The way Paycircle provides your payroll application is called Software as a Service (SaaS). Rather than running on your PC with a server somewhere else on your organisation's network, instead, Paycircle lives "in the cloud" and you access it using your preferred browser program from any internet-connected device.

This has massive advantages over how the product is managed, developed and supported.

We've previously described how this means we can bring new features to you more quickly, and the potential for you to scale up your operation is almost limitless, whilst retaining all the necessary protection of your data security.

This also means the way we support the product is different too.

Our philosophy is based on the fact that we understand what you, the customer, needs. We know our software is central to your operation. So if something is not right then we will go above and beyond to help you.

Part of that commitment means we (us and you) need to be on the same page to understand what an issue is, what is the scale, how critical it is, and what is the immediacy in terms of when a fix is required. If we have this information then we can do the best possible job of helping you whilst maintaining the same level of service for all our other customers. It's a question of relative priority. If the whole system were to have a problem, then it affects everybody and that's pretty serious. However, if you have a minor question about functionality, that's not the case. We'll work with you to find the sweet spot there. If necessary we'll escalate the issue to our experts throughout our business. Either way, we'll get a resolution for you, then let you know.

When it comes to support there is a mutual benefit to be gained. You need your payroll run, and we want to keep you happy. That's another reason why we don't think traditional SLAs are fit for purpose for what we do.

So how do we manage your support query?

In the first instance, our support desk is very approachable. Most people use the in-app chat facility to contact them, but you can use email or even phone us if you prefer. We won't make you interact with a bot. Our people do have the occasional off-day but you'll definitely be chatting with a real human being!

They'll take full details of your issue and then use their expertise and problem-solving skills to ensure you are satisfied. This could either take the form of verbal advice, or referring you to the most appropriate of our copious help article or video, or else logging a ticket that includes all the information and acts as a central reference point for managing a resolution.

The creation of a support ticket will also require having an honest and open discussion about when an estimated resolution can be expected based on best efforts on our side. This takes into consideration all the provided information, including any ongoing impact on you or your hard deadline, combined with any expectation of the need to escalate to our 2nd or 3rd level domain and tech experts. We'll give you a resolution schedule based on ensuring you have a realistic and satisfactory response, and our support team will keep you updated on progress until the solution is found and actioned.