Albert,

As a light-weight DBMS or a reporting front-end to a server, Access is fine. (I've had to work on major applications other folks wrote in it and it is a pain for sophisticated apps.)

You might consider MS Works. It has a really simple flat file database that is easy for a client to learn. I've had a couple clients start with Works and when their needs got too big for a non-relational system I wrote a full-blown app in VFP for them. Works' database integrates easily with its simple spreadsheet and can even do some rudimentary mail-merge with the built-in word processor.

The big advantage is that Works is so simple that novices who aren't very computer savy aren't confused by the complexity. When they are ready they can move up to something more sophisticated like Access, although after working with even a simple product like Works my clients usually opt to pay me to do it "right". They usually decide they don't have time to learn something more sophisticated. A couple freinds have stayed with Works since it met their simple needs and they don't need to call me for help very often.

And if they get the Works Suite they can get Works with MS Word for less than Word alone!

A couple caveates: Works, last I knew, didn't interact well with other applications, so integrating with Word was not practical, although there used to be add-ins to do that, and transfering data to another DBMS later was difficult, although I have done it a couple times. If the user is more sophisticated and wants to spend the money, Access might be a better choice for this reason, but you may be called uppon more often for tutoring.

...Jim