Software Support Contract
Why should I have a support contract?
Having purchased a bespoke software application or web site you have invested a significant amount of time and money in a solution to improve the efficiency of your business. A support contract is an insurance policy to protect your investment.
Whilst every effort is made to deliver a bug free implementation, obscure bugs can manifest themselves many months after implementation.
Web interfaces are designed for the current and recent generation of browsers (e.g. Internet Explorer versions 6, 7 and 8, Firefox 3.6). Browsers are continually evolving and new versions often require re-work to ensure existing applications work correctly.
Bespoke Applications often link into and have dependencies on the operating system (e.g. Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7) and the version of Microsoft Office products (MS Word, Excel and Outlook) installed on the user’s PC. Switching to new operating systems or installing new versions of MS Office may require changes to your software application.
Legislative changes in finance and tax may require changes to be made to your bespoke application, particularly e-commerce solutions where regulatory and security changes are common.
Your Business is continually evolving and the perfect solution today will not necessarily be the most efficient approach tomorrow. Bespoke applications are often refined to reflect business change.
What benefits does a support contract give me?
Under the support contract you can call us for advice and guidance on getting the most from your purchased solution, training on a specific task, ad-hoc reports, minor enhancements and bug fixes
What does a support contract cost?
We estimate the number of support days required per quarter based on the size and complexity of the software application. Support requirements fluctuate e.g. A new system typically requires more support for the first and second Quarter after installation, or after major enhancements.
To ensure you are not overpaying or underpaying, we send you a ticket report every month detailing support time used. At the end of each support quarter we send a quarterly renewal invitation where we adjust the number of days up or down to reflect usage in the previous quarter. Support is invoiced quarterly in advance.
How do I renew my Support Contract?
A renewal invite will be emailed mid –month in the last month of your support quarter along with a ticketing report for the current quarter. You can accept the quotation via email. One reminder email will be sent around the 25th of the month. If you do not respond to accept or decline the renewal it will be auto-renewed for the next quarter. If you subsequently cancel an auto renewed contract you will receive a refund for the balance of time not used or any whole months remaining, whichever is the lesser amount.
How can I cancel a support contract?
You can choose not to renew at each quarterly renewal point by explicitly declining our renewal quotation.
What happens if I exceed my purchased time?
Overspend will be invoiced at the end of the Quarter in addition to any invoices for the coming quarter.
What happens if I under use support time?
We will carry forward 25% of any unused support time into the next quarter and typically the number of support days will be reduced for the next quarter to reflect low usage.
