Technical Support Terms and Conditions

Support Hours

Support is available Monday through Friday between 9:00am and 5:00pm Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time. (See current time)  If you need to contact us on weekends or outside of these times, please send an email, leave a voice mail message, log a job via our on-line helpdesk, or contact your local HelpMaster reseller.

Support Eligibility

Support is available to all clients using HelpMaster and those who are evaluating PRD Software products. Please note that charges may apply for clients without a current Annual Maintenance Subscription, or where support is not directly related to a HelpMaster issue.

Which versions of HelpMaster receive technical support and software development

PRD Software offer technical support for the 2 most current major versions of HelpMaster.

Configuration, training and consulting matters are not covered under technical support and should be referred to Professional Services.

End of life notice and Limited support period

Whenever a new major version of HelpMaster is released, an "End of life" notice for the version that is 2 major version behind the current version will be posted on the announcements forum of the HelpMaster discussion board.  This product will then enter into a period of limited support for 3 months.  During this time, this product will no longer receive any code updates, and no further maintenance releases will be made.  Technical support will still be available during this time.

Getting support for old, or retired versions

In cases where technical support is absolutely required for for old, or non-supported versions, an hourly rate of AU$100, billed in 30 minute intervals, with a minimum of $50 will apply.  This fee will apply even if you currently hold a valid Annual Maintenance Subscription (AMS).  Note that absolutely no development work (source code modification) will be performed for HelpMaster products that are not supported, or are in currently in an "End of life" period.  This service is only for technical support.

What's Not Supported?

Due to the diverse nature of software and installations, PRD is not able to provide free support for network and system issues, or 3rd party software applications.  These products include Microsoft products, such as SQL Server, Outlook, Office, Crystal Reports, Access, Excel.  When a support request is submitted, an initial assessment will be done to determine the nature of the issue and the client notified accordingly. Configuration, training and consulting matters are not covered under technical support and should be referred to Professional Services.

Technical support does not  include the following services:

• Importing or conversion of existing data
• Custom reporting or database query design
• Custom development work of any sort
• On-site technical support of any sort
• Correction of data corruption issues not arising directly from standard use of HelpMaster
• Step-by-step technical support for installation and configuration of HelpMaster

These services are available through our Professional Services.

For clients with a Premium support contract, the following conditions apply

• Remote desktop support is limited to diagnosing, configuring or support just one issue.  This service will not be used for upgrades, installations, conversions or other in-depth matters.
• API / SDK and Addin support does not mean PRD Software will develop addins, write code, or debug source code.  This service is advisory only and is intended as a developer support service for those using the developer features of HelpMaster
• Data corruption correction applies to a HelpMaster database only, and only where HelpMaster has been used within normal operating parameters.
• Crystal Report support does not refer to the creating of custom Crystal Reports.  This service is advisory only and is intended as a developer support service for those creating custom Crystal Reports against a HelpMaster database.

Renewing Annual Maintenance Subscription

AMS renewal can be purchased from PRD Software.  An AMS expiry notice will be sent to the registered business 1 month prior to AMS expiry.  If you have purchased additional licences during the year they are renewed on a pro-rata basis to align with the anniversary of the original purchase.

What do I get for my Annual Maintenance Subscription?

Annual Maintenance Subscription is offered in 3 formats.  For details about each level, please refer to Annual Maintenance Subscription

Contact methods

PRD Software provides telephone, email and internet based support.

For contact details, please see our contact details page.

You may also prefer to contact your local distributor.

Last updated September 2011