Many years ago I used a product called DataEase (Sapphire Systems then) to
write a Dos based system and found it intuitive and easy, but I do not like
their Windows based system because, to me at least, it's too graphical and
nowhere near so intuitive or versatile. For example you could easily link
Tables (they called them forms because the intuitive part was form-table
automation) so that for the example below no external programming was
needed.

I did a few things with it but for example with stock control...

Product table was linked to suppliers table so I could have several
suppliers for one product and choose one easily. Similarly items were booked
out as a transaction (using a more or less ad hoc form) and so one booking
could easily pull info from the stock table and do the necessary math. The
advantage was that more or less anything could easily be done by transaction
and thus a history was kept.

I have never made a serious attempt with Access, I'm 20+ years older and
programming is not my job but I'd like to make the job easier so my basic
question is how would one go about doing something similar - for example
would it be better to use single machine and just access, or would it be
better to use SQL server (even on the same machine) or would SQL server and
VB be the only viable answer?

I think the power of DataEase came from the fact that any report could be
used to modify the tables and so giving 50 items to customer A, adjusting
stock and generating an order to supplier Z was very simple.

I should add I guess that this will be essentially a single location / user
system but the PC is part of a small business network and running an SQL
should present no major problems.

So if any experienced access users want to chip in with ideas I'd appreciate
it, we do not have to be accountable so an expensive bespoke solution is
neither desirable nor necessary.

TIA

Charlie