Support
Getting The Most From Journyx Support

How can I get the most efficient help from the Journyx Support Department?

There are several guidelines that we recommend to ensure optimal performance from the Journyx Support Department. Please review this document for general procedures and the accompanying chart for problem-specific instructions.

1. Who should contact Journyx Support?
2. When is Journyx Support available?
3. How should I contact Journyx Support?
4. What information should I provide to Journyx Support?
5. When should I contact Journyx Support?
6. What should I expect from Journyx Support?
7. What about the [ref:00000000.00000000:ref] e-mails?
8. What other resources are available?
9. What should I do if the support system is not working for me?

1. Who should contact Journyx Support?

In almost all cases only a customer's Timesheet System Administrator should contact the Journyx Support Department. The primary reason for this is that, in almost all cases, a problem cannot be resolved by anyone other than a person who has Administrative rights to your company's installation Journyx does not maintain login access to our customers installations, and therefore cannot resolve problems without a local administrator.

Oftentimes a Network Administrator, DBA, or Operating Systems expert will need to be called in to address infrastructure-type items. If the Timesheet System Administrator suspects an infrastructure type item, then the appropriate expert should be brought in on the issue to consult.

The Journyx Support Department will work with a non-administrator, but only after your Timesheet System Administrator has been informed of the issue. The remainder of this document and the chart are assuming that you are the Timesheet System Administrator.

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2. When is Journyx Support available?

Our standard hours of operation are from 8:00 to 6:00 CST Monday through Friday. Please contact your sales representative if you would like to make arrangements for one-time or ongoing off-hours support for your organization.

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3. How should I contact Journyx Support?

There are several methods for contacting the Journyx Support Department, and your best method will depend upon several factors. Please see this chart for a detailed analysis of appropriate contact methods. The following is a general description of each contact method.

1. Extended Tracebacks
   Extended Tracebacks are an advanced diagnostic and communication tool that is built into the Timesheet applications. If the Timesheet application generates an error message, then the Extended Tracebacks feature can communicate that error directly into the Journyx Support Department's Online Helpdesk.

   For customers using Timesheet, this is always the best method for contacting us. The Extended Tracebacks feature of your Timesheet software should work with any error message that appears on the screen with the Timesheet button bar still in place.

   Instructions for using Extended Tracebacks are here.

2. Search the Knowledge Base
   The Journyx Support Department employs a On-Line Knowledge Base that is embedded in our Helpdesk tool. Resolutions for known problems are posted in the Knowledge Base. The Knowledge Base is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and contains hundreds of real-world problems and resolutions.

   The Journyx KnowledgeBase is here.

3. E-Mail
   Because much of what we will need to know is already in print on your computer screen, copying it and pasting it into an e-mail is often the fastest way to get all of the details of a problem communicated to us. Please send new problem reports to support@journyx.com. You will receive a reply from support@journyx.com (our online helpdesk) to confirm receipt, and you will need to address all other e-mail on the problem to that address (see below for more info.) Using other addresses will only delay your support.
4. Telephone
   This is obviously a fast way to reach the Journyx Support Department, but it is often not the most efficient means of communicating the details of an issue. We ask that you reserve the phone for notifying us of Urgent issues (defined below ). Our phone number is 800-755-9878 (in the US and Canada) or 512-834-8888.
5. Log into the Registered Portion of the Online Helpdesk

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4. What information should I provide to Journyx Support?

There are a few basic diagnostic questions that you will be asked and need to be ready to answer when you contact the Journyx Support Department. Often these will help you solve your own problem. There is nothing magical about these questions, though, and more information is always helpful. Of course, if one of these doesn't apply to your situation then skip it.

1. What has changed recently?
   This is a System Administrator question. Has the server been rebooted? Has a Group structure been changed? Anything that has happened lately may help us to diagnose your particular issue.

   For example, a customer's Timesheet installation went completely down one day. In the investigation we asked, has anything been installed or run on the server in the last 3 days? The response was, no . After 3 days of dedicated examination and re-installations to no avail, we were sheepishly told that a new Virus-scanner software package had been installed just before the shut-down and set to maximum security. If we had been told that information up front the customer would have been up and running again much sooner.

