The Support Handbook
Your introduction to Support from Datel, when to contact us, how to get in touch and what to expect from this award winning service.
Support services
We're here to help
At Datel we care about your success and how your Sage solution supports what you are trying to achieve within your business.
Support as a service and the additional services available from Datel - Manage, Monitor and Assist - are delivered by a team of accredited support consultants. This team of over 60 product specialists are dedicated to delivering our support services, ensuring they are available to help when you need us.
The outstanding individuals within our team maintain and update their knowledge and skill set each year to ensure we have the very best product knowledge. And, our continual improvement approach coupled with your feedback empower us to drive the service forward.
When to reach out to support
The Support team is here to help Datel’s customers with on-going daily problems when using software supplied and installed by Datel, or under the terms of your Support Agreement.
Whilst some guidance can be given on the operation and use of the system, the Support team is not able to offer detailed consultancy or training over the telephone. Where a support ticket is deemed to require consultancy, you will be informed soon after the ticket has been opened.
If your system is in the process of implementation - and not yet live - it’s likely that enquiries will go directly to your Datel project manager, who will ensure that any issues are addressed as part of your ongoing project.
How to contact Datel Support
There are four ways you can contact Datel’s support team to raise a ticket.
What happens when you log an issue
When your issue is received, your ticket follows Datel’s issue resolution process.
01
Open a new support ticket
Datel’s Support admin team will log your issue and create a ticket.
02
Request and establish full details of the problem
We will confirm the correct contact details and request full details of the problem you are facing.
03
Log call details onto our support database
The full details of your issue are logged on our system to ensure you don’t have to repeat any parts of your issue when it is picked up by a product specialist.
04
Assign an urgency level
The urgency level is assigned to your issue in line with our service level agreement.
05
Issue you with a ticket number
An email will automatically be sent to you if logging the issue via phone or email confirming the ticket details and ticket number for future reference.
06
Product specialist assistance
Support consultants will take ownership of your ticket and respond to you as quickly as possible.
Urgency levels and response times
We respond to calls according to their urgency levels to ensure that the most high priority issues are dealt with in a timely fashion. Tickets are actioned in order of their severity, ensuring no customer is given preference over another.
Please note, response and resolution times are estimates only - but our objective is to achieve these targets 90% of the time.
System down
This urgency level is always given priority. Our target response time is to provide immediate assistance and we aim to resolve the issue within 8 working hours.
Business critical
Where a large number of users are affected or the problem has a financial impact on your business our target response time is within 1 working hour with a target resolution time of 16 working hours.
Standard issue
These are issues where one or two users are affected and there is no financial impact on your business. The target response time is 2 working hours and target resolution time is 28 working hours for standard issues.
Informational
When users need specific information or help with standard functionality our target response time is within 2 working hours and target resolution time is within 40 working hours.
If an issue requires involvement by the software author or a third party maintenance contractor then resolution times may be affected. In this instance, the timescales will default to the maintenance policy of that software author.
The timescales are not applicable for issues relating to bespoke work. In these instances, a specific timescales will be given.
Customer feedback
Your success is supported by our service - that’s why we continually strive to improve our support services and value your feedback.
A customer feedback request is automatically issued to you after your ticket has been closed. This includes four questions, which we ask you to score from 0 (‘Very Poor’) to 5 (‘Excellent’). This helps us to better understand how you see our service and empowers us to deliver even better support in the future.
The customer feedback request asks for feedback on the following areas:
- Initial response to ticket
- Regular update on progress
- Technical knowledge of support staff
- Satisfactory closure
Monthly reports and updates
Each month, a bulletin will be sent via email containing a number of reports which specifically relate to your business, including:
- Number of tickets closed in the month, and the number closed on the same day
- Month-by-month chart of new tickets raised
- Feedback statistics for closed tickets
- Details of any logs remaining open
Frequently asked questions
- When is Datel’s Support Helpdesk available?
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Our Support function is open and available from Monday to Friday between 9:00am and 5:30pm (excluding public holidays).
We also operate from 8:00am to 9:00am and 5:30pm to 6:00pm to log and update tickets. Out-of-hours support issues may be logged by email or web portal.
Please note, no action will be taken on issues logged out of hours until the Support function is open again.
We can provide out-of-hours support or on-site assistance with prior arrangement.
- Who should contact support?
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The main Support contact(s) should be the individuals logging issues with the Datel support team.
Your company should have several nominated contacts who can become familiar with Datel’s support team i.e. heads of departments or processes. In their absence deputies should be nominated.
See product help & guidance articles
For specialised areas of your system, talking directly to the end user ensures we understand the problem and gives us the ability to guide them through instructions we provide.
Help information is available via the link below for use by individuals in your team.
- What information do you need when logging an issue?
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To help us provide a solution that gets you back on track as soon as possible, it would assist the team if you had the following information ready:
- Full details of your problem and background of the circumstances.
- A full record of any error message received, with specific examples where appropriate.
- How do I get in touch with the Customer Support Director?
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You can email Ian Mowbray directly - ian.mowbray@datelgroup.com
The team supporting you
Our Customer Support Director Ian Mowbray leads Datels support team. Ian has worked with Sage solutions for over 20 years and is a product specialist in Sage 200, Sage X3 and Sage Intacct.
Ian Mowbray, Customer Support Director
Managed by Bruno Santos, the Sage X3 support team has over 20 dedicated support consultants making it one of the largest dedicated teams in the UK. Bruno has over 20 years experience of working with Sage X3 via consultancy, support, and training.
Bruno Santos, Sage X3 Support Services Manager
Richard Cunningham leads our Sage Intacct and Sage 200 support teams. He has supported Sage 200 since 2005 and manages a team of over 20 support consultants who deliver our support service to our Sage 200 and Intacct customer base.
Richard Cunningham, Sage Intacct and Sage 200 Support Services Manager
Tim Adams is Datel’s CRM Team Leader. Tim has a wealth of knowledge in CRM solutions and together with his team support both Sage CRM and the Infor CRM (formerly Saleslogix). The team look after all CRM queries for Datel's customer base.
Tim Adams, CRM Team Leader
Ian Allison is Sage 1000 Team Leader and has been working with the solution since 2011. He works with Datel customers alongside the Sage 1000 and Sage Line 500 product experts within his team. The team’s extensive knowledge of these solutions ensures you are in safe hands as the solution heads towards retirement.
Ian Allison, Sage 1000 Team Leader