Question about integrating Excel, Word, and/or Access for an invoice program

[AncientPC]

Basically what I want to do is create a database of users (names, addresses, monthly fee, etc) and then print out invoice letters off a template filling in the fields with information from the database.

I'm not sure what's the best way to do this. I'm thinking about inputting the data into Excel and making a template with Word where I can print out a single invoice with information filled in from Excel, but I haven't been able to link the two different documents together.

Can anyone give me a direction I should be heading towards here?

 

[EagleKeeper]

You can have a template in Word that will pull data from the database via a query.
Then just print it.

 

[hoihtah]

this is what access is made for... the whole thing.
no integration necessary.

but by the sound of it... you don't have much experience in Access.
if it is one time deal where you want to print out invoices... i'd say go with excel or word route
if this is an on going thing... then perhaps looking into creating access db isn't a bad idea.

it's not that difficult to do.

let me know if you need help in that.

 

[AncientPC]

That's what I thought but haven't had time to mess around with Access that much (messing around with PHP and Flash at the moment). I'm sure it'd take a long time to explain so do you know of any good sites to visit or just some pointers to start out with Access?

These invoices need to be mailed out every month, but my parents have been manually typing them up on the typewriter (ouch) when I'm not there (then it's my job, eww) so I'd like to make it as effortless as possible.

 

[hoihtah]

if you have some understanding of how databases work...
and how queries work...
then it should be real easy to set up something that'll just print out labels.

my suggestion would be to just jump right in.

open up access and mess around a bit.
look at the northwind example that they have.

create and define tables
create forms
create reports for printing purposes

that should do it

 

[AncientPC]

I got through the table and form setup just fine, but am having trouble with the reports / querying.

I can setup a report to print out everything, but I'm not sure how to make an invoice template to pull information from the database and print it.

To skip the querying thing right now, suppose I want to print an invoice for every entry in the database. How do I input the data into a template and then print out 20 copies of the same invoice with different data?

 

[Romanza]

That's pretty much the job of access. A query just narrows down the number of selected records: you just want to print the invoice for all customers named "jones" , for example. If you want to print the entire db, then use report wizard to easily set up your invoice text. You'll select the data fields coming from the tables that you've set up. My invoice files look like this: a customer file - name and address, a product file (description, cost, selling price, inventory code), a transaction detail file ( a snapshot of the transaction: cust. "A" ordered 500 widgets on June 6). The report/invoice would use fields from each of those tables.
Unless you narrow the db with a query, Access will automatically print all records.

If you have something simplier in mind - Jones owes $300 on 6/30, no detail of the job or transaction, then Word would be much more simple. Use the merge letter tools to set up a simple list of the variables.
HTH, good luck.

 

[NeoV]

you set up the table in Access, and you use the mail-merge function in word...

 

[AncientPC]

I seem to have it working fine. The only problem is I can't make the fields smaller in the report between city, state, and zip code.

Also, I'm not sure how to use the page break button during the report's design view. It adds a small text box where I want the page break, but once I go to print preview the first page still lists two entries.

I've uploaded what I have so far:
http://www.ancientpc.net/ABC.mdb

 

[AncientPC]

bumpity bump bump bump