Blog Posts

I’m excited to announce that Andy Tabisz, owner of WorkSmart, has been awarded the 2015 Microsoft MVP award!

From the Microsoft website:

Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, or MVPs, are community leaders who’ve demonstrated an exemplary commitment to helping others get the most out of their experience with Microsoft technologies. They share their exceptional passion, real-world knowledge, and technical expertise with the community and with Microsoft.

Technical communities play a vital role in the adoption and advancement of technology—and in helping our customers do great things with our products and services. For more than two decades, the Microsoft MVP Award has provided us an opportunity to say thank you to independent community leaders and to bring the voice of community into our technology roadmap through direct relationships with Microsoft product teams and events such as the MVP Global Summit.

This is a huge honor for me & I’m excited to be a part of this unique community. I’m told that there are only 73 Microsoft MVPs for Access worldwide, about 45 of those are located within the United States.

To see my MVP page, please go to https://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/PublicProfile/5001211

We’ve been talking over the last few months and having a Michigan Access User Group. Just a place where Access users can ask questions and share knowledge about Access… nothing formal. The problem was logistics. I’m in Grand Rapids but there are people from Detroit and the UP that were interested as well. So, we’ve decided to go with webinars, giving everyone a chance to meet up with others across the state. There is no commitment, no dues, no requirements. Just an interest in Access and joining in on the conversation, either with questions of your own or in helping others with their questions.

We’ll be giving freebies at many of the meetings! I plan to give away 1 free book per quarter (your choice from over 500 tech books) and I’m also looking into getting some free 1-year O365 trial licenses as well (typical trial software lasts only 30 days).

We’re having our first Michigan Access Users Group (MAUG) meeting at 4:00pm – 4:45 ET today (9/16/14).

We will hold 45-60 minute meetings every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month.

The user group website is located at http://www.accessusergroups.org/maug

You can find the meeting info at http://www.accessusergroups.org/maug/events/

TELL YOUR ACCESS FRIENDS! Please get the word out to all of your Access users, IT folks, consultants, etc.

Side Note: I am also running the Access-Web-Apps users groups, if you are interested in learning about Access 2013 web apps. That is separate (international) group.
www.accessusergroups.org/access-web-apps/

Integrity isn’t found in all Access developers. Unfortunately, many stalk companies like prey, spreading fear and weakness. So, how can you tell the good ones from the bad? Here’s how to spot a programmer to avoid.

1. Make Sure You Keep the Control

Some programmers will “encrypt” an Access database, making it so you cannot make changes to forms, reports or other objects. You can tell when this occurs if your database file is an .mde instead of an .mdb file, or an .accde file instead of an .accdb file. If you only have an encrypted copy, you can never make any design changes to the database.

How to protect yourself?
Insist that you always have a current copy of the .mdb or .accdb file. If you are unhappy with the programmer or they are no longer able to support you, you can hand a new programmer a copy of the editable database.

2. Watch for the ‘Bait and Switch’

Be careful of database designers which quote a low ballpark figure in order to win a project, but then charge a much higher amount. This can occur because there wasn’t anything in writing stating what will be accomplished for a specific amount.

How to protect yourself?
For every project phase, get a written Statement of Work (SOW) or Project Scope of what will be accomplished, before agreeing to the development. They should include the tasks to be accomplished as well as specific functionality that isn’t normally included in database development (i.e. manipulating an Excel spreadsheet using code or creating a traibning manual.

3. Require that they Document their Work

You may not realize it, but if a programmer is adding some special functionality, they have the ability to insert comments on what that functionality is used for and hpw it works. If they don’t do that and have to make changes in the future, it makes it difficult for them to remember what they did. Also, if another programmer takes over, they have to take more time in order to figure it out.

How to protect yourself?
Just make sure that your requirements include that they add comments & document fields/features whenever necessary.

4. View Their References and Endorsements

With social media such as LinkedIn.com, you have the opportunity to view a developer’s profile and look at the Recommendations listed. Customers aren’t going to give positive feedback if they did poor work. I have over a dozen recommendations on LinkedIn and more than 95 people have endorsed me for Microsoft Access.

