Not Names but transactions (1 Viewer)

[TurboDieselOne]

I have read over the few months of time I have spent looking through this great site a lot of good things but I need or want to open a discussion on the use of access as a double entry bookkeeping system as the packets on the market are no way near as flexable in report or design and as access comes with office and most people and small companies tend to use excel or access in the beginning I was wondering if a discussion could be started on the design of tables, relatinships and normalisation of data etc. I think this could be good for the freethinking minds on this site also not many people here in the uk seem to be so ready to discuss in the pub or any other place that they enjoy doing this sort of thing.
Programming either databases or any other computer "thing" inmy view is a form of creativity much under appreceiated in modern day living and businesses. In a way it is a sort of music we have a scale and the end product is classed as a composition but the way it is achieved is where the tune or melody comes into play.

Any Views

 

[ColinEssex]

Presumably you want to write a database to do this? Have you started yet?

Col

 

[TurboDieselOne]

Presumably you want to write a database to do this? Have you started yet?

Col

I Have I have tables like Clients, Accounts, Suppliers, Transactions etc but I did before try doing the ledger as a double entry but got told my form was to complicated and that instead of having one form for all transaction I should have one for each well I think why not one form for all transactions but starting parameters for the transaction type ie bill, cheque, Invoice or bill payment etc. I get worried when a databse goes over 3 mb because I think this slows things down.
I bought a new book called Access 2003 VBA programmers Reference but it sure is heavy reading and I am not sure whether to use bound or unbound objects, which I am totaly new to. Also it has to be EUROS and Pounds and Have Debit and Credit Columns in forms and reports, visable or not visable depending on transaction. And also form and control design GUI I feel is really so important in application design. Example SAGE is Good but GUI is Useless Quickbooks GUI is good but Multicurrency design is useless. Tried many others but nothing comes as good as what I can see in my mind as Usefull.

GUI should be so that one doesnot have to be an accountant to understand what is going on or to get infromation from it. I have dealt with many accountants and they are a stickler for keeping there terminology like lawers. Why don't they want it to be really as simple as it is.

 

[neileg]

Speaking as a chartered accountant and a sometimes Access developer, I have to say that I would not develop an accounting application from scratch. Despite consolidation in the accounting market, there are still a huge range of ready to go accounting systems, some of them extremely flexible. Even the inflexible ones tend to present their problems in the way they allow reporting to be carried out. A bit of ODBC connectivity and either Excel or Access and you can sort this one out.

I would point out that Northwind goes a long way to being an accounting system.

Still, you seem to be suggesting that this would give you a buzz, so what the hell, go for it. Good luck.

 

[TurboDieselOne]

Speaking as a chartered accountant and a sometimes Access developer, I have to say that I would not develop an accounting application from scratch. Despite consolidation in the accounting market, there are still a huge range of ready to go accounting systems, some of them extremely flexible. Even the inflexible ones tend to present their problems in the way they allow reporting to be carried out. A bit of ODBC connectivity and either Excel or Access and you can sort this one out.

I would point out that Northwind goes a long way to being an accounting system.

Still, you seem to be suggesting that this would give you a buzz, so what the hell, go for it. Good luck.

But the prices are quite an expence if you want multi currency and I am of the opiniion that the way these applications impliment multi-currency is accounting wise incorrect. All these applications like Quickbooks the way they implent this is in my way of thinking wrong. as when a cross currency item is put into the system say an invoice in euro's but payment in pounds this is correct but the reporting functions only seem to take into account the current exchange rate with no regard to the difference at time of reconciliation or trial balance and the time of the transaction. €10000.00 now is valued at a completely different value as say 01/04/04 so should this gain or loss be a live ongoing Transaction

 

[neileg]

By the time you have completed your Access based accounting system, you will:
1) Consider that the amount charged for accounting software is quite reasonable.
2) Understand that the programming overhead to reflect transactions in the way that accounting standards expect can be huge, and that compromise is often the only way out. Just have a go at writing a simple stock control system that runs on FIFO principles and you will see what I mean.
3) You will have become an expert Access programmer and will be able to charge large amounts for your expertise.

 

[Rich]

You will have become an expert Access programmer and will be able to charge large amounts for your expertise.

or come here and post for free

 

[TurboDieselOne]

or come here and post for free

Maybe I want to become an Expert Programmer but not charge large amount but fair amounts