Database software for home business?

I want to set up a database software for my Grandpa so that he can better manage his costumers in his Bus business. I need help with finding good software that will be easy to use and run as a standalone, oh and it needs to be free . I want to set it up so it is easy to put in more data and to search it, and it will need to print menafests. It would be running on a older computer because that is all he has. I know some software but it is all deigned for larger use then just two people running a home business.

Thanks

 

does grandpa need a Real Database or just a good PIM (personal information manager) with extensible fields?

billing, shiping, etc, etc or contact & email management?

 

well all it needs to do is to hold costumer info, be search able, add costumers, and print a manifest based on only part of the costumer info, would the PIM work for that?

 

You'll need to look at the capabilities of a few of the many pims available out there......

 

could u recommend any??

 

Microsoft Access

 

Well it's not free but I've been using Ultra Recall for years now and it's really a great free-form database/pim application.

Ultra Recall - Personal information manager and knowledge organizer for Windows

 

He has used Access before but it wont print the manifest because it wont let him select only part of his costumers (he has a lot) and it prints uneven and out of alignment.

 

What about using MySQL and a web based interface? But you'd need to write that site from scratch...

 

i thought of that but it would not work very well because he has only 2 computers and both are being used one by him and one by grandma. But that would have been what worked except for that little problem. MySQL, PHP, Apache would be a little much to run on his computer unless there is a lite version that i don't know about.

 

You don't need Apache.

MySQL runs on Windows too - Internet Information Service, PHP is easy to add (and apparently self configures - use the "Microsoft Web Platform Installer) - heck he can run it on his own computer unless its dead slow - I have IIS and PHP running on my Vaio, great for local testing.

 

i now all this but it would need to be accessed from two comps so Apache would be need but MySQL is way more then what he needs but thanks for the help, i will probably need to use it any way.

 

If if it needs to be accessed from two computers you still wouldn't need Apache - it would still work with IIS and Windows BUT you need a static PC.

 

IIS is a web server but made by Microsoft. But i don't have experience with it so i would not know how to set it up.

 

Basically just create a new site with about 3 clicks and it works
Foolproof.

 

MySQL would be a good choice. Relational databases are relatively easy to setup, and not too hard to understand.

As others have said, you'll need to create a site, but that shouldn't be too hard either, given the requirements are very simple, and only they would be seeing it.

 

Thanks i am going to use MySQL and PHP to make a site that will run in the back ground on his comp.

 

sorry for pulling the thread up but he had a Microsoft Access database before (its a little out of date) and so to make it easier we wanted to move that data over but every way i try to do it it doesn't work, on MySQL website they say use migration toolkit but they EOLed it to MySQL workbench and now i cant find the tool to move it over. any ideas?


Thanks

 

That kind of technical question is better asked at Stack Overflow or Server Fault.

Good luck .