When you submit a support request to Client Success, they will first determine the type of issue and categorize it as Technical Support or Professional Services. 

Definitions

• Technical Support involves helping clients use the software within the parameters of normal use. It involves:
  • Troubleshooting when the software doesn’t function as expected.
  • Educating clients on basic product functionality.
  • Providing advice on how to achieve a specific outcome.

• Professional Services encompass training, consulting, and custom work specific to the client, including software development. Professional Services involves extended assistance with issues not related to basic product functionality, troubleshooting, or problem resolution.
• Think of Technical Support as “I uploaded this file and it didn’t work” and think of Professional Services as “Can you help me write a DDAS rule?” 
• In the chart below, you’ll find additional examples of the difference between Technical Support and Professional Services.

Support Considerations

• Your monthly support allowance only covers Technical Support cases.
• Professional Services are purchased separately on the vStore at an hourly rate or according to a statement of work (SOW), depending on the type of service.
• Some Professional Services also require the execution and acceptance of a Statement of Work (SOW) before work can begin.
• Unsure? If you aren’t sure whether your issue falls under Technical Support or Professional Services, create a support case with sufficient information and documentation about your issue. If Client Success determines that it’s a Professional Services issue, they will tell you how many hours to purchase and your support ticket will be converted to Professional Services once paid.
• The categorization of a support request as Technical Support or Professional Services is at the sole discretion of Vertican.

An issue or error is not necessarily a bug.

• If you experience a technical issue, it does not mean the program has a bug.
• A bug is an error or flaw within the program that causes it to malfunction.
• You can consult software documentation to determine if the program does not function as intended.
• Please keep in mind that some errors are caused by the client’s system environment. For example, if mail merge was not working only at one workstation within a network, that would not be considered a bug. 
• An issue will only be designated as a bug if it can be reproduced by the client and validated by Vertican when the same steps are repeated.
• If Vertican determines it is truly a bug, we will attempt to fix it.
  • If you report a bug to Vertican that is validated as a bug, you will not use an incident from your support allowance.
  • If you report a bug that is not validated as a bug, you will use an incident from your support allowance.

Normal Support Hours *

• Monday through Thursday: 8:45 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time
• Friday: 8:45 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
• Holidays: Not included

Weekend/Holiday Emergency Hours *

Weekend/Holiday support is only for Severity Level 1 technical support emergencies. This is a new policy. The severity level is determined solely by Vertican.

• Saturday/Sunday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
• Holidays: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Vertican informs its clients in advance of its holiday schedule, but generally, Vertican celebrates federal holidays and the day after Thanksgiving and closes early (where applicable) on December 24 and 31.

* These hours are in effect as of August 1, 2022.

Severity Requirement

• Emergency support is only provided for Severity Level 1 technical support issues, regardless of support plan, whether during normal support hours or weekend/holiday hours.

• You can read more about how support cases are prioritized.

• Emergencies can happen at any time, but emergency support during weekend/holiday hours is a completely unexpected severity level 1 issue, rather than a result of intentionally doing potentially risky activities on the weekend.
  • If you decide to update the software on the weekend and you encounter problems, this is not considered an emergency. Likewise, a planned server migration over the weekend is not an emergency. This is a change in Vertican policy.
  • In such cases, the nature of our support is not to make the firm fully operational by Monday, but to conduct an initial inquiry and stabilize the situation.
    

Emergency Support during Normal Hours

All firms can purchase an emergency incident to be used during normal support hours. You can purchase an emergency incident on the vPortal Additional Incidents page.

Weekend/Holiday Emergency Hours

Weekend/Holiday support is only for Severity Level 1 technical support emergencies. This is a new policy. The severity level is determined solely by Vertican.

• Saturday/Sunday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
• Holidays: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Vertican informs its clients in advance of its holiday schedule, but generally, Vertican celebrates federal holidays and the day after Thanksgiving and closes early (where applicable) on December 24 and 31.

Emergency Contact

• If you believe you have a Severity Level 1 emergency, you may call Vertican in order for Client Success to make a determination of the severity level.
  • Q-Law & Q-LawE: 800-435-7257 x499
  • Collection Master & vMedia: 800-435-7257 x731
• Vertican does not monitor emails or its ticketing system during weekends and holidays. If you have an emergency during a weekend or holiday, phone is the only available contact method.
• Emergency support can be declined if the request does not meet the emergency standard. If it is during weekend/holiday hours, your case will be worked during normal support hours.

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Emergency Cost

• Normal Hours: If you are on the Silver or Gold plan, you can purchase emergency support during normal support hours if you need to expedite your case with an SLA. Platinum & Diamond clients already receive an SLA.
  • You can purchase an emergency incident on the vPortal Additional Incidents page.
  • Normal hours are Monday through Thursday 8:45 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and Friday 8:45 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

• Weekend/Holiday Hours: Weekend and holiday support is billed separately from your regular support allowance at a premium rate. Weekend/holiday hours are Saturday/Sunday/Holidays from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
  • The only exception is that Platinum and Diamond plans receive one weekend/holiday case per month (Severity Level 1 required).
  • If you are on the Silver or Gold plan – or if you have used your monthly Platinum/Diamond weekend/holiday allowance already – you will need to purchase a weekend/holiday support case before it can be worked.
  • Prior to purchasing an incident, please wait for Vertican to confirm that your issue meets the severity level requirement for an emergency. If not, it will be categorized as a regular support case for which you would use your monthly support allowance.
  • Learn how to Purchase Weekend/Holiday Support if Client Success has made a determination of the severity level and has told you to purchase a Weekend/Holiday support request.

Create a support request using Vertican systems.

• ​The client Support Coordinator must create a support request through the VSA in-app system or the vPortal as the first point of contact.
  • The VSA is the recommended method for technical support requests. You cannot use the VSA to order Professional Services.
  • The vPortal can be used to order professional services or to request technical support if you are unable to access the VSA.

• ​Effective September 1, 2022, email and phone will no longer be supported. There are two exceptions:
  • Phone calls for Severity Level 1 emergencies.
  • Support Coordinators can follow up via email once a case number has been assigned, but not prior.

Additional Links:

• How to Create a Ticket in the Vertican Support Access (VSA) application (technical support only).
• How to Create a New Support Request in the vPortal (technical support and professional services).