Log-in Screen

            This is the first screen the user will see. Its main purpose is as a place for the user to enter a user name and password. When the user pushes the “Start Database” button, the program takes the user name and password along with information from the setup screen and starts Microsoft Access and the actual database itself. This screen is not actually needed to run the database, but it makes the starting process simpler.

Eventually the licensed entries will be filled in with the name of the company to which the program is licensed. The license information is to cut down on copying and unauthorized distribution of the program. A check for authenticity for both the license and the password are done within this loader program. If any of the information is wrong, the user will be denied access to the database. Also, the license and password are checked again within the database itself.

Main Menu

            Once the database is running, this is the central menu that the user uses to navigate to the different sections of the program. The title and logo on the right-hand side will be changed for each individual company. Also at the bottom will show the current user who is logged in, and in a future version will show their security level.

            The top three menu items are for accessing the main event form. The “Edit Events” button will open the form and allow you to search and filter the records, and of course edit them. The “Add Events” button will open a blank events form. The “Events Report” button will open a menu to allow the user to print reports such as the following: Deposit Due list, Deposit Due letter, Payment Due list, Payment Due letter, various calendars, end-of-day reports, contracts, invoice, and final bills.

Customer Information Form

  Employee Information Form

Equipment Information Form

 Facility Information Form

Event Information Form

            This form is the centerpiece of the program. It is where each event is individually listed and where new events can be added.  At the top of the form we start with the event’s basic information, including the “Event ID,” which is used for tracking and linking all the sub-forms and for linking when printing reports. Also at the top of the form is a drop-down box to choose which customer the event is for.

The “Show Customer Data” button will bring up the customer data form for the customer for this event. Below the basic information is the “Time/Date” sub-form. This contains all the dates and times for an event, with crew needs and type of event.

            Below the “Time/Date” sub-form is the “Employees” sub-form. This lists the employees assigned to the event. Once an event is over, the user can enter the total number of hours an employee worked to keep track of employee hours and to facilitate the printing of bills for the customer. This form links back to the employee information form to get the names and pay rate information.

            Next is the “Facilities” sub-form. This is a listing of all the rooms in use for an event. Listings for this form are grabbed from the “Facility Information” form.  At time of initial entry, the rooms are chosen and the units used are filled in. This will then accommodate the printing of invoices and contracts.

We then come to the “Equipment” sub-form. This is like the “Facilities” and “Employees” sub-forms, except that it tracks the use of various equipment in the theater.

            “Charge Credit” is used for tracking of miscellaneous fees and credits not covered elsewhere in the forms. This is a stand-alone form and does not link back to any other forms.

The “Payment” sub-form is designed to track spaced-out payments from a customer. Part of this form is a column to keep track of what accounts payments were deposited into.