Excel - Upgrading to an Access Database
Many people try to use Microsoft Excel as a database, while this is feasible for very small amounts of data you will find that you start to run into issues. Many of my customers have come to me and asked me to develop a full multi-user database without losing the data they have gathered in Excel over the years.
Upgrading from Excel
When upgrading from Excel to Access, it is imperative to clean the Excel data, Excel allows users to type whatever they like into each cell, if you have a column containing dates, then it should not contain text or numeric data, I have seen date cells where the client has entered things like “Next Tuesday” Access is strongly typed, this means that if there is an area to enter a date, it will only accept dates, this is a great advantage as it promotes clean data and accurate reporting.
Excel cleaning, I can assist in cleaning your Excel data prior to importing into your new Access Database, sometimes I can change may records with a small bit of programing code that may have taken someone some considerable time to do manually.
Stuart Arkell, Dart Systems Ltd said "We had been using manual systems before we found Dennis online and after having had a couple of conversations with him knew that he understood our problems and issues through his previous experience." See my testimonials
Interfacing with Excel
Sometimes there are requirements to interface with Excel data, perhaps you receive data periodically in Excel format, I can develop your database to allow you to easily import this data.
Also, sometimes there is a requirement to export data from your Access Database in Excel format, I can program this functionality so you can export with the click of a button.
Benefits of Access over Excel
As mentioned above, Access is strongly typed and I program my databases to validate data so you have a nice clean efficient database.
Access is multi-user, so you no longer have to wait for a colleague to stop using an Excel file so you can edit it, multiply users can use the database simultaneously.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need advice on making the move from Excel to a professionally developed Access Database.