How to Track and Analyze Preventive Maintenance With MS Access or Microsoft Access Work Order

Whether you have one vehicle or an entire fleet, keeping track of the preventive maintenance you perform on each of your vehicles can help you plan ahead for scheduled repairs and ensure you don't overlook important dates. It can also benefit you when the time comes to sell your vehicle, as you can show exactly what work was done and when. Using an Access database template streamlines the process of entering everything from the service description and the vehicle's mileage to the shop where the service was performed.

Start MS Access. Click “File” on the top toolbar and select “New” from the context menu. Type "maintenance" into the search box and press "Enter." Select the "Vehicle Maintenance" template and click the "Download" button. The template opens as a new database record in Access.

Click on the first cell in the ID column to open the Expense Details dialog. To add a vehicle to your list, click the drop-down arrow in the Vehicle field and click the "Edit List" button. Enter all of the relevant information for the vehicle. Click "Save and New" to add more vehicles. Save and close the dialog when finished.

Select the vehicle for which you wish to track preventive maintenance. Enter information into the appropriate fields, such as the date of service and the work order number. Click "Save and New" to add another entry or close the dialog.

Analyze your maintenance record by filtering the records. Click "Filter" in the Sort and Filter group on the Home tab, and then select the options you desire. Alternatively, go to the "Create" tab and click "Query Wizard" to create a query that you can use to run specific reports from the database. Save any changes that you make before you close the database by clicking on “File” and then “Save.”