Database project - thoughts, suggestions, etc. please

[Booty]

I'm going to be helping my dad (an insurance salesman) get a little more organized so he can be more efficient. Now, there are a few client/prospect managment systems that we've looked at, but in the end, they're too complex or expensive for what we need.

All we really want is to have a simple database to store some client information... the typical contact information, etc. The interface has to simple enough for the other employees of the department to use so that they can add notes/information/clients to the database. The initial thought is to keep it incredibly simple... just have the client contact information, possibly a note as to when they were last contacted, etc... but it would be nice if it could be expanded to be more complex later on if we need it to be.

I was going to start saying what I had in mind, but I changed my mind and thought maybe I'd see what suggestions popped up first. The main thing here is to get away from having to go grab files from the filing cabinets, having to hand-write notes to stick in those files, going through the files manually to check when the last time someone was contacted was, etc. It can all be done so much more efficiently using some sort of computer system... suggestions on where to begin the transition are what I'm after.

Thanks all.

 

[oog]

aren't there contact management packages out there like Act? it depends on how many clients we're talking about for which packages you want to look at. our company uses pivotal.

 

[Booty]

Yeah, there are different packages out there, but my dad hasn't found anything he likes... he just wants something fairly simple that doesn't require a huge investment. I personally haven't gone out looking at what's available up until now, so if there's a fairly cheap solution I'm all ears... otherwise, I figured I'd try to hack out something that would work, but wanted some advice since this is my first attempt at, well, anything even close to a project of this magnitude.

As for number of clients, well, it'd be nice to be able manage prospects as well, so the number could climb into the thousands, but to be honest I haven't been working with him long enough to really give an accurate estimate... I'll check on that and post back.

 

[DT4K]

What's your programming and database background?
If you know VB, it's easy to create a simple database using MS Access.
You can either do it all in Access or just do the db in Access and throw together some basic VB forms for a front-end app.
If all he wants is to keep track of clients and contact with those clients, it shouldn't be too hard.

I'd charge $50 an hour for something like that and probably estimate 10 hours.

EDIT: something like that would be easy to add to in the future.

 

[bradolson]

You could also do something with PHP/MySQL and have it accessable either over the internet if necessary or just within your network. Shouldn't take more than 5-6 hours if you know what you are doing.

Brad

 

[jonmullen]

I think PHP/MySQL would be the easiest and cheapest. Also be the easiest to turn into a multiple user setting

 

[Booty]

Originally posted by: bradolson
You could also do something with PHP/MySQL and have it accessable either over the internet if necessary or just within your network. Shouldn't take more than 5-6 hours if you know what you are doing.

Brad

Sorry it took so long to reply... been busy. Anyway, this is definately along the lines of what I was thinking of doing. I don't have a lot of experience with this, however, so I need some advice as to where to start... I have no problems buying a couple books and doing some learning, as this project is kind of an ongoing thing that really isn't expected or needed to be completed in a hurry. It's just something that we would like to eventually transition to, for the obvious efficiency benefits. Any good books, websites, or other sources I should start looking at? Thanks all!

 

[Superwormy]

www.php.net/
www.zend.com/
pear.php.net/
www.mysql.com/

www.phpbuilder.com/