Let s start with the issue of function. What are you most likely to do with Access? There is an incredibly wide range of possibilities. Here are just a few ways someone might use Access at work:
Develop a sales inventory database that interacts with point-of-sale software, updating inventory levels automatically at the close of each business day.
Create a database for patient accounts in your optometrist s office that stores individual patient records, includes examination results, tracks office visits and prescription changes, and prints out a reminder card automatically one month before each patient s yearly checkup.
Design a back end for a Web application, in which users take an online survey and answer questions about your company s product. The results are saved in an Access database, and can be used in further analyses and reports .
Add a personnel database to your system that keeps track of each employee s start date, semiannual reviews, performance, payroll, bonuses, commendations, and vacation time.
Note | As you begin to work with Access, you ll no doubt discover ways in which you can put the program to work for simple and not-so-simple data management uses. Once you discover how easy it is to create and work with data tables in Access, you won t have an excuse not to organize your data better. |