FAQ                                                                       

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

 
Evaluation
Licensing
Purchase
Using VTS
Technical Questions
Support & Upgrades

Evaluation [^]

What can I do with the evaluation version?
Everything - it is a full version of the VTS product.

What happens when the evaluation period runs out?
You will not be able to enter new time records, but you can still review and report on data entered during the evaluation.

Why don't you offer a money-back guarantee on the VTS product?
Because we believe a free 30 day evaluation is even better! You get to use the full product at no charge for 30 days. Only if you are completely satisfied with VTS and wish to continue to have full use of it do you need to buy it.

What if I have questions during the evaluation?
No problem, just contact us by email and we'll do our best to give you all the information you need to make an informed decision.

Licensing [^]

What is a "user-name" licence?
A "user-name" licence is issued to an named individual or role.

Can another user take over the licence of a another user?
No, unless they continue to use the licence under the same name or identifier. For example, if a company has a licence for "Jim Smith" and Jim leaves and is replaced by "Mary Jones", they need to purchase a new licence for Mary (she could keep using Jim's licence, but would have to do so under the user name "Jim Smith"). For positions where the actual person doing the job is expected to change frequently, it may be better to purchase a licence under the role name e.g. "Wife of Henry the VIII".

Why does Great Circle Software use "user-name" licensing?
User-name licensing is a simple and practical arrangement whereby we can supply high quality, low cost software and have reasonable assurance we will be paid for our product. Registered users receive all on-going upgrades and support at no additional charge, and everyone avoids added software complexity (needed to manage other licence models), costly annual support contracts, and cumbersome administration.

Can a licensed user run VTS on more than one computer?
Yes, a licensed user has a licence for the user name and can use it on more than one computer.

Purchase [^]

What forms of payment can I use?
We accept payment on-line through Pay-Pal transactions. We are happy to provide a 30 day fixed price quote in the currency of your choice if you prefer to make payment by cheque or bank transfer. Registration details for the specified users are sent by email on receipt of payment.

How do I get my license keys?
We create the keys for the user names you supply and email them to you.

I made a spelling mistake in a user name - do I have to buy a new key?
No. Just email us the name (with incorrect and correct spellings clearly indicated) and we will issue a new key at no charge.

What is the pricing for multi-user licenses for VTS?
The following table indicates the cost per named user for different numbers of licenses (all prices are in UK Sterling and exclude VAT ). Note that we track the total number of user-names you are lice

License No. Cost of Each Licence (UK £) 1 £30 2-9 £26 10-24 £23 25-49 £21 50-99 £19 99+ £15

nsed for and apply the appropriate tier for new purchases:

Using VTS [^]

Does VTS support workgroups?
Yes. The software can be configured for workgroups on the network to provide a central 'read-only' repository of client, project, category, and activity data. This gives a measure of consistency for recording and reporting across a group of users. Consolidated reporting is carried out on a centralised copy of each user's data (synchronised when they exit the application). Click HERE for details

What limitations apply to the workgroup configuration?
System administrators must ensure each workgroup user has a unique user name, and users can only operate the software while connected to the network.

Can I create my own reports in VTS?
VTS comes with a number of standard reports, but there is no facility for the user to create reports. Data can be exported in tab-delimited form for use in an ad-hoc data analysis and reporting tool such as Microsoft Excel.
We may add a report to the VTS product in response to a client request (usually when the report clearly has application to the wider user base).

What other limitations apply to the number of projects, clients, categories and activities?
There are no specific limitations, provided each entry is unique within its group (e.g. no two clients can have the same name, no two projects for the same client can have the same name). The number of projects, clients etc is only limited by available memory.

I get an error message from VTS that says I have 'missing task information'. What does this mean?
For reporting purposes every task must have a specified client, project, category and activity (remarks are optional). If the above error message is displayed, VTS has determined that required information is missing. This is most often caused by data created in earlier VTS versions where required fields were not enforced. Alternatively, the VTS data files may be corrupt.
Go to the day(s) with missing task information and identify the affected tasks. Enter the missing data and try reporting again.

Technical Questions [^]

What database does VTS use?
VTS's data is stored in text files in a sub-directory to the application install folder, on the user's machine. This 'lo-tech' solution provides a truly non-invasive application that does not rely on database engines or existing database support.

What computer resources does VTS require?
The application software's footprint on disk is currently less than 2MB. Data files are additional to this - a very rough measure would be an average of 10KB per user per month (dependent entirely on the amount of time logged by each user and the number of discrete tasks that time involves).
VTS is not demanding of processor or memory. Good performance can be expected using a modern personal computer. Reporting performance in a multi-user deployment will be dependent on the speed of the network.

Does VTS create any registry settings?
VTS itself makes no use of the registry (although the VTS uninstaller software uses it).

Is a VTS available for platforms other than Windows (e.g. Unix or for the Mac)?
Sorry, no. At this time only Windows is supported (Win95, 98, NT, 2000 and XP).

What software language is VTS written in?
VTS is written in Borland Delphi. Is source code available?
Not to end-users (who license executable-only versions of the software). Parties wishing to license VTS source code for other purposes should contact Great Circle Software.

Support & Upgrades [^]

What level of support is offered with the VTS product?
Timesheet Pro endeavours to address all issues advised to us via email as soon as possible, although there is no specific service level agreement. Given the low cost of the product we cannot resolve platform specific issues that are not easily reproduced (although this has not been an issue for us in the past). The provision of a 30 day evaluation option is an important part of the product offering, to allow all potential purchasers to undertake their own assessment.

Do I have to pay for future versions of VTS?
No, these are available free of charge to licensed users.

What do I do if I want a new feature in VTS?
Send us an email describing the feature and we will provide feedback on whether it is already 'in the pipeline' or could be added to our new feature list.