Sales FAQ

Can we have a trial version of NEOSYS?

Unfortunately, we don’t have a provision for free trial & the reasons are:

1. It will take as much time & effort to configure & train a full trial system as establishing a live system
2. The system is too complex for users to learn by themselves and requires initial training from us
3. Our system is tried and tested over many years
4. We don’t ask for a huge upfront fee, the 6 months fee is very reasonable for a system with such features
5. We are happy to spend more time demonstrating the system to gain users acceptance

NEOSYS doesn’t have a demonstration version of the software nor a self-implementation manual sufficient to provide a satisfactory evaluation of the software. For most agencies the implementation process is sufficiently involved that it requires specific detailed knowledge to implement the system effectively. Therefore the general practice is for NEOSYS to take full responsibility for the implementation. This achieves optimal results in a reasonably cost effective manner.

Stage 1 - Demo

NEOSYS normal practice is to provide a series of demonstrations, typically online, until the client is sufficiently confident to commence full implementation. NEOSYS is prepared to spend as much time on this as the client is.

Stage 2 - Full Evaluation

To perform a full evaluation of the system NEOSYS can provide its normal implementation and training service but for a limited number of users. Full training and implementation is as important for a proper evaluation of NEOSYS as for full operation of the system and NEOSYS does not want evaluation to fail due to insufficient attention.

The six months initial fee remains to cover NEOSYS cost of doing the full normal implementation and training, even if it is for a limited number of users. Since the number of users is low for the evaluation period then the total cost is low compared to the full cost with all the users. Given that NEOSYS has no initial purchase price, the total cost is reasonable for the work involved.

Why is collection of Company Information important?

Sales team must collect Company Information to understand the exact requirements of the client and to be a consultant to them on how NEOSYS will help them work efficiently.

Sales team MUST obtain complete company information before sending proposals or doing demos or sending invoices. Although rarely a problem this is to avoid industrial espionage, pointless requests, scammers getting bank details etc.

Updating Company Information

We cannot always get all company info immediately during initial contact but we MUST use and build up the company info over the initial series of contacts.

In particular the company info must be used and developed during significant sales meeting and a new email sent to sales. The old company info email can be deleted.

What is NEOSYS software payment and delivery terms

NEOSYS payment is required in advance.

New clients must make an initial 6 month commitment by paying the licensing fee for the first 6 months. Asking for payment in advance motivates clients and NEOSYS to work on the project and do not allow the project to fail as it will be a waste of effort and time for both NEOSYS and clients. Our collection of money is actually aimed at ensuring the success of the project not simply to avoid risk to NEOSYS.

Further payments can be made on a quarterly basis. The software will be delivered within 2 working days after receipt of payment. Our fee is inclusive of all implementation, training, support and maintenance done remotely. For clients outside Dubai, there will be additional charges if they require onsite implementation and training.

Adding modules to existing clients will be billed pro-rata from installation date and added to their next bill. Clients need to receive an invoice "for three months from the date of installation" and agree to pay it along with their next quarterly invoice before commencing installation and implementation. Otherwise a bill only for the remainder of the current quarter can look too small. We NEED them to have a full sized invoice to get their full commitment to the project otherwise they can try to back out if they face issues, instead of making the required effort.

Note to Sales Team: From 15/4/2015, we have stopped the practice of granting 3 months initial payment to startup companies because the client is not so committed to NEOSYS since in the first three months lots of problems occur. The client MUST be committed to a reasonable period to get things going fine, otherwise we do all the work and then the client discontinues NEOSYS putting all of NEOSYS effort to waste. Now even startup companies MUST pay six months in advance because if the client is committed to getting NEOSYS going then initial difficulties will be overcome whereas if they are not committed then the reverse is true.

What is considered as the installation and billing period/date?

Installation is done within 2 working days after receipt of the first payment(for 6 months) is confirmed.

Billing cycle starts from the date we start work which is installation date.

If there is any dead period due to lack of client staff availability or other reasons for one month or more meaning absolutely NO activity either by client or NEOSYS after installation and before going live then the start date of the period of the first renewal of software licence and support fee may be delayed by the duration of the dead period.

When can NEOSYS support staff start installation of NEOSYS

Below procedure applies to all prospect clients, both new clients as well as existing clients implementing a new NEOSYS module.

If the client is in a hurry to get going and you have a good indication that the transfer has been done , if it is not received yet, you SHOULD proceed to installation immediately - and confirm date of delivery to the client ASAP. Prospects who make transfer MUST be rewarded by fast high priority responses from NEOSYS sales team regarding deliver dates so our support team looks GOOD FROM THE START.

If you do not have a good indication that the transfer has been made then you SHOULD NOT proceed to installation and MUST NOT inform the client of a delivery date.

It is unlikely that prospects would literally fake documents but if you have not gained a good solid feeling about the client during the proposal phase then you SHOULD delay installation until payment is actually received.

A good indication of transfer is:

• A clear confirmation from their bank that payment has been made
• A copy of their own instruction TO the bank is acceptable if it has clearly been stamped by a good payment agent
• A cheque deposit copy

Carefully check all the details are correct as per the proforma invoice

• bank account number
• amount
• currency
• date
• all other details

A good payment agent is:

• well known widely multi-national bank

A poor transfer agent is:

• a money transfer service
• a minor bank that it not widely multi-national

Is NEOSYS compatible with Mac/Android?

Yes. See NEOSYS Software Browser and OS requirements

What is the minimum period for subscription?

Minimum period for subscription is 3 months after the initial period of 6 months.

