Transcript DBs for SBs

NAPO Conference
Databases for Small
Businesses
Presented by
Jeff Orrik
Orrik Business Works
3/25/2006
©copyright Orrik Business Works 2006
Abstract
Professional Organizers are a wiz at figuring out where to file a
paper and what to do with clutter, but much of that clutter and a
lot of that "paper" now comes in electronic form. Many organizers
are at a loss as to how to organize the bits and bytes of
electronic clutter so that information is at their and their clients'
fingertips. This workshop will provide an overview as to how
Professional Organizers can leverage their organizational skills
using databases on the computer. It will show the many different
ways databases can be used to organize information for a
business, some of the database tools that they can use and
some creative ways of using them to make the inside of a
computer as organized as they can make the inside of a file
cabinet. Several examples will be demonstrated. We will talk
about database design - i.e. how to organize data. The workshop
will discuss database tool and application selection and introduce
some tools that even the beginner can use to organize their or
their clients' data.
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Agenda
Databases – the organizer inside your
computer
Applications
A Primer
Demonstrations
Q&A
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Data Bases run the World
Think about it…
Oracle, SAP, Financial & Enterprise DBs
Wall Street
Google
Websites
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If you spend a half-hour
Looking for your keys…
How much time to you spend looking for that
piece of information you had at your
fingeritps?
•Email
•Receipt
•Presentation
•Photograph
•Document
•Statement
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How much time do you
Spend re-entering information in more than
one place?
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Cell Phone
Rolodex
Business Card file
Spreadsheet
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As Organizers, You…
Help your clients deal with clutter
Reduce the amount of paper they keep
But NOW there is also clutter inside their computers…
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There is an Information Glut
But we have…
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Bigger Hard Drives
CDs & DVDs
Google Desktop
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Why Databases?
Finding information – theory of
accessibility
Relating information
Categorizing information
Reporting
Automating data intensive tasks
Data Mining
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Use Databases to:
Retrieve
Sort
Analyze
Summarize
Report Results
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Database Applications
Financial – QuickBooks, Quicken, Peachtree
Contact Management / CRM – ACT!, Goldmine,
Salesforce.com
General Business – Online Catalogs, Order
Management
Database software – MS Access, SQL,
HanDBase, PHP
Some you wouldn’t think of – Outlook, Google,
Windows Explorer
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Online vs. Homegrown
Public Information vs. unique to your
client’s Personal/Business
Accessibility – when will they need the
information?
Convenience – will it be there when they
need it in a form that is helpful?
Online examples: Linked In and Constant
Contact
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Physical v. Virtual
A major goal of Organizers is to help
people reduce and organize mountains of
paper
Anytime you can avoid getting paper is
goodness
We’ll never be paperless, but we can try
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Getting Rid of Paper
Receipts -> PaperPort
Bank Statements -> Quicken, QuickBooks
Articles -> PDF Creator, email
Lists -> PDA
Photos -> Album software, CDs
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Linking the Physical & Virtual
Set up your file folders on your PC to
match your paper filing system
Use a database to keep track of where the
information is kept
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A Primer on Databases
Fields, Tables, Keys
Records - Header & detail
Data Types
Relationships – Data Model
Queries
Forms
Reports
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A Database is…
A logically coherent collection of data with
some inherent meaning
A filing system for your computer
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Two Kinds of DataBases
Hierarchical / Flat File
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Single Table
Spreadsheet
List
Relational
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Order Entry
Contact Management
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Fields
A field is a place to store information of the
same type, ex. Name, address, sales,
order number
It is like a column in a spreadsheet
Can be of many different types
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More on Fields
Validation
Multiple choice
Indexed
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Records – Header & Detail
A record is a set of fields with data
A Header record is a set of fields that
contain summary information – ex., an
order
A Detail record is a set of subordinate
fields that are related to the header, but
may be several instances – ex., the line
items in the order
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Tables
A table is like a spreadsheet, composed of
many records
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Keys
A key is a unique identifier that helps
retrieve a record and distinguish it from
other records ex., SSN
A key may be a combination of fields
The table is always indexed by the key for
fast retrieval, but a table may also be
indexed by other fields
Foreign Key
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Data Types
Text
Memo
Number
Date/Time
Currency
Autonumber (internal
identifier)
Yes/No (checkbox)
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OLE Objects (like
pictures, PDFs, etc.
