Consider the scenario: You’ve just purchased QuickBooks and the salesperson asks if you’d like to buy the support agreement. Far too often, the support agreement is not purchased and eventually support is needed. It can seem like a waste of money, but it can cost you more time, possibly down time, if your accounting software stops working and you need help fixing it.
These support contracts include support for everything relating to your accounting software. Strange errors when you try and post a check? Don’t know how to post a check? Need help installing the software on a new PC? Their support will help you with all of this! There are some quirks with calling support. Sometimes the person you speak to isn’t the most knowledgeable with the product or issue you are having, it happens. But guess what? You can ask to speak to someone else or ask that your issue be escalated if you feel like the technician has spent too much time on it and they will honor that request.
You don’t think you need to purchase the additional support because you have an IT person or a Managed Service Provider handling all your IT needs? Not always the case. Your IT person can only do so much. If they run into a problem they cannot resolve, they must contact the vendor for support and without an active contract with that vendor, they cannot fix your issue costing you even more delays and down time.
If the price seems to high, don’t be afraid to ask for a discount. We’re not saying you will get one, but it doesn’t hurt to ask if they can offer the support at a cheaper rate, especially since you are purchasing licenses.
Do your research before making the investment. Just because QuickBooks is the most commonly used, doesn’t mean it’s the one that is going to work best for your growing business. There are a lot of options out there and some may be better than others. The support agreements that these vendors offer can also vary widely so be sure you know what you are agreeing to. Some vendors have different support packages with different service level agreements that you must choose from.
After you’ve decided which application to use and purchase the licensing and support agreement, make sure you add your IT person as a contact with the vendor. This is extremely important and rarely happens ahead of time. If you have an issue and call your IT person for help and they can’t figure it out they will then contact the vendor support on your behalf. Support won’t talk to your IT contact because they aren’t on their “List”. Put them on the list ahead of time, it will save you time and headaches in the future.
If you need any advise regarding your current accounting software or suggestions for future use, feel free to give us a call 248-934-0550 or contact use HERE! If we can’t help, we can point you in the right direction.