What is the notice period for termination of NEOSYS services?

There is no notice period.

Will NEOSYS refund the advance payment in case of termination of services?

No. There are no refunds for initial or quarterly fees paid in advance.

Why does NEOSYS not have a Service-Level Agreement?

NEOSYS does not have an SLA for the following reasons:

1. We are not clear what the terms of such an agreement could be and such agreement is likely not suitable for our type of service when the facts are examined.
2. SLA is appropriate to protect the client in case they are making a major long term commitment which is not the case with NEOSYS.
3. NEOSYS has not previously been asked for one beyond what it includes in the existing agreement
4. A strict SLA with formal response times and penalties would be costly to operate and this would show in increased cost to use NEOSYS

In case the client wonders then how NEOSYS works without such an agreement, then consider the following:

1. NEOSYS contract is short term and client is easily able to exit in case of poor service.
2. NEOSYS is naturally MOTIVATED to provide good service due to ease with which the client can exit.
3. NEOSYS does not charge up front for training and implementation and therefore is highly committed to a successful implementation.
4. NEOSYS servers have had almost no down time in the last 10 years. References can be provided to back this up.

In case the client still wishes an SLA agreement to be signed then they should provide a draft of what terms they are looking for.

What happens after contract with NEOSYS is terminated?

1. NEOSYS locks data entry for future periods.
2. If installed on your own server, NEOSYS allows accessing old data and to edit this data for 1 year. Any support required in this time will be billable.
3. If installed on NEOSYS servers, you will not have any access to your old data and NEOSYS may delete it and all backups after 30 days unless you choose to take a single user contract with NEOSYS.

How will the data be handed over to the client after the end of contract?

Client users are responsible for taking soft copy of the data from NEOSYS.

See How to export data from NEOSYS

Where is NEOSYS hosted?

NEOSYS can be hosted on NEOSYS servers or on a dedicated server at the client's premises. We highly recommend hosting on NEOSYS initially as it is a great way to start immediately, without wasting time on acquiring a server. Starting on NEOSYS servers is instant and switching to your server, if and when you acquire one, is simple and free too. Also hosting on NEOSYS in-house server is cheaper in terms of cost.

What will be the cost if we maintain the data in our server instead of hosting on NEOSYS servers?

If NEOSYS is installed and hosted on NEOSYS servers, we provide a discount. If NEOSYS is installed on the client's server then the discount does not apply

What will be the cost for setting up a historical NEOSYS database?

The client is given read only access to the historical database. This is to ensure that users do not create or update documents even by mistake.

There will be no additional cost for setting up the historical database if NEOSYS is installed on client's server.

If NEOSYS is installed and hosted on NEOSYS server, then there is a cost of USD 50 per month to maintain the historical database. Running an extra database for the historical purpose will require NEOSYS to run extra processes on the server and also do a backup of the database.

Who will administrate the system?

NEOSYS Support staff will administrate the system.

Will NEOSYS Support staff have access to the server?

Yes. NEOSYS support agreement is conditional on being able to access your server at all times. See Agreement with Client IT to provide remote support

We will sign a Confidentiality Agreement with you to assure you that your data is safe and will not be shared with anyone under any circumstance.

Is it really OK for NEOSYS to have access to data?

1. 24x7 access to client systems is a common practice in the computer industry for complex systems where urgent support may be required
2. Data theft is present not just with 24x7 access, but it could be at any time. NEOSYS has various security measures to mitigate the risk
3. It is virtually impossible to create a system that one can guarantee that nobody except the users have access to the data
4. If a situation arises where integration is required then programmers will require access to data to understand user requirements
5. NEOSYS Support staff sign Non-Disclosure agreements assuring that client data always remains confidential
6. We expect you to trust our professionalism like all our clients

What about NEOSYS and Security?

Most of our clients have NEOSYS installed inside their office only our smaller clients have it installed on NEOSYS servers. Our clients are extremely security conscious and we know all about how to ensure security

Key points about NEOSYS security:

1. Dedicated server: Ensures that it won’t be shared with other applications that might require several access to the server. This will help NEOSYS to provide the needed services without need of any other IT person to access the server.
2. Confidentiality Agreement: NEOSYS will sign a confidentiality agreement between with the client to assure them that their data is safe with us, and will never be shared with anyone under any circumstance.
3. HTTPS: NEOSYS Users use HTTPS to access the system, which is more secure compared to HTTP
4. Multi-level permissions: Configure and manipulate access for different users based on permissions given to them e.g. User A has read only access whereas User B has read and write access, User A has access to Media only, but User B has access to Media and Finance etc.
5. Warnings and email notifications with IP information are sent to management and NEOSYS support in case of password reset attempts. This will help identify malicious attempts to access NEOSYS
6. Access Restriction by IP number: If client wishes to allow access to NEOSYS from outside the office then we can restrict from exactly where this is allowed
7. Encryption: The raw data is encrypted and can only be accessed by NEOSYS software
8. Access is audited: User info with IP information is logged whenever a user logs in and uses NEOSYS

What are the benefits of using NEOSYS Finance module?

1. Many accounting systems cannot tell you what items WERE outstanding at some point in the past and can only tell you what items ARE outstanding now, whereas NEOSYS allows you to get outstanding items "as at" some point in the past. Since auditors need to know what items were outstanding at the end of the year, the usual situation for non-NEOSYS finance departments is to be totally in the dark finance system-wise for part or most of January because this issue effectively forces them to not open the new year until almost everything in the old year has been posted whereas in NEOSYS you can start posting on day 1 of the new year without closing the old year.