which to use excel or access

J

JIM

I'm using Access 2000 and have built a database for invoicing which is
working great. Now my company wants to build a work order system. One
salesman works at distant location and so emails new work orders in excel.
Both people at my site also create work orders in excel. From all the posts
it seems like it would be best to import the work orders from excel into
access.
Or, would it be just as easy to write a small database for everyone and let
each enter work orders in Access? Then how would our distant salesman email
his new work orders?
Thanks, JIM
 
M

Michel Walsh

Excel is limited for multi-users and so, do not generally co-ordinate well
the 'validations' rule made on the data, leading always wondering about the
quality of the data, in its whole. While Jet allows data consistency, by
imposing data validations, and also clearly make a difference between the
data (table) and the presentation of the data (forms), so that data can be
easily re-used to other means (reports, or whatever analysis to be run)
without requiring to move the data again, to better fit a disposition. On
the other hand, if data consistency is not a problem, such as the price do
no vary much, so any one has the same list, and sell at the same price, and
if the controls are, and will stay, at a minimum, just collecting the excel
sheets maybe a solution, even if it sounds to be a weak one, at first
glance. Sure, a database is more than a collection of spreadsheet, and that
may sounds a problem, but after all, you probably didn't built up you
knowledge of Excel in one day, and so it is possible to do too, with Access,
which is relatively fault-tolerant against a few initial design mistakes.


Hoping it may help,
Vanderghast, Access MVP
 
J

JIM

Sorry accidently posted to the wrong strand, got my answer from import/export
data.
Thanks, JIM
 
Top