But you can get some of your functionality by creating a third library in Bento: the actual magazine titles, not just the different issues. Then you can create a three-way relational loop which gives you a few more display options. Bento is all about playing around and pushing it to new limits.
Also, you can use table view and its summary row to create simple reports by using smart collections and/or advanced find.

1. I want to use Address Book as my master address file

2. I want to use Bento to create a simple database to keep track of magazine samples we have sent to writers and contributors, by issue, and quantity sent.

3. I want to be able to generate a sheet or few of labels for each issue (exporting to Excel if need be, since Bento does not do reports), drawing on Address Book for up to date address info, with a smart select or some such, showing me how many copies to send to whom.

Progress:

1. Easy

2. Also not so hard. Use Address book library and relate it to a Library which is a simple table with fields for “Issue”, “Quantity”, “Sent (checkbox)”

3. Here’s where the easy ends. Go into Address book record and can easily see how many copies of which issues sent to whom. But no way to go the other way, to pull up a select by issue, of all individuals who should get the issue, and in what quantity, and to export or otherwise output that information.

Am I stuck in Access until Bento becomes relational?

PR

yes, there is.

You always have to populate ONE of the Related Records List fields in order for the other one in the relational loop to populate automatically. That’s what you are doing when you add a payment from within your Customer collection.
So when you enter a new payment record into your Payments library, you also have to choose an existing name manually in its RRL field (the Customer collection).
What I do in a situation like yours is this:
I replace the Name field in the Payments library with the RRL field, so instead of typing in the name, I just choose it from the RR for each new record I create.
The only drawback of this method is that you won’t see any names in Table View (Payments library).

Remember, Bento is NOT a true relational database, that’s why relations can ONLY be created through the RRL fields.

I hope this cleared things up in your case. Tell me if you have any more questions.

I want to have this info referenced when I click on my customer’s name in address book (customers collection)

when I enter a payment in the customer payments library it won’t show up in the customer’s address book form unless I add it manually. However, when I enter a payment in the address book form, it adds it to the Payment Library.

Is there anyway to make sure they are both updated wherever I enter the data from, to make sure they are always in sync?

Thanks,
Andrei