Can anyone give me any pointers?

We want to build a simple MySQL databases--probably two tables--with
customer information, and invoices information. With an ODBC/mySQL client, we want to:
* Have several simple forms that let us access this information. We're looking for something similar to that of Filemaker and Navicat's layout view per each table row.
* Generate pretty PDF invoices
* Let people administer their own newsletter access privilege info, which is also stored
in these tables
* Integrate with newsletter distribution service (we used Constant Contacts)
* Have a product purchase system that lets people buy and pay for our
reports online

Do you have any suggestions for what type of solution we should pursue? Most particularly, we are inquiring in regard to which software client software we should use. Does anyone have any ideas that would provide a simple form-type layout for each table row, as may be found in Navicat or filemaker?

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Architecture of New Database System

Two Simple Tables:

Contacts:

About people--name; address; title; phone; email address; whether they want
newsletter; if they are a client then website access ID and passwords;
whether they are sent new reports; what the person is being sold, who should
follow up
-- This table should be synced weekly with our mass emailing database at Constant Contacts

Invoices:

All invoices are entered here. Billing address info, ship-to address info,
description of product/service, amount, due date
We generate PDF of invoices, plus run periodic reports on overdue accounts
receivable

Key Functions:

Let users do self-administration of their subscriptions and passwords
Sell reports online. Databases integrate with automatic billing software
where people can buy our reports, invoices generated automatically

Questions:

What should client software be for simplifying management of this system?

Perhaps it should use an ODBC or JDBC interface
It needs to have a simple way to define formatted data entry screens
It needs to have a simple way to define simple data reports

What is best way to provide user self-administration, eg so people can
control their subscriptions?

What's the best way to integrate billing with the Invoices database?

Any general pointers would again be much appreciated. Thank you!

At the very least, the invoices should be split into two separate tables, I would think. An invoice header table, containing data specific to the invoice as a whole, and an invoice detail table, containing data specific to the individual 'lines' of the invoice.

You're probably also going to want some sort of separate structure to hold your 'catalog' - description, costs, etc.

Ia there any particular reason why you've decided on the database (physical design) when the logical design isn't completed yet?

Yeap - that is very important, because sometimes people do not have any idea how get proceed with DB having no interface.

IMO, the logical design is (and should be) independent of the physical design. Otherwise, you tend to confuse the two.