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.
- Provide basic assistance to identify and select the correct processes to use within the software for specific needs or corrective actions.
- Provide information about menus and processes within the application 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 or infinity field?”
- In the chart below, you’ll find additional examples of the difference between Technical Support and Professional Services.
| Technical Support | Professional Services |
| Provide instruction on how to add a new code to a matrix. | Setting up an entire matrix from scratch. |
| Provide information or details pertaining to the selection of modules or location of data. | Creating and modifying templates. |
| If a custom field string is not working as expected, help correcting the string as provided to Client Success. | SQL SYNC or SQL Server troubleshooting. |
| Provide information or basic direction to help firms reconcile an account or item based on information provided. | Research of account(s) or ledger(s) to determine the reason they won't reconcile or have an incorrect balance. |
| Suggesting which fields, designed processes, modules, or DTPs to review or use in an application. | Creating new or modifying existing SQL queries, reports, import/export processes, macros, custom fields, strings, or workflow automation / implementations. DTP onboarding. |
| Identifying system errors and corrective actions. | Migration of Vertican product to a new server. This should be scheduled in advance. |
| Provide guidance and information on how to correct a data import/export that is producing an incorrect result. | Performing updates or maintenance on the applications. |
| Provide information and documentation for DLL registrations, license extensions, new workstation installations, and setup. | Full module training. |
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.
- Some Technical Support issues can evolve into Professional Services. At such time, it will be the firm’s decision how to proceed.
- If at any time during a Technical Support request or Professional Service an issue is deemed by our team to be a result of a bug or an error in the program code, the support incident or professional service charge will be refunded.
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 environmental or network issues. 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. 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.
Severity Requirement
- Weekend/Holiday Emergency Support is only provided for Severity Level 1 technical support issues, regardless of support plan. The severity level is determined solely by Vertican.
- 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.
Weekend/Holiday Emergency Hours
Weekend/Holiday support hours are as follows:
- 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.
Weekend/Holiday 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.
- Weekend/Holiday 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.
Weekend/Holiday Emergency Fee
Weekend and holiday support is billed separately from your regular support allowance at a premium rate.
- 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 Emergency Support allowance already – you will need to purchase a Weekend/Holiday Emergency Support case before it can be worked.
- Prior to making a vPortal Incident Purchase, please wait for Vertican to confirm that your issue meets the severity level requirement for Weekend/Holiday Emergency Support. If not, it will be categorized as a regular support case for which you would use your monthly support allowance.
- Learn how to Purchase Support Incidents, including Weekend/Holiday Emergency Support.
Emergency Support Escalation (Normal Hours)
Firms can purchase an incident for Emergency Support Escalation to be used during normal support hours to expedite their ticket.
- This is a way for Silver or Gold plan clients to receive an initial response time SLA.
- Platinum & Diamond clients already receive an SLA with their plans. Therefore they do not need to purchase Emergency Support Escalation.
Emergency Support Escalation Fee
- You can purchase Emergency Support Escalation on the vPortal Incident Purchase page for use during normal support hours.
- Learn how to Purchase Support Incidents, including Emergency Support Escalation.
- Normal support 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.
No Severity Requirement
- Emergency Support Escalation is provided to any client who pays for it during normal support hours.
- You can read more about how support cases are prioritized.
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 Weekend/Holiday Emergency Support.
- 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).