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Frequently Asked Questions

What is HelpTrac?

HelpTrac is a help desk management system which automates all those tasks your help desk technicians have been performing by hand. In addition to the recordkeeping, HelpTrac organizes the information, with reports to help you determine where training would decrease the number of help calls, find out which hardware and software (and users) are having the most problems, and track vendor and equipment information. HelpTrac can be used to justify staffing changes, document episode histories, and audit responsiveness of help desk staff.

With HelpTrac, tasks can be prioritized and you can be sure that the right technician is working on the right task. Even low priority tasks get attention because their urgency escalates as time passes. Instead of solving the same problems over and over, HelpTrac lets you search text information to find previous problems that are similar and recall how those problems were resolved in the past.

HelpTrac is written in C so it's fast. The data is stored in dBase format so you can produce custom reports and graphs using Access or Crystal Reports. But we don't use dBase to store the data. We use a product called CodeBase. HelpTrac's file performance is outstanding.

What is a help desk?

Anyone who provides assistance to other people is a help desk technician working at a help desk. Whether the requests for help come by phone, over a network or even by mail, a help desk technician provides answers, dispatches assistance or schedules repairs. This broad definition indicates the diversity of HelpTrac's application. In addition to the traditional in-house computer support, HelpTrac can track help requests in service dispatch, customer support and even sales support.

What's the Difference Between a User and a Technician?

Users are the people who contact the help desk for support. Technicians are the help desk workers who provide the support. It is a necessary distinction because HelpTrac provides technicians with different capabilities than it offers to users. To put it simply, technicians use HelpTrac to resolve users' problems.

On Which LANs Can I Run HelpTrac?

Novell, Banyan Vines, Lantastic, Windows for Workgroups and Windows NT all run HelpTrac with ease. For other networks, if you can run Windows (almost every network can), you should have no problem running HelpTrac. If you believe you have an unusual environment, give us a call so we can find a solution together.

Where Are the HelpTrac Files Stored?

A single technician can store the HelpTrac system on his/her own personal computer. If more than one technician will need access to the files, they must be stored in a shared directory somewhere on the network. There is no need for a separate file server to be installed.

Does HelpTrac Contain a Knowledge Base?

When you use HelpTrac, you are building a knowledge base of solutions unique for your users. This archive of your help desk's history is available for statistical reports, purchasing decisions, and manpower studies. HelpTrac's powerful search capabilities make it easy to find similar problems that occurred in the past. Best of all, these solutions are fitted to your environment. And since it's a dBase file, you can also extract the categorized information for training new technicians on your internal procedures and solutions.

HelpTrac will also interface with ServiceWare's "Knowledge Pak" and Knowledge Brokers' "Ask Me Pro" as well as other canned knowledge bases which can be purchased separately.

How Many Users Does HelpTrac Support?

The number of users you can support is virtually unlimited. A small record is created in a dBase file for each active user so the only limit is the maximum size of a dBase table. HelpTrac's Utilities make it easy to create skeleton user records from the ASCII user lists.

What Are Some Of HelpTrac's features?

See our Features section.

What are Quick Tickets?

HelpTrac has a special feature that allows automatic new tickets to be written using supervisor-defined default information such as problem, status, resolution, etc. So when an established user calls with a new help request, the technician can press a button and the new ticket writes itself.

How flexible are HelpTrac's reports?

Wow! Do we have reports! First, there are nine basic report types programmed directly into HelpTrac. Each of these report types has an enormous number of options. For example, the Technician Efficiency report can be run unfiltered, or the data can be filtered so that it reports on a specific set of products in a particular location over a given date range. This type of flexibility multiplies the number of reports many-fold. Second, HelpTrac is also shipped with over 125 customizable reports in our menu-driven report engine. This gives a total of well over 150, including powerful, colorful graphs in which information can be graphed in a number of ways. Third, since the files are in standard open database format, you have access to powerful report-writer and graph-writer capabilities like Crystal Reports and R&R Report Writer which expand the report capabilities to virtual infinity.

How much does training cost?

Exactly $0.00 USD. We don't require that you send someone to an exotic city to learn how to use HelpTrac. Our program is designed to be intuitive and easy to use. Try the demo, see if you agree with the thousands of people who use it "right out of the box." HelpTrac is understandable, logical and intuitive.

How much does installation cost?

Exactly $0.00 USD. We don't require you to pay someone to come to your office to install HelpTrac. HelpTrac installs like a normal Windows package. Installation takes a few minutes. All of our customers have been perfectly capable of installing it themselves.

What else do I need?

You need Windows XP, NT, 98, 2000, ME or Windows LITE, at least 8 meg RAM, a mouse and color monitor.

How do I get support?

Our customer support number is 713-450-1575; fax number is 713-451-8312; and email address is support@helptrac.com. However you reach us, you can be assured our entire staff will work hard to serve you. 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM CST Mon - Fri except national holidays.

How about upgrades?

A HelpTrac Support and Enhancements Agreement is available on an annual basis and includes support, upgrades and enhancements for the modules purchased for the term of the agreement.

Does it have lots of features?

Yes! HelpTrac is a professional system for help desk professionals. It's complete and powerful. And we are constantly adding new enhancements that our customers download and use. We encourage our customers to give us suggestions for enhancements.

Are the screens clear and easy to use?

Yes! And they can be customized to suit your needs.

Does HelpTrac have plenty reports and graphs to keep management informed?

Yes! And each of the reports and graphs have lots of options. And with your copy of Crystal reports, they can be easily customized.

What about performance?

Will HelpTrac keep up with your needs? Yes! The National Software Testing Laboratory called HelpTrac the "best performing" of all the help desk systems they tested.

But with all these features, is the cost affordable?

Yes! HelpTrac costs are extremely competitive with our closest competitors. You receive more value for your dollar with HelpTrac.

What about support?

Will we be there if you have problems? Yes! And we'll be there with enhancements and upgrades too. HelpTrac management frequently receives "fan mail" from customers praising our support staff.

Yeah, but will it run in MY environment?

Yes! If you run Windows, we can handle it. Still skeptical? We want you to try it in your environment so you are sure. Just order a 30-day free evaluation copy. It's the real program licensed for up to ten technicians.