Would you expect to purchase Java and be able to develop an application? The problem is not with Access. The problem is that developing an application is far different from using a word processor to write a letter or using a spreadsheet program to create your grocery list. To develop an application you need to acquire a number of skillsets. You can't just sit down, open Access and expect to be productive.
1. You need to be able to gather requirements and define the business rules.
2. You need to be able to identify the data that needs to be stored and develp an appropriate schema that will efficiently store the data and include referential integrity and data validation rules to minimize data errors.
3. You need to be able to lay out understandable forms and reports so that data can be entered and displayed in a coherent fashion.
4. You need to be able to create queries so you need to learn SQL or at least learn how to use the built in query builder to handle your basic needs.
5. And finally, to produce professional quality applications, you need to learn VBA so that you can write code that does things that you cannot do by simply setting property values and choosing options from lists.
There is a membership template available from the Microsoft templates site. It will give you a start.
Open Access
Look at the templates available in General Templates (from the task pane)
If there is no suitable template (I'm not sure what 2003 comes with) then go to the web by selecting the templates from Microsoft.com option. You will be taken to the main templates page. There are dozens of templates for all the office products. Here is a direct link to the membership db template.
Memberships template
