Help with query that will return values whenI enter dates

[scottappleford]

Hi

I have a db that has 3 tables for an archive.

tbl 1 - contains details of a contract

contract no pk
contract name etc.

tbl 2 - contains details of a box

there can be any number of boxes relating to a contract

contract no pk
box no pk
yes/no - is it in the archive

tbl 3 - for when a box leaves the archive

contract no
box no
box location
date out
date back
etc.

what i would like is for the db to tell me how many boxes were in the archive between certain dates for invoice purposes.

I know how to do a parameter query so the db asks for the date, but where do I put date fields in the db?

thanks in advance

scott