Everyone understands and feels similarly when it comes to any kind of support, be it for a service, software, hardware, etc. It should not have to happen. Ideally, everything should just work and not get in our way. In reality, issues can crop up and will frustrate us.

Receiving support does not always have to be an unpleasant experience though.
Based on our experience, the following steps should help when you need any kind of support.

Search Through Existing Resources

Before requesting support, we would always recommend searching through Support Central for existing resources to get immediate answers. We offer a variety of resources to try to assist you with the basic setup and troubleshooting of our products. You can search through Support Central by clicking the magnifying glass towards the top of the page or from the search bar on the Support Central Homepage. 

When searching through Support Central, it can help to refine your search keywords to be short and simple. For example, searching for "My supervisor is not able to see other employees when he is using ExakTime Mobile, but I can see them just fine" can result in non-relevant resources as it is searching for all of the words. Searching for "My supervisor cannot see other employees" can help refine your results to what you need. In these situations, less is more.

Be Prepared

Prior to reaching out, it helps to document the issue and gather as much information as possible. Having detailed information on hand offers a quick and streamlined experience for both you and the support team. Think of it as taking your car to a mechanic. Saying that there was an odd clanking sound may not be enough for a mechanic to diagnose the problem.

Below are some questions that we commonly ask during the troubleshooting process. Peruse these questions and try to answer as many of them as possible. The more detailed answers you have to these questions will make it that much easier for a quick resolution. Screenshots and recordings of the issue can help supplement your written answers to help provide more clarity to the support team.

• What product are you having trouble with? (E.g. Core HR, ExakTime Connect/Mobile, JobClocks, etc.)
  • As some features can overlap between our products, knowing the specific product you were working with avoids any confusion.
• What section/web page of the product presented the issue? ( E.g. Reports, Settings, Employees, etc.)
  • Knowing where the problem started can help us narrow our focus.
• Was there an error message? If so, what was it?
  • Error messages can help us understand the root cause and how best to guide you.
• If there was no error message, what happened?
  • Knowing exactly what happened before, during, and after the issue can help us determine the root cause and solution.
• Can you reproduce it?
  • An issue that is reproducible is generally easier to address when compared to an issue that only happened once.
• What have you already done to troubleshoot the issue?
  • If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before reaching out, letting the support team know helps eliminate any double-work.
• If the issue was not present, what would you expect to happen?
  • Sometimes an issue is less of an issue and more of a misunderstanding of what should be happening.
• When was the last time that it was working without issue?
  • Knowing when the last time it was working can help us establish a timeline between the two events.
• If there was no issue before, were there any changes from when it was working until the occurrence of the issue?
  • There can be times where events outside of our product may impact their functionality (E.g. Update to the iOS or Android operating system, a new computer, an update to your web browser, etc.)
• Can you take a screenshot of the issue?
  • A screenshot can provide additional information that may be overlooked when you first encounter an issue. It can sometimes be easier to take a screenshot of the error message/warning instead of trying to copy it exactly as presented. 
  • For more information about taking screenshots, you can refer to the following article.

Reaching Out

Once you have a good grasp of the issue, you can submit the details of the issue and a valid email at our request form which will generate a service ticket for you. Your service ticket will be reviewed by a support team member who will begin the troubleshooting process via email.

Troubleshooting

As the support team member reviews your ticket, they will try to understand your support request, what you are trying to accomplish, and begin troubleshooting. If you are able to provide sufficient information initially, they may even be able to provide a resolution in the next follow-up email.

If there is not enough information, they will ask further probing questions and/or have you perform additional actions to help narrow down what the issue is. Troubleshooting is a two-party endeavor and requires effort from both parties.

Patience and Expectations

One of the most important parts of troubleshooting is simply patience. Sometimes troubleshooting is a quick and simple process, other times, it can be long and labored.  The best-case scenario for everyone is a quick resolution. Other times, it can be a workaround to get you going while the underlying issue is addressed by our product development team.

At its core, any of your issues are our issues so do not feel like you are alone. Our support team will be with you every step of the way.