Working with Epicor Analytics Customer Support

Page 1 of 6 REV: September 2013 Sage reserves the right to modify this document without prior written notification.

Table of Contents

Who Can Call Epicor Analytics Customer Support ............................................ 2

When To Call Epicor Analytics Customer Support ............................................ 3

When To Call Your Consultant or Epicor Active Planner Business Partner ...... 3

How to Fast Track Your Case ........................................................................... 3

Escalating an Issue with Epicor Analytics Customer Support ........................... 4

Epicor Active Planner Code Fixes ..................................................................... 4

Product Enhancement Requests ....................................................................... 6

Contacting Epicor Analytics Customer Support Management ........................... 6

Working with Epicor Analytics Customer Support

Page 2 of 6 REV: September 2013 Sage reserves the right to modify this document without prior written notification.

The following policy has been established by the Epicor Analytics Customer Support department in an attempt to help resolve your issues in the most expeditious manner. Epicor Analytics Customer Support is most effective at troubleshooting and resolving cases that arise from problems in our standard program code. See section below titled When To Call Epicor Analytics Customer Support. When issues arise due to customizations or enhancements written by outside developers, consultants, or Epicor Active Planner Business Partners, Epicor Analytics Customer Support may be limited in its ability to resolve the issues. In those situations, you should contact the outside developer or Epicor Active Planner Business Partner directly for support. See section below titled When To Call Your Consultant or Epicor Active Planner Business Partner. All customer installations must remain current on the latest software release and product update to take advantage of the latest available product fixes. Failure to do so may result in delayed resolutions as well as unnecessary down time and loss of productivity. It is the responsibility of the developer, consultant, Epicor Active Planner Business Partner, or Customer to implement product updates on customer systems in a timely manner. Neither Epicor Analytics Customer Support nor Engineering provides on-site services. Our Professional Services group offers Implementation and Consulting Services for the Epicor Active Planner product line. All of these services are individually paid services and require a professional services contract. For more information, obtain a professional services contract or to book time, please contact us at mmdpsg.sage.com,

Who Can Call Epicor Analytics Customer Support

• An Epicor Active Planner Consultant or Epicor Active Planner Business Partner with an active agreement

• An Epicor Active Planner Customer with an active SupportPlus agreement • An authorized Support Contact, designated by an Epicor Active Planner

Customer with an active SupportPlus Agreement o A Customer may designate up to three (3) authorized Support Contacts

per Server Software License o One contact must be the Customer’s database administrator o Each Support Contact must be knowledgeable in all aspects of the

Customer’s operating environment in which Epicor Active Planner Product(s) are being used

Working with Epicor Analytics Customer Support

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When To Call Epicor Analytics Customer Support

• After you have checked the Epicor Active Planner knowledge base on the Sage Customer or Partner Portal to see if the issue you are experiencing has already been reported.

• You have documented the steps in an attempt to reproduce the issue or error on standard, non-modified code.

• You are on a supported product version with the most current product update released by Epicor Active Planner.

• You have documented the hardware/software/database profile of the system in question.

• The server and workstation hardware/software/database profile meets or exceeds Epicor Active Planner’ minimum system requirements.

When To Call Your Consultant or Epicor Active Planner Business Partner

• The error or issue is due to customized code or a 3rd party product or add-on.

• The error is not reproducible in demo data or non-modified code. • Consistent steps to duplicate have not been identified.

• You are not on a supported product version and/or choose not to install the latest product update released by Epicor Active Planner.

How to Fast Track Your Case

There are several steps that a Customer, Consultant, or Epicor Active Planner Business Partner can take to fast track a resolution. Below are a few suggestions.

• Check the Epicor Active Planner resources on the Sage Customer or Partner Portal to find resolutions or to see if the issue you are experiencing has already been reported:

o Check product system and user guides for procedural issues

o Check the compatibility guide and release notes for your product for software and hardware compliance

o Check the Epicor Active Planner knowledge base to see if the issue you are experiencing has already been reported, or whether a resolution or workaround is available, or copy the following link into your browser: http://kb.accpac.com/cgi-bin/sagesoftwareonline2.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_sid=54_BfCuk&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=&p_li=

o Check the Download link for available version updates and/or maintenance release updates.

Working with Epicor Analytics Customer Support

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� Note: Before updating a customized installation, check with your Consultant, Epicor Active Planner Business Partner, or 3rd Party Provider to avoid overwriting customizations and ensure compatibility.

• If the issue has not been reported, compile the following information and

contact Epicor Analytics Customer Support to open a new support case:

o Epicor Active Planner product version o Epicor Active Planner Product Update version o GL Product and version o Operating system versions: workstation/s, and Terminal/Citrix, SQL,

Application, and Web servers (if applicable). o Error messages (exact wording). o Exact steps to duplicate the problem on standard, non-modified code o Screenshots o Reports and forms (if applicable). o SQL profiler traces

Escalating an Issue with Epicor Analytics Customer Support

Epicor Active Planner takes escalations very seriously; therefore, we have formed an escalation team that reviews Severity 1 and Severity 2 issues on a regular basis. The following outlines the steps for creating an escalation on the Sage Customer or Partner Portal and provides general insight to the escalation process.