2. Is this repeatable from someone else's account or someone else's PC?
   

   Many problems are web-browser-based. You can test this by having the affected user try to repeat the problem from someone else's computer. If they cannot repeat the problem, then likely it is an issue with the configuration of the affected computer.

   Also, sometimes a browser will hold onto bad data, like an error message. If you clear the browser's cache, or if you try to use the affected computer as a different Timesheet user, then often this will clear the problem.

3. Have you done a basic configuration check for this person/project/element?
   Many problems revolve around a single user, a single project, a single Time Entry Screen, or some other common element. Whatever the element is, it should be pulled up in the appropriate Management and Modification screens and examined. Is it in the appropriate Group(s)? Is something obviously wrong with the configuration? This simple logical check will resolve a great number of reported problems. The most common is items (including Users) who got dropped from the wrong Group and are now not usable. Simply adding the element back into appropriate Group(s) will often solve problems.
4. Exactly what screen were you on, exactly what information did you enter, and which button did you push to generate this error? Can you repeat the error if you change what you entered?

   Many times we are going to need to recreate an error from scratch in order to properly resolve it. This is why we often ask for backups of databases, because we are not given enough background information about your configuration to properly recreate your error. Here are two examples of problem reports that contained good details from which we could work:

   • Example 1: I cannot get into Time Entry

     1 of my users logs in and gets this error message: Your Administrator has not assigned a TASK for you, so you will not be allowed to enter your timesheet. Please contact Your Administrator to resolve the problem.

     I have recreated on my computer.

     I am not aware of any changes to this user, but I did hide some Tasks the other day. I have checked that this user is in the 3 groups that she should be in, and there are tasks in one of her Groups. Can you help me figure out which element she is lacking?

     Response 1:

     Reportable Only items still show up in the Group listings Sometimes hiding elements and making elements reportable only gets confused. Check your tasks especially to see that the tasks this user has access to are all Loggable and Reportable. A truly hidden element will not show up in the Group Modification screens, but a Reportable Only element will, sometimes giving the appearance that a user has access to at least 1 task when in fact all of her tasks are not loggable creating an invalid configuration for her. Remember that every single user must have access to at least 1 of every element listed in the Group Modification screens, and that can span across membership in several groups.

   • Example 2: I cannot create a Memorized Time Entry

     1 of my users (Jim Smith) gets this error message when he tries to create a Memorized Time Entry.

     Error: Bad Username. # EXCEPTION VALUE: ('2122526445491818', '{a}Any{a}', '28382252737012', '812128092233', '{a}Any{a}', '{a}Any{a}', ' ', 'smithjim')

     I can create a Memorized Time Entry for him. He watched me do it, so I m pretty sure he knows how to do it right. What are we missing?

     Response 2:

     Bad Username means that the User wasn't selected on the screen. Sorry this particular error message isn't very helpful. What it is trying to tell you is that Jim did not actually select his own name in the pull-down menu when creating the Memorized Time Entry. When an Admin or Manager goes to this screen they see many names in the User column of this screen, and it is natural to check and select only the users you want to affect. When a User goes to his screen they only see their own name. Many users do not bother to select themselves, and the software reports this error message. Please have Jim try again, and click on his name this time. We have added this to our feature-request list to have this screen automatically select the only name if there is only 1. Sorry for the trouble.

5. How important is this resolution?
   Please tell us how much trouble this is causing. This is important in our analysis of the cause of the problem. We have seen that some customers feel a need to overstate the scope of the problem in order to get a quicker response. Please do not do this. If you report the problem affects all users, for example, when it only actually affects 1 user, we will start the diagnostic process with system-wide questions that are not appropriate if only 1 user is affected. This always wastes more time in diagnosing the wrong problem than it gains in getting to the top of the list.

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5. When should I contact Journyx Support?

The Timesheet System Administrator should contact us (via the appropriate method, above ) as soon as he or she has the problem details together (above ). If you are having trouble getting those details together, then tell us what you know and what you are having trouble sorting out.

6. What should I expect from Journyx Support?

The Journyx Support Department is supporting 4 different classes of customers on 3 different versions of our software solutions. With the various contractual obligations and ethical obligations that go with any back-office accounting-type application, we have to stratify and prioritize the support requests that we receive. Normally we have adequate resources to deal with all issues in a very rapid timeframe, but when we do not (for whatever reason) we do prioritize our customers in these 4 broad categories. Your contact method and expectations for turn-around on issues should be in alignment with where you fit in this classification.

