Is a database the right choice?

Question

Hi! I'm about to open a practice in herbal medicine. I have numerous forms, files, printouts, handouts and homeworks on important information I'll likely need in the coming years, some of it on harddrive, some on portable drive, some hard copy. What's the best way to keep track of this information? My goal is to put something together where I put in a keyword and my computer searches, telling me where to look or even pulling up files.

Is this possible? Would a database do it? How much should I pay for someone to design a database for me?

Much thanks!

Answer 1

Easy database would be something like Access, create a table to hold records and scanned pictures, so when you type in search word, record appears and the scanned pictures will also display.

What you will need in the end really depend on how you want the database to work and how much info you have.

A wrong database could cause nothing but pain in the long run, so plan carefully.

Answer 2

Short answer: Definitely not. A database is very much the wrong choice.

You'll get the most benefit from coming up with a good way to organize your files. I don't mean computer tracking software or the like. Rather, I'm talking about the more basic idea of how you file hard copies (which folder does it go into and where is that folder stored in your office), how you name files, how you name folders, that sort of thing. Instead of a tracking system for each file and printout, a good method of organizing everything has better yields.

Tracking the location of various objects through your computer is messy. You don't have a enterprise level inventory to manage, and you are trying to keep track of things at too granular a level anyway. You'll find a huge overhead with a computer tracking system. Move a file? You *have* to go update it on the computer, because if you don't, the computer information will be misleading. A good organization system will make it easy to find files because you can reason out where something is stored. If you are looking for a hard copy of a printout, you can just look for a special folder or box that contains hard copies of printouts, and look through there. If you use a tracking system, you gain no real benefit. All you end up doing is looking up the item on the computer, and reading out, "it's in the box with all the hard copies of printouts".

But if you really, really want to track your files. I don't recommend a database. At least you haven't indicated any need of a database. What you really have is a giant lookup list. You have a list of files, along with where they are located. You can make this list in Excel (or if you don't have Excel, OpenOffice Calc). Any spreadsheet software, actually, will do. That's right, a giant spreadsheet containing a list of items is all you really need.

A database might be useful if you not only had a large list of items, but you tracked quite a bit of information on each item. Let's say you had a stock of inventory for a store. You not only need to track the location, but the age of the inventory, warranties and insurance on it, it's purchase price, expiry date, whether it was sold and returned, whether it's an incomplete piece still undergoing a manufacturing process. You have an automated system to manage all that information. *Then* it makes sense to have a database.

But in no way are you doing that, according to your question.

Answer 3

I suggest you stick to simple spreadsheets, word documents and paper records until your business is established and you have a steady business process. Get a scanner so that you can take copies of all your forms and accounts. Use an orgnaised folder structure on your PC.

After a year or so, you will probably find that a lot of the data you thought you would need is no longer necessary, and that lots of other things that you never thought of have worked their way into your business. You will probably find yourself dealing with the same forms and procedures every day. This is the point at which you should look at getting a database - once your business processes have stabilised.

Hope this helps.