This document summarizes the policies and procedures for using your new Support/Upgrade Account (SUA) with Liveware Publishing for the R&R Report Writer and ARPEGGIO product lines. The SUA program was developed, after careful consideration, to offer our loyal customers the opportunity to partner with us to insure first-class technical support, product maintenance and warranty, and future enhancements. In accordance with these priorities, SUA members can take advantage of their status by using their account for the following services and products:
Call the 800 number supplied to SUA members and give your SUA account number to the representative or indicate it on voice mail. If corresponding by fax or e-mail, be sure to provide the SUA number as well. Anyone you authorize in use your SUA can receive technical support. If you wish to restrict the usage with a special code that only authorized parties know, we can accommodate these requests.
When seeking technical support, be sure to include your product (R&R Report Writer Xbase, R&R Report Writer SQL or ARPEGGIO) and version number. Much of the time our support representatives will have to call you back, so indicate the best time to reach you and alternative methods – such as e-mail – that you can receive vital information.
Upon request, and with applicable components in place, we can arrange a remote-access support session to review your report, databases, error message etc. You must have a modem and remote-access software such as PC Anywhere and schedule the session with a support rep.
Upon starting to assess your technical support issue, our support rep will confirm that you have an adequate balance in your SUA for pay for the issue. Most issues are resolved quickly, though some issues involve extensive troubleshooting or interaction with you to help you build a report. When your SUA balance will be exhausted, we will need authorization to replenish it to at least the minimum balance prior to addressing the issue. Please consider your organization’s projected usage level when activating or replenishing your SUA.
At the end of each call, our support rep will, upon request from an authorized contact, supply the remaining balance. Periodically, the authorized contact will receive a usage statement and account balance. These can also be requested by contacting Liveware Publishing’s customer service. (Eventually, SUA account balances and information will be available on our web site.) The usage statement will supply the name of the caller, date, time, issue description (brief), time spent on the call, and chargeable time involved. Additional information is available upon request.
As an SUA member, technical support services are charged at $80 per hour, with a minimum of $10 per call. Support services for non-SUA members is $100 per hour. Charges are in six-minute (1/10th hour) increments at $8 per increment. (We will attempt to be fair on rounding, but we don’t watch the clock.) The support rep will specify the time spent on the call upon its completion.
Developer support services are also available to SUA member. Developer level issues include use of R&R Report Writer and ARPEGGIO runtime, ActiveX, Visual Basic integration, DLLs and OCXs, and other programmer tools. Fees for these services (for SUA members) are $120 per hour or $12 per six-minute increment. Non-members pay $150 per hour. SUA members expecting to use developer level support should start and maintain higher SUA balances as developer level issues tend to be more involved.
This area is the toughest to administer since definitions are subject to interpretation. Certain categories of support requests are ALWAYS chargeable against an SUA:
"How-to" usage issues and help developing reports
Connecting to and accessing databases for use with the program
Developer level support issues
Problems printing or accessing or using other Windows-based resources including ODBC
Error messages whose underlying problem is the database, ODBC, memory, network or configuration.
Some categories may be chargeable under certain circumstances. These include:
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Installation of the software if (a) the call comes more than sixty days after purchase (receipt from distribution source may be required) or (b) installation problems are the result of one of the categories described above. |
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Resolving problems associates with new versions of printers, ODBC drivers, databases etc. |
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Unresolved issues with components outside the scope of R&R Report Writer and ARPEGGIO. |
Some issues and calls will not be charged. These include:
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Calls or issues whose resolution involves purchase of an upgraded version. |
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Issues that can be resolved by the installation of an update or patch not requiring purchase. |
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Customer service calls related to product purchases, SUA balances |
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Issues involving a defect, bug or failure of the R&R Report Writer or ARPEGGIO product, except as related to circumstances described in the sections above. |
When you believe that an issue has been charged to your SUA but should not have been, send a request for management review via e-mail to support@livewarepub.com. Be sure to include your SUA number and the date and time of the call.
Some interim versions of R&R Report Writer and ARPEGGIO will be generated for which Liveware Publishing will not charge users registered with the current major version. SUA account holders will receive these CD-ROM updates automatically, at no charge, for a $2 shipping fee applied against their account. Non-SUA users can receive these updates only upon request and with a $5 shipping fee. (Special handling and overnight shipping fees apply.)
Interim, non-revenue release will fix bugs, supply updates for newer databases versions, printer developments etc. Some new features may also be included in these updates.
Liveware Publishing will charge all users to upgrade to these versions. They typically include many new features and capabilities, as well as changes associated with interim releases. Upon request, an SUA member can upgrade their licenses at a discount prices. The level of discount depends on the number of licenses placed under the SUA, as determined by the initial (and replenishment) balance. The maximum upgrade price (per license) is $125 for R&R Report Writer and $150 for ARPEGGIO. Minimum upgrade pricing without an SUA is $150 for R&R Report Writer and $200 for ARPEGGIO for future major releases (i.e., those after R&R Report Writer V8.0 and ARPEGGIO 2.0).
To become eligible for discounted upgrades, the SUA member must set an initial and replenishment balance level equal to the discounted upgrade price times the number of licenses for upgrades. For example, if your company has ten licenses for R&R Report Writer V8.0, the discounted upgrade price is $100 with an SUA initial balance of $1000. If you held the same ten licenses and put only $125 in the SUA, you could upgrade one license at $125 but the rest would be at full price of $150.
SUA members can purchase additional licenses at a 20% discount over published prices. To receive the discount, the member must also increase the replenishment balance of their SUA by one upgrade unit ($100, in the above case of ten licenses). The increased balance must only occur at the next replenishment.
Additional licenses can also be purchased to exhaust an open balance on an SUA, but at full list prices. Licenses purchases using this method reduce the balance of an SUA.
If you have any questions on SUA or general support policies, call 800-936-6202
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