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The following Frequently Asked Questions apply specifically to the
following software products: The Complete Membership & Event Manager,
The Help Desk Manager
Please note: This information is subject to change without notice. This document is
arranged in the following categories (some categories may be empty, please revisit
regularly)
Architecture / design
How to use...How do I?
Installation
How to use...How do I?
Upgrade frequency
Technical support
Annual maintenance fee
Architecture / design
QUESTION: What file format are the data files?
ANSWER: The databases are Microsoft Access 2002.
QUESTION: Do I need to have Microsoft Access installed on my
computer to use your software?
ANSWER: No.
QUESTION: Are the data files compatible with
Access, dBase, FoxPro, Paradox?
ANSWER: The database uses Microsoft Access 2002. Moreover, as you may know, most contemporary
information management systems read data from other systems. As such, you should be able
to exchange data between this software and other systems based on modern information
management systems.
QUESTION: What language is the software written in?
ANSWER: Some of the DLLs and executables are written in C++.
QUESTION: Will Ekeba charge to convert my data to use in the program?
ANSWER: We can convert your data for a small fee. However, this policy is subject to change without
notice. Please inquire at support@Ekeba.com.
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Installation
QUESTION: How long would it take to install the software?
ANSWER: Depending on the speed of your computer, installation would take about
one minute. Older systems may take a little longer.
QUESTION: I am not very good with computers. Will I be able to install the software or
would I need to pay someone to install it for me?
ANSWER: You do not need to
hire a consultant or a 'computer expert' to install the software. Just insert the CD
in your computer's CD drive and installation will start immediately.
QUESTION: Would I need to create a program group or modify my Windows INI file or
registry?
ANSWER: No, the installation program will take care of everything.
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How to use...How do I?
QUESTION: Can I track dollars per individual registration?
ANSWER: Yes.
QUESTION: My conference has registration fee and two pre-paid luncheons. What is the
quickest inputting procedure I can use, after I add the customer?
ANSWER: (1) Make sure your fee structure for the registration and the luncheons are
already entered in the inventory file. (2) Also make sure you have entered your meal or
luncheon choices in the menu plan. (3) Register the customer in the registration module.
(4) Register them in the meal or luncheon choices module.
QUESTION: Can this program serve as a mailing list, or do I have to transfer my data into
another program to send mailers etc.?
ANSWER: Our software has a word-processor you can use for mail-merge. You can also use Microsoft
Word.
QUESTION: After my conference is over and I start a new one. What other alternatives do
I have to check for Repeats besides printing out a master list of old registrants (I am
assuming in alphabetical order) to manually check?
ANSWER: We can't think of a faster way to check for 'repeats' than to perhaps, check to
see if the person is a repeat in the 'old registrations module'. Better yet, locate the
person’s name in the Event Manager’s customer file. Then click the previous
events or similar button for a view of their previous event/attendance record. You can ask
the prospective registrant if they are a repeat customer. This might save you the trouble
of re-entering their data; indeed, creating a duplicate data for the same customer, should
they, for example, give you a slightly different name (e.g., Dottie Vs Dorothy or Mike Vs
Michael) during subsequent registrations.
QUESTION: I have been entering our customers. The system seems to expect me to enter a
'last name' for each registrant. We only have companies as customers. How can we accomplish
this?
ANSWER: You need to enter the name of the 'contact person' for the company in
the first and last name fields. If more
than one person from a company is attending your event, yes, it is possible that you will
need to enter the company name and address more than one time in the customer file.
Remember that this software sees the 'INDIVIDUAL' as the CUSTOMER and not the COMPANY as
the customer. You may have 30 individuals from the same company, but in the view of this
software, they are all UNIQUE customers! We designed it this way, because many of our
customers have clients who come from the same company, but have different mailing
addresses, telephone and fax numbers and E-mail addresses. Some prefer to use their home
address, while others prefer to use their post office box or other non-company related
address, etc.
QUESTION: I wanted to print out a list of our customers and when I had the owners last
name in the correct spot the list came up alphabetical by the person’s last name not
by company. How can we pull names by company?
ANSWER: When producing a list, the system sees the individual (using their Last Name) as
the CUSTOMER and NOT the company name. However, if you wish to group and print a list of
all your customers from a particular company, then select the appropriate FILTER option.
This will produce a list of all your customers from the specific company in your database.
QUESTION: Do you have a demonstration copy
ANSWER: Please see demonstration.
QUESTION: If we enter customer names for an event, would we have to re-enter them the
next time they come for another event?
ANSWER: You only need to enter them once in the customer file. As long as you do not
delete them, they will be there forever. So the next time they come for an event, just
pick their name from the previously entered record of names.
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Upgrade frequency
QUESTION: How often do you update your software?
ANSWER: In the preceding five years we averaged one version release every 12 months.
QUESTION: Are your software network ready?
ANSWER: Yes. We only encourage use of our products on file-server type networks. However,
we have heard of customers who have installed and are using our products on peer-to-peer
networks.
QUESTION: What are your network licensing fees?
ANSWER: Our network installation (per user) licenses are one of the most affordable in the
industry. Please check at our web site at http://www.Ekeba.com
for current information on network licensing.
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Technical support
QUESTION: Do you charge for technical support?
ANSWER: E-mail technical support is free. Please direct
technical support questions to support@Ekeba.com.
Also the good news is that our software are very straightforward, and as such you will
have very little need for technical support. We rarely receive technical support
questions, and if we do, we address them promptly and make the information available to
everyone.
QUESTION: How long does it take to respond to an E-mail technical support question?
ANSWER: Depending on network traffic, you will receive an answer within 30 minutes.
However, unforeseeable events may push the response time to up to 8 hours. Either way, if
we received it, our response should be back to you within 24 hours.
Annual maintenance fee
QUESTION: Do you charge an annual maintenance fee?
ANSWER: We are aware that some vendors charge as much as 20 - 100% of the product’s
price in annual maintenance fees; charge another amount for ‘publisher’
privileges and yet another fee for ‘subscriber’. Rest assured that we will not
charge you anything like that. No, we do not mandate an annual maintenance fee or any fee
for that matter.
QUESTION: What is your policy on software bugs? Do you charge customers for an upgrade
if a bug is found in your software?
ANSWER: Not at all! Here is how we handle such issues: (1) We will inform you immediately
(within 24 hours) if we become aware of a problem. (2) We will fix the problem as soon as
possible and make a fix available to you on our web site within 5 days of our becoming
aware of the problem. However, unforeseeable circumstances may push this back. Indeed, we
are perhaps, one of a very small number of software publishers who still behave as
promised above. We believe it is only fair that we correct any inadvertent problem that
may exist in our software at no cost to you.
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