Special (Phone
numbers, zip codes)
Multiple Choice / Drop
downs
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Relational
Relational = Multidimensional
Use for Information that is related in
different ways
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Relationships
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Queries
A way of searching your database for
records that meet criteria that you specify
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Forms
An arrangement of data (fields) on a
screen for easy data entry or retreival
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Reports
A preset template for arranging,
summarizing and making calculations on
data
A Report contains text too, so a Mail
Merge is a special example of a report
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MS Access Templates
Contact Management
Customer Orders
Event Management
Inventory
Management
Issues
Membership
Resource Scheduling
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Service Call
Management
Asset Tracking
Expense Report
Time & Billing
Classroom
Management
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MS Access Templates (Home)
Book Collection
Charitable
Contributions
DVD Collection
Home Contents
Inventory
Music Collection
Personal Address
Book
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Photograph
Recipe Collection
Video Collection
Wine Collection
Workout History
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Where to go from here
Office.microsoft.com ->training, Access
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Database Examples
ACT! / Contact Management
Windows Explorer
Outlook
Excel
HanDBase
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Contact Management DBs
Swiss Army Knife:
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Rolodex
Calendar
Prioritized Action List
Client File
Marketing Tracker
Sales Management
Some – Customer Service
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Contact Management Tools
ACT! 2006 - EOMSA
GoldMine 6.7 - FOMSA
Outlook 2003 - O
Access 2003 - FPA
Excel 2003 - F
MS CRM 3.0 - $$$$FOC
SalesForce.com - $$EMC
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Attributes:
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E=easy to use
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F=flexible
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M=multi-user
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A=add-ons/templates
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C=customer service
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$$=expensive
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P=programming
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O=syncs to Outlook
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S=syncs to Palm
All – Data import
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Customizing
Add fields that:
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Help you Qualify a customer
Answer survey questions
Are attributes of ongoing customers (ex.
Computer Brand and operating system)
Help you personalize interactions
Change layouts to include new fields
If you add these fields, FILL THEM IN
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Mail Merge
How to:
Documents
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Real Estate Closing
Work Orders
Estimates
Legal (ex. Wills)
Boiler Plate
(proposals)
Targeted Martketing
Postcards
E-mails
E-Newsletters
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Create & fill custom fields
as needed
Open existing template,
SaveAs
Open existing Doc, cut and
Paste into template
Rearrange fields from
existing template, add new
ones
Save template, test on
small sample
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Tips: Importing Data
1. Do it in Excel with at Tab delimited text
file
2. Coordinate Excel column headings with
Contact Manager field names
3. Avoid Duplicates – (ACT – company,
contact, phone)
4. Make a back-up before your import
5. Consider a separate DB
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Windows Explorer
Think of it as a filing cabinet for your Files
The File path is the Key
More Fields – comment field
Versioning
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Outlook
Email Database – probably the messiest
File Folders
Rules = Queries
Turn emails into tasks
Also a reasonably good Contact
Management database
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Excel
You can do forms
You can sort data
You can Query / Filter data
Also a great tool for data cleanup (CSV’s)
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HanDBase
Hand held – Palm or PocketPC
Large Gallery of Database Structures &
DataBases with Data: eg Diet, Shopping
List, Service Call Tracking, Expenses,
Auto Mileage / Maintenance, Job Search,
NASCAR Schedule
www.ddhsoftware.com
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DBs for your Home Customers
Home Inventory
CDs/Books
Wines
Collectibles
Shopping List
Nutritional/ Diet
Exercise
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Auto Maintenance
Records
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DBs for Your Business Customers
Inventory
Order Entry
Financial
Contact Management
Service Call
Management
Event Management
Time & Billing,
Patient Records
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Project
Articles
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DBs for Your Organizing Business
Financial
Contact / Customer
Newsletter
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Integration of DataBases
Quickbooks and ACT
Quickbooks Customer Manager
CSV files – Import and Export
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Takeaways
 Use Databases to organize data using
the same filing concepts you use to
organize paper files – leverage your
abilities as an organizer
 Set up database structures that your
clients will be most likely to use & make
them available on your website
 KISS = Keep it Simple
 NINO = Nothing in Nothing out
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Takeaways cont’d
Use Templates to get you started
Look for value, convenience and
accessibility
Enter data in only one place whenever
possible
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Contact Info
ORRIK
B USINESS
W ORKS
Jeff Orrik
Orrik Business Works
Phone: (781)721-1545
Email: [email protected]
www.orrik.com
3/25/2006
©copyright Orrik Business Works 2006
3/25/2006
©copyright Orrik Business Works 2006
3/25/2006
©copyright Orrik Business Works 2006
3/25/2006
©copyright Orrik Business Works 2006
3/25/2006
©copyright Orrik Business Works 2006