Dead Men Walking

dMw Chit Chat => The Beer Bar => Technology Section => Topic started by: A Twig on August 01, 2005, 02:03:58 PM

Title: Client Letters Database
Post by: A Twig on August 01, 2005, 02:03:58 PM
Am working temporarily for an accountancy firm. They have a database of clients in IRIS. Having just spent ages using auto text and an address book to type out three sets of 80 letters there must be a way to effectively automate this.

Essentially, depending on the work the firm does for a client, they get between one and three yearly newsletters, on personal tax, inheritance tax, and business (i think).

Is it possible to set up IRIS so once we have produced the standard letters and selected what each client has, it will create them all, or alternatively is there a different program/process I could use?

All it needs is to insert the appropriate address, and name, into the required letters.

Example:
Joe Bloggs - we cover his inheritance and personal tax, so when I hit go, two letters are produced containting his name and address and greeting - one of them is the personal tax newsletter, the other the inheritance tax. However, as we do not do is business tax as he is retired, he does not get one of those newsletters?

A pint to the neatest and most elegant solution.
Title: Client Letters Database
Post by: Gandalf on August 01, 2005, 02:08:22 PM
I can tell you how to do it in access, I can even supply some examples as it is really easy. We do several similar things here.

But I can't help with IRIS. Never used it before, sorry.

However, if it has the ability to ODBC into the backend data and you have access then that is one way of doing it.
Title: Client Letters Database
Post by: A Twig on August 01, 2005, 03:35:13 PM
So essentially if it does have ODBC then the access DB will essentially be just viewing the same info through a different viewer? Which I could then alter to be able to create the letters?
Title: Client Letters Database
Post by: Gandalf on August 01, 2005, 03:50:27 PM
basically, yes.
Title: Client Letters Database
Post by: A Twig on August 01, 2005, 04:37:00 PM
QuoteOriginally posted by Gandalf-LordOfJelly@Aug 1 2005, 02:50 PM
basically, yes.
[post=90248]Quoted post[/post]
[/b]

Oooh, I am clever! Don't suppose you could e-mail me an example could you? I've PMed you the address to sue if you could.

Cheers