How to protect yourself?
Be proactive and take a look. The best developers have open LinkedIn profiles and encourage you to view them. btw – want to see mine? Check out http://www.linkedin.com/in/andytabisz

Andy Tabisz, MCAS, MOS is owner and lead innovator of WorkSmart Database Masters, LLC, a Michigan-based development firm serving customers nationally.

We’re excited to announce that Andy Tabisz (owner of WorkSmart) will be leading the Access Web Apps virtual group on AccessUserGroups.org.

We will be meeting the 3rd Tuesday of each month from 7:00pm ET – 8:30pm ET

There is no cost to join. To be reminded of upcoming meetings, please register at http://accessusergroups.org/access-web-apps/

We will also be publishing videos of the presentations each month, which you can find at http://accessusergroups.org/access-web-apps/meeting-recordings/

High quality customer service has been the main ingredient in our ability to turn new customers into raving fans. Focusing on what the customer needs, not just today but in preparing for the future, is critical. We take pride in our ability to do three things.

1) Brainstorm creative solutions to existing problems

2) Deliver quality databases which enhance user productivity, and

3) Offer training for users to effectively manage and update databases on their own

We often receive high praises about our solutions. Just look at the recommendations on our Testimonials page. In the last month we received two great reviews that I wanted to share. If you’re not a customer already, we welcome the opportunity to turn you into a Raving Fan in the coming weeks.

The Little Wedding Chapel proudly endorses Andy T… and WorkSmart Database Masters, LLC

The Little Wedding Chapel has been a specialty niche business in the Detroit Metro area for over 25 years. We had an Access database custom written for us in the 90’s for win 98. It worked well for the better part of a decade… but with updates to hardware over the years as well as bugs slowly creeping in… and with lack of “updating our software like we should have”, our “mothership database” was in shambles and crashing almost on a daily basis.

The original programmers were nowhere to be found to help. After some web searching we found “Michigan-based Worksmart Database”, and Andy Tabisz. He was the only one of several we called whom returned our call in a timely fashion. Without knowing anything about our business, he listened to our needs, desires, and future goals for “our vision” of our new software. The new system works like a charm and with Andy’s deep knowledge of what it could “still do”, we are continuing to add features to our system that we never felt possible. Andy is truly a “master of his craft”. Thank heavens we found him!

If you’re considering a database upgrade or a custom installation for a specialty business, we certainly would urge you to get a consultation with Andy. It will be well worth your company’s time!

– Theresa, owner, The Little Wedding Chapel, Taylor, MI

TM, CIO of a Consumer Packaged Goods company

When I came on board as the CIO of a large CPG company, I came to the realization that we had hundreds of Access databases on our servers. Our resident “Access expert” had retired, so if was difficult to determine exactly who was using what databases and which were obsolete. We interviewed a few Access developers, but one company, WorkSmart Database Masters, was miles ahead of the others. Immediately understanding our situation, Andy Tabisz offered ideas and solutions that the others didn’t, which was very refreshing. As soon as we signed the agreement Andy took charge of the process, first documenting what databases were used by who and for what purpose, then archiving old databases to a central location. He then proposed putting an ongoing support system in place to support our 71 databases – including immediate chat support assistance via their website.

We’ve now spent several months working with the WorkSmart team and they have always conducted themselves with professionalism and integrity. And, having a database company with strong project management experience as well as the ability to communicate well to all employees… from users to upper management… has been instrumental to their success. We recently signed an agreement to convert all of our databases to a common platform and we have the peace of mind knowing that this will be accomplished on time and within budget.

If you are seeking an outstanding database consulting firm for your projects, especially if you are managing a large number of Access databases as we have, I would encourage you to seek the assistance of Andy and his team.

We’re very happy to be able to share these with you. I welcome your comments and questions and hope that we can serve you and your organization as we have with the ones listed above.
– Andy Tabisz, President