• For online escalation of Severity 1 and 2 issues, use the “Case Escalation” link on the Sage Customer or Partner Portal..

o Severity Level 1 and 2 support cases will receive priority attention above other escalations (see the Severity Levels document).

• When the CS Manager receives a request to escalate, he/she may contact you directly to ensure Epicor Active Planner has obtained all of the facts surrounding the escalation.

• If deemed necessary, the CS Manager may coordinate a recurring meeting with the Customer, Consultant, or Epicor Active Planner Business Partner to review escalation details. The determination to conduct these meetings is made by the severity of the escalation and the business impact to the customer.

• Customer accounts that are placed on the escalation list are monitored on a regular basis by management until all parties agree the issue is resolved.

• Typically, the CS management team works directly with the Consultant or Epicor Active Planner Business Partner to resolve customer issues unless otherwise requested by the Customer.

Epicor Active Planner Code Fixes

Working with Epicor Analytics Customer Support

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Epicor Active Planner strives to offer high quality software releases while continuing to provide you with exceptional support and service. To meet this goal, Product Management, Engineering, and Support adhere to several policies and procedures for prioritizing and managing the delivery of code fixes. For product quality and the success of your business, it is critically important to ensure that our Epicor Active Planner Engineering and QA teams have sufficient time to develop, test, and deliver a fix that resolves the reported issue correctly and works successfully in the customer’s database. All customer installations must be on a supported product version and the latest product update because development of program fixes is reliant on foundational code contained in each update. This allows:

• Epicor Active Planner Engineering to develop and deliver a quality fix in the shortest possible timeframe and help minimize potential risk and impact to the customer’s business.

• Customers to take advantage of functionality and improvements to their software as part of their maintenance and support agreement service.

The following outlines Epicor Active Planner’ internal process for prioritizing, managing, and delivering code fixes for Epicor Active Planner products.

1. Customer, Consultant, or Epicor Active Planner Business Partner contacts Customer Support to report issues occurring in standard, non-modified code and provides exact steps to duplicate

2. Customer Support must be able to verify and duplicate the issue 3. Customer Support documents the steps to duplicate issue

• If the issue is not a defect, CS creates a knowledge article and posts it to the knowledge base.

• If the issue is determined to be a software defect, CS submits all documentation to the Engineering team

4. The Defect Review Committee meets weekly to prioritize defects and schedule them for resolution based on:

• Severity of the Issue

• Business impact

• Numbers of customers affected 5. The customer / partner is notified of the projected date of delivery for the fix.

• ETA delivery dates are provided under a good faith estimate 6. QA must be able to verify and duplicate the issue 7. The defect is assigned to an Engineer for code review. The Engineer works

through the program code or data (if applicable) to locate and resolve the problem.

8. Once a defect is resolved, the fix is processed through an Engineering code review.

9. Once the fix passes the Engineering code review and tests successfully, the fix is bundled and delivered in one or more of the following ways:

Working with Epicor Analytics Customer Support

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• Code Fixes: The revised code is submitted for bundling into the product update. Note: Not all defects can be bundled into a product update due to the complexity of the resolution. Those that cannot be resolved through a product update are reviewed for consideration for the next software release.

• Note: Fixes are delivered to the Customer, Consultant, or Epicor Active Planner Business Partner for acceptance testing in a development environment before implementing into production. As is usual and customary, fixes should be applied to production environments after successful user acceptance testing has been completed, users have logged out of production, and an immediate backup of the production database has been performed.

Product Enhancement Requests

As an Epicor Active Planner customer, you have an important role to play at Epicor Active Planner, and we are listening! Submitting product enhancement requests gives you an opportunity to help influence the future improvements and features that are considered for your Epicor Active Planner product, and we’ve made it easier and faster than ever for you to your share ideas!

Use the link below to visit our self-service “Product Suggestions” idea management website link to request your product enhancement ideas for a future release.

It’s never been easier!

• Click the link below or add it to your Web browser

• Enter your contact information in case we have any questions

• Submit new enhancement requests and suggestions

Epicor Active Planner: https://www11.v1ideas.com/SageERP/Analytics

Submitting your own enhancement requests ensures the requested functionality meets your business requirements and provides our Product Management team with the information they need to contact you for further information if we have any questions.

Contacting Epicor Analytics Customer Support Management Still have questions? Our Customer Support Management Team will be happy to help you. Locate direct contact information for our Management Team using the “Contact Us” on the Sage Customer or Partner Portal.