Have to design database - no idea where to start

I have to design a database that will be used to do Bussines Plans.
I know how to create the tables , I am just not sure if what I am planning
will work.

I need to have various fields that will be text fields that the client will
have to complete.
My big concern which I am not certain about is:
If I create a lot of tables and I set the relationship, is the best way to
set it going to be the That the client Number will have to be put into every
table?

It all depends on what "business plan" means to you. In my experience,
every project is different and therefore business planning requires more
flexibility than a relational database can easily provide. Maybe you are
working in a field where projects and business plans can be sufficiently
standardised: would you like to tell us a bit more?


On Fri, 14 Apr 2006 10:37:02 -0700, Access Africa Access
wrote:

I have to design a database that will be used to do Bussines Plans.
I know how to create the tables , I am just not sure if what I am planning
will work.

I need to have various fields that will be text fields that the client will
have to complete.
My big concern which I am not certain about is:
If I create a lot of tables and I set the relationship, is the best way to
set it going to be the That the client Number will have to be put into every
table?

--
John Nurick [Microsoft Access MVP]

Please respond in the newgroup and not by email.

Knowing "how to create the tables" is not as important as knowing "when".

Any pile of facts can be put into a table. To get the most out of Access'
features and functions, you need to spend the time to normalize your data.
This is best accomplished by first turning off the computer, then picking up
pencil and paper and drawing boxes and lines.

Each box represents a different "entity" (a concept about which you wish to
store information). Take a look at the topic of normalization to get the
entities down.

Then look for how the entities are related. These are the lines.

For example, if you were building an Order Entry system, one Person (an
entity) could have zero, one or more Orders (another entity). And one Order
could have one or more Order Items (another entity).

Good luck on your project.

Jeff Boyce
Microsoft Office/Access MVP

"Access Africa" Access wrote in message
...
I have to design a database that will be used to do Bussines Plans.
I know how to create the tables , I am just not sure if what I am planning
will work.

I need to have various fields that will be text fields that the client
will
have to complete.
My big concern which I am not certain about is:
If I create a lot of tables and I set the relationship, is the best way to
set it going to be the That the client Number will have to be put into
every
table?

The idea behind the database is that we brake the standard bussiness plan
down in simple questions and that the answers get pulled through to a
standard report , which will cover all the sections of s business plan.
I took the basic Bussiness Plan template from Word and I am using some of
the info from there.
My Switch Board Items will be:

Executive summary and table of contents.................
Personal information....
Details of personal assets...
Details of personal liabilities.
Business description............
Market analysis....................
Marketing and sales activities.....
Products and services..
Operations...................
Source and application of funding......
Financial data.....................................
Notes.........
Appendices or exhibits.............
Administrative considerations...
Market Analysis.........................
Marketing and Sales Activities

My big thing is that I am just not sure how to link all the tables up , so
that each record (Single Client) will be linked to all the tables.
I also have to design it so that it can generate finacials (cash-flow,
income statement and balance sheet) from data the client provides.
The idea behind this is to help young business, who does not have any
knowledge on business plans to be able to complete the questions and have a
business plan that they understand and that the banks will consider for
funding as well.

Please re-read my response.

How you present the tasks to the user is not limited to how you've organized
the data. But failing to spend the time normalizing your data structure
will seriously constrain how/if you are able to present the data for your
users' benefit.

--
Regards

Jeff Boyce
Microsoft Office/Access MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/

Microsoft IT Academy Program Mentor
http://microsoftitacademy.com/

Microsoft Registered Partner
https://partner.microsoft.com/


"Access Africa" wrote in message
...


The idea behind the database is that we brake the standard bussiness plan
down in simple questions and that the answers get pulled through to a
standard report , which will cover all the sections of s business plan.
I took the basic Bussiness Plan template from Word and I am using some of
the info from there.
My Switch Board Items will be:

Executive summary and table of contents.................
Personal information....
Details of personal assets...
Details of personal liabilities.
Business description............
Market analysis....................
Marketing and sales activities.....
Products and services..
Operations...................
Source and application of funding......
Financial data.....................................
Notes.........
Appendices or exhibits.............
Administrative considerations...
Market Analysis.........................
Marketing and Sales Activities

My big thing is that I am just not sure how to link all the tables up , so
that each record (Single Client) will be linked to all the tables.
I also have to design it so that it can generate finacials (cash-flow,
income statement and balance sheet) from data the client provides.
The idea behind this is to help young business, who does not have any
knowledge on business plans to be able to complete the questions and have
a
business plan that they understand and that the banks will consider for
funding as well.

"Jeff Boyce" wrote:

Jeff,
I am looking into the normalization of the data at the moment.
I understand what you are saying, and I busy reading up on it at the moment.
Thanks for your help.

The business plan template from Word, *will not give you* the design of
the table structures in Access. To design the table structures in
Access, you need to use a non-trivial, non-intuitive process called
"database normalization". If you do not know what this is, you need to
learn about it *before you go any further*. Google the Access groups
for that term, there will be lots of references

HTH,
TC (MVP Access)
http://tc2.atspace.com

TC
I am using the template only as a starting point to gather information , I
am also using various other sources to make sure that I have all aspects of
the BP covered.
I have found a few links to Database Normaliszation, thanks for your reply

"TC" wrote:

The business plan template from Word, *will not give you* the design of
the table structures in Access. To design the table structures in
Access, you need to use a non-trivial, non-intuitive process called
"database normalization". If you do not know what this is, you need to
learn about it *before you go any further*. Google the Access groups
for that term, there will be lots of references

HTH,
TC (MVP Access)
http://tc2.atspace.com

Ok, glad I could help.

"Database Normalization" truly is the essential thing to understand
here.

Feel free to post back to this group, if you have any further
questions.

Cheers,
TC (MVP Access)
http://tc2.atspace.com

take a look at http://home.att.net/~california.db/tips.html, which is
focused specifically on helping newbies start off on the right foot, and be
sure to follow the link in Tip#1.

hth


"Access Africa" wrote in message
...
TC
I am using the template only as a starting point to gather information , I
am also using various other sources to make sure that I have all aspects
of
the BP covered.
I have found a few links to Database Normaliszation, thanks for your reply

"TC" wrote:

The business plan template from Word, *will not give you* the design of
the table structures in Access. To design the table structures in
Access, you need to use a non-trivial, non-intuitive process called
"database normalization". If you do not know what this is, you need to
learn about it *before you go any further*. Google the Access groups
for that term, there will be lots of references

HTH,
TC (MVP Access)
http://tc2.atspace.com