Introduction

The idea of telephone support for payroll software came about in the 1980s and 1990s. Back then, most Payroll software could be difficult to use, and the main way of contacting support was by telephone. Early products were command line based or had very rudimentary graphical interfaces.

With the introduction of the Windows 95 Operating system, came Windows based payroll software. However, this still did not make support any easier, and people still had to pick up the phone for support.

Then along came the Cloud and the next generation of Payroll software. With it came interactive support. Gone was the need for making phone calls.

How our support system works

Whenever we receive a new support ticket, we first ask ourselves what prompted the query. Is there something we can improve with our Payroll software that is confusing people? Then we fix it, so we do not get that support query again.

The fix can be something simple, like providing a better explanation in our tutorials, re-labelling a button. Sometimes we might have to completely redesign a module, like we did for RPN imports.

The ultimate goal is to have a system where users no longer even have to submit support tickets - and we are getting there! Even though our users are going up, support is decreasing. This is in contrast to most other payroll software companies. They simply add new support staff to answer the queries and never improve the product. These support staff answer the same questions again and again.

You support queries are logged, so none of the information is lost. We value support queries because through these we can improve our product. So much valuable information is lost with telephone support.

Advantages

• You no longer have to make phone calls. More and more people are 'phone call adverse'. With the advent of social media, messaging and finding instant answers on the Internet, less and less people want to have to pick up the phone and call someone.
• Get the appropriate information much more quickly. The customer does not need to explain everything over the phone.
• The solution is laid out in easy to guidance. It is much easier to follow step by step instructions in your own time, with screenshots, than listen to someone blindly explaining what your screen should look like.
• Get information 24/7. Our support system is set up to make access to information as easy as possible. As we are not basing our support system on phone calls, you can get the support you need at any time.
• Telephone support is horribly inefficient. Many years ago we used to provide telephone support for our desktop version. An average call lasted about an hour. Much of the call would be trying to describe where to click on a screen we could not see. We sometimes had customers trying to find something on our website instead of inside the application. A very frustrating experience for everyone.
• You do not have to wait for call backs, or to get through to someone who understands the problem you are having.