1. Customers with special arrangements for support
   There are a few customers who have special arrangements for additional support hours and special contact methods. If you are interested in such an arrangement, please contact your sales representative.

   Your response times are probably customized in your special contract. Please see your contract.

2. Paid customers with current Maintenance Contracts
   All customers who have paid for support, including all of our ASP/hosted customers who are using the software installed on our servers, get first prioritization of Journyx support resources.

   The Terms & Conditions of your maintenance contract outline these 4 broad categories and their expected response times:

   • Level 1 - Urgent
     The customer's production use of the programs is stopped or so severely affected that the customer cannot reasonably continue work. Journyx will respond within two hours of notification during Technical Support's normal business hours and will continue to work as needed until service has been restored.
   • Level 2 - High
     Important program features are unavailable with no acceptable workaround. The customer's implementation or production use of the programs is continuing; however, there is a serious impact on the customer's productivity and/or service levels. Journyx will begin work on the program error within four hours of notification during Technical Support's normal business hours and will work as needed until an acceptable workaround is achieved.
   • Level 3 -Medium
     Important program features are unavailable, but a workaround is available, or less significant program features are unavailable with no reasonable workaround. The customer's work, regardless of the environment or product usage, has a minor loss of operational functionality or implementation resources. Journyx will begin work on the program issue within two days of notification and the issue will be rectified as soon as practical.
   • Level 4 - Low
     The customer requests information, an enhancement, or documentation clarification regarding the programs, but there is no impact on the operation of the programs. The customer's implementation or production use of the programs is continuing and there is no work being impeded at the time. Journyx will provide an initial response regarding the requested information or documentation clarification within five days and will consider program enhancements for inclusion in a subsequent program update.
3. Future customers, evaluating our software for purchase
   We are always looking to add customers to our family, and those customers who are examining our software in preparation for a purchase are prioritized behind only the Maintenance customers.

   Generally we try to adhere to the same guidelines as for the Paid Maintenance Contract customers, but there are some important distinctions. Since the software is in Evaluation, Urgent conditions are not going to occur. (Urgent conditions stipulate that Production Use is halted.)

4. Paid customers without current Maintenance Contracts
   Hopefully these customers understand that this is what it means to opt out of the Maintenance Contract.

   These Non-Maintenance customers are now offered the option to pay-per-incident for support. When you contact the Journyx Support Department, the agent you work with should offer you this option.

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   7. What about the [ref:00000000.00000000:ref] e-mails?

   The Journyx Support Department uses a helpdesk tool to control the flow of support cases. This tool is highly automated. One of its most obvious features is that it controls e-mail contact with you. When you receive these e-mails, please follow these basic guidelines to make sure that your response can be interpreted by the helpdesk software.

   1. Reply
      Please reply to the message instead of forwarding the message to any other Journyx mail account. These e-mails should come to you from support@journyx.com and your reply should go to that address as well. The helpdesk system knows which agent has been working with you, and it will contact them directly (actually it will send them a notification that you replied with your reply immediately after it receives it.)
   2. Do not edit the Subject Line
      When you reply the subject line will be changed from:

      Subject:| Description of my problem [ref:00000000.00000000:ref]

      to:

      Subject:| RE: Description of my problem [ref:00000000.00000000:ref]

      and that is fine. Any other edits will disconnect your reply from the original incident, and delay your response.

   3. Attach up to 5MB of attachments
      If your attachment is larger than 5MB, please indicate that to the agent you are working with, and he or she will give you alternate instructions.
   4. Do not use MIME format
      Some mail readers can be programmed to add special HTML MIME formatting to e-mails for the purpose of including a catchy graphic or signature. If you get a response back from the helpdesk system indicating that your reply could not be read, then please check your e-mail send settings and do not MIME format the message.

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   8. What other resources are available?

   • This chart explains all of this information in a more direct and problem-related way.
   • The Journyx KnowledgeBase is here.
   • The main page for Journyx Support is here.
   • How to backup your database and send it to us.

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   9. What should I do if the support system is not working for me?

   If you are dissatisfied with the performance of the Journyx Support Department, please call us at 800-755-9878 (in the US and Canada) or 512-834-8888. Ask to speak to a manager, and let them know the nature of your problem.

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