Ok, so it does come down to the age-old question...

Seriously, I marked three solutions, as they all appear to be valid points.

In our case these dollar amounts are all payroll-related,...

I have seen discussion on the matter of even using the money type. In this case we aren't doing any math, so it is in use.

Perhaps the better question is,...

Thanks to all, I appreciate the discussion of this topic.

Since SQL Server can use this information for optimization, as SSCrazy points out, I'll go ahead and add both min and...

Hey, guess what? Me, too.

The better question is, why the heck am I even asking?

On to something else...

Thanks.

Yes, that is apparent when I test an insert. So, is a check constraint for maximum length useful, when the max length defined in the constraint is the same as...

David,

Thanks very much. I was actually trying to implement something very similar to this, but I got hung up. I get the prefix and suffix from whatever table they live...

Lowell,

That's pretty cool. I had not explored computed columns until now.

What do you typically do when, for example, the number of PO's rises above 99,999?

I used to do something very...

Thanks, that seems pretty straightforward.

I guess it's time to complicate the waters, though! The prefix is user-defined, and stored in a different table. I've got a suffix column in that...

Lowell,

I took a close look at your function and its usage. Pretty nice. From the standpoint of code re-use, I think it's quite valuable. If the scenario in my original...

imu92, thanks for the update.

George, thanks also for the simplification.

After studying both statements, I realized that I should have been able to write this constraint without posting. The logic is...

I tested the constraint method. It enforces part of the rule; that only one of the two fields can be null...but it doesn't prevent me from entering a (non-null) value...

Ah, hah!

I new there had to be some cool way to do this. Both suggestions are great.

All that's left is to choose one. I think I like the constraint route....

Thanks very much. I'll work on one of the options you mentioned.

Thank you, Jeff. I suspected as much.

And thanks very much, RBarryYoung. I am implementing your suggestion, as it certainly makes the best sense from a design perspective. Since I had...

Thank you, I'll read it.