Frequently Asked Questions
| Deciding whether to buy or not Can we try it out before deciding? Can we talk to someone who already uses it?
What hardware/software does it need? How many PCs/users can use it? Can we access it from outside our offices? We’ve more than 1 office – will that work? Is it ‘web based’ – can we access it via the internet?
Can we use the data we already have? We want to include our Outlook contacts
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Training, Support and Upgrades What documentation do you provide? How often will we get updates? What if we want changes to the system? What if we want a report that doesn’t exist?
Any other questions? Email us or phone and talk to us! We’re not a huge company and we rely upon individual clients being satisfied - so we really do like talking to you! Call us on 01364 649290 or email us |
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Answers Deciding whether to buy or not
"Why would we choose careLINK?" careLINK is a low cost, and yet high quality database with the emphasis on being easy to use It will save you considerable time in your work, support you in being more efficient and professional, and allow you to direct more resources to providing care services It has been specifically designed with and for Caring organisations
"Can we try it out before deciding?" We can provide a full demonstration of careLINK over the internet (or face-to-face if you're local). See our Demos page. We can also provide you with a demonstration copy so that you can start using it immediately and get a sense of what it can do.
"Can we talk to someone who already uses it?" We have a number of 'Caring' organisations that are currently using it that would be happy to talk with you. Please call us and we will provide their details.
"What hardware/software does careLINK need?" Microsoft Access 2000, 2002, 2003 or 2007 Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista and 7
"Can it run on Apple Macs?" No, careLINK has not been designed to run on Apple Macs.
"Will it work over a network?" Yes, careLINK will work on a single PC or over a network. It works best on wired rather than wireless networks.
"How many PCs/users can use it?" Pretty much as many as you want! If you think 8 or more people may be using it at the same time then give us a call.
"Can it be accessed from outside our offices?" This is called 'remote access' and is possible.
To handle remote access will require some 'tweaking' of your server, and at a simple level you will be limited to one remote user at a time.
However, careLINK has been designed to be a 'server based' or 'office based' database. And if many people need to regularly access the data from outside your offices you probably need to look at 'web based' systems.
"We’ve more than one office – how will that work?" See the answer above.
"Is it ‘web based’ – Can it be accessed via the internet?" No it is not 'web based', but can be accessed via the internet in a limited way. See answer above and talk to us for more details.
Data Transfer issues
"Can we use the data we already have?" Yes. We can transfer any information you already have into the database for you. So no extra typing for you!
We'll even check your data for obvious discrepancies if you want us to, such as duplicate records, mis-spelt towns and counties etc.
Send us your data and we will provide a quote for you, so that you can decide whether to go ahead.
We can certainly work with the following packages/formats (and if you don't understand any of this - just call us and we'll sort it out for you):
"We have data in spreadsheets" No problem. We can transfer it. See the answer above.
"We already have a database" No problem. We can transfer it. See the answer above.
"We want to include our Outlook contacts" No problem. We can import them. See the answer above.
Training, Support and Upgrades
"What training might we need?" We offer as much training as you need and can offer face-to-face training as well as phone training/support.
"What documentation do you provide?" We do not currently have a manual for careLINK. However, most people find it intuitive and easy to use.
"How often will we get updates?" Updates contain new features and fix problems (bugs) that arise. By paying an annual support charge you get updates for free. When an existing user of careLINK requests a new feature, we provide them with a quote, make the changes and then release the new version with the changes to all careLINK users.
"What support do you provide?" 9-5 Monday to Friday - personal one-to-one phone and/or email support
So you can call us:
We do not provide free support for your equipment or any of the other software on it. For example, if the problem is due to faulty hardware or you've upgraded to software that careLINK doesn't work with (see What hardware/software does careLINK need?).
However, we won't just put the phone down on you! We'll either quote you and sort it out ourselves, or help you to find someone else who can sort it out.
"What if we want changes to the system?" Talk to us. We'll discuss the change. As long as we feel that the change is in line with the product as a whole ... We will provide you with a quote, and on your agreement make the changes.
"What if we want a report that doesn’t exist?" If a report you require is not available we will design it for you.
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