POLYTROPE
Smart Solutions support

On this page you will find basic support info: a list of topics in our online support library (general help info), and also info about getting a response from Polytrope Support (lower on the page).

Online tech support library

Click on these links for more information on these topics:

Please note that, although we provide these support articles as a service to our users, the information in some of them really is not specific to CMAssistant but would apply to any FileMaker Pro solution.

Polytrope database tech support (with and without maintenance contract)

Polytrope Support receives two kinds of emails from two kinds of licensees. The two kinds of emails are (1) those that call for a detailed response from us, say, answering the question "how do I do this or that?"; and (2) those that don't call for a response. Those that don't are usually either feature requests or reports that such and such a problem was encountered that you want us to be aware of. We are grateful to receive these requests and will write you back to say thank you. We will occasionally point out that the problem isn't a problem but a misunderstanding, but if we deem it to be a problem, we'll add it to our problems database and will try to address it if we can.

If your contact asks for a response, then we will determine if you are currently inside your support agreement or not. New licensees are covered for a year. Most of our licensees renew their maintenance agreements annually. If your support agreeement is current, you are welcome to contact us as often as you like and we will do our best to help you out.

If your support agreement has lapsed, there will be a small initial charge per incident. We will email you back explaining where that payment can be made online and once payment has been received, we will respond. The initial charge is a minimum and covers one half hour of support time. That is enough time to cover most simple support requests. However, if the problem about which you are contacting us is more difficult - for example, your database has been damaged and you need help fixing it (a process that could take several hours) - you will be charged at our current support rate. Normally we will ask you to make a payment in advance based on our estimate of the time involved; we will provide a statement later showing what was done, billing for the balance or providing a refund if we completed the task in less time than estimated.

Costs as of June 2008: The initial contact costs $37.50 per incident, for half an hour of support. Beyond the first half hour the cost is $75 per hour. These charges are payable in advance online via our PayPal account (we'll email you the link). We regret that we must ask you to make the payment yourself online; we cannot take credit cards over the phone. These prices have not changed much for a couple of years but please be aware that PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

Before you contact us, we urge you to review any help materials you may have with your application. CMAssistant 4, 5 and 6 have online help utilities. They don't answer every question but they do answer many of the questions we receive. So check there first. For very general questions (about backing up, networking, etc.) check the online support library here on our web site; see the list of topics at the top of this page.

If you can't find the answer in the documentation (or the answer provided there doesn't work, or seems faulty), then email us.

Please note that your maintenance/service contract for CMAssistant or Goodbooks provides user support for these products only and does not include general support for FileMaker Pro. In particular, we do not provide free support answering questions like, "How do I install my database on a machine so that it can be shared?" or "We had a power outage and my database is damaged, what can I do?" or "How do I create a multi-request find using FileMaker Pro?" The question about networking is answered in our support library and also on FileMaker Inc's web site. The question about a multi-request FileMaker find is answered in the FileMaker Pro documentation. And fixing your database - if it can be fixed - is akin to getting your car fixed when it breaks: like your car mechanic, we'll be happy to help but we're going to charge you. You may be entitled to limited assistance with FileMaker directly from the licensor, FileMaker, Inc. We would like particularly to draw your attention to FileMaker's excellent online support options, which include technical notes that your network administrator may find helpful. If our information is ever at odds with information you get from FileMaker, Inc., you should assume that our information is in error (and please let us know!).

Click to download the current maintenance contract as an Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF) file.

So why renew your support agreement?

As you see, you can get support for your database whether you have a current support agreement or not. So why renew your support agreement? Two simple reasons.

First, when you have a question about your database, we really would like to hear from you, and we don't want you to have to think five times, get approval from your boss, find a credit card, etc., just to ask a simple question. If we could provide free support forever, we'd love to, but we just can't. (Microsoft and FileMaker Inc can't either, for what it's worth.) We have noticed that we hear mostly from those who have support agreements and we don't hear often from those who have chosen not to renew. This makes sense. But the folks who contact us get their problems solved and generally tend to give us high marks for support.

Second, our databasese (CMAssistant and Goodbooks) are products within very nichey niche markets. We aren't selling word processors here, with millions of current users and millions more to expand to. The support agreement to some extent helps underwrite the future development of our products. In return, those who have current support agreements are eligible, during the period of their agreement, to upgrade to the current version of the database.

If you wish to upgrade to the latest version and your support contract has lapsed, we will charge you for the upgrade and for the time it takes us to process your upgrades. Upgrades are a service, not a new product, because in most cases, a version upgrade (as opposed to a simple update) requires that you ship your files to us. Usually, you'll be better off buying a new support agreement at the current cost.

Eligibility for a "free" upgrade (covered by the support agreement) is determined by the time of your request, not by the time of the release. In other words, if you were covered during 2008 when CMAssistant 6 was released, but you chose not to upgrade at that time, and you don't renew your support agreement for 2009, if you decide in 2009 that you want to upgrade to CMAssistant 6, you will be asked to buy a new support agreement.

All in all, our support coverage is cheap - in most cases, $50 or less per month, for more or less unlimited support of the software that you are using to run your business. We're not free, but we're cheap!

This page last modified: June 13, 2008 4:00 PM