Do you have them BOTH open at the same time (excel file and linked table/form)? If so, you will run into that problem. But, you should be able to add a new record in Excel, close the file, and then open the Access table or form and see the new record.
I used to use a linked Excel file quite heavily. I entered in new shipments on the Excel file, then closed it and went to Access, where I had a form whose underlying query used the linked Excel file along with related Access tables. It was okay, but I had to remember to close the Excel file before opening the Access form, or everything went in the toilet. Also remember to not open the Excel file while I had the form open.
Only reason I went this way was because I could keep the listing of shipments in the same order as I received them from a list generated by another department, which was arranged in a rather arbitrary manner. Access tables, and even queries, won't let you do that. I finally tired of doing it this way, and realized that as long as the shipmentss were grouped by date, it mattered not for the business model if my data was ordered exactly like the sheets I received daily. I say all that to say that I'm WAY better of having converted linked Excel files to Access tables. Lots less headaches, like the one you're seeing. There are times and places for linking Excel though, I just avoid it if not necessary.
Good luck.
