Master application wraps up all bridge applications for simplicity in access

I mentioned in an earlier post that I developed a bridge application to help facilitate payroll entry. I've actually developed several of these applications for different clients, based on the unique layouts of the individual payroll files.

We typically evaluate a candidate for such an application based on the following criteria:

• The client is not using our web-based method of submitting payroll
• The client has 40 or more active employees
• The client submits their payroll as an attachment via electronic mail

We have assigned people who normally run the payrolls for each client, and hence also run these applications. There are other occasions, however, when that payroll specialist is out sick or on vacation, that someone else needs to run the bridge application for that client.

To accomplish this, I created a "wrapper" application, a "master" application, in Microsoft Access, with a form containing a list of all the clients who have one of these applications. The payroll specialist double-clicks the client's name, and that simultaneously launches the individual bridge application and closes the master/wrapper application. Each payroll specialist has a shortcut to this application on their desktop.

As I develop new bridge applications, I simply add a record with the required information to the table in the the wrapper application.