has no definitive release date... that is "delayed indefinitely".
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      TBithoney earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • First Post
      xuxlix earned a badge
      First Post
    • First Post
      Tomek Święcicki earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Year In
      carlitin86 earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Reacting Well
      Peterlll06 earned a badge
      Reacting Well
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      676
    2. 2
      ATLien_0
      283
    3. 3
      Michael Scrip
      227
    4. 4
      +FloatingFatMan
      192
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      145
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!