Sales and Support Service

Virgo Accounts is sold and supported on the basis of a "Gentle-person’s Agreement" as part of my social commitment to support organisations that make a contribution to society. The following sets out the basis on which I offer the system and support service. If you are not happy with this and have already purchased the software, then you should return everything immediately for a full refund.

Virgo Accounts is a character-based accounting system designed primarily for the one to three partner firm of solicitors, and sold to firms of that size which undertake a significant element of Legal Aid and/or pro bono work. It runs under MS-DOS, Windows 3.1 and Windows 9x, and is year 2000 compliant. The system comprises a fully integrated suite of programs for office accounting, client accounting and time recording, with comprehensive reporting and enquiries.

Virgo Accounts has been a stable product for several years. It is supplied on an "as is" basis without any warranties, implied or otherwise. The software is presently sold at the bargain price of £199 plus VAT, which may be changed from time to time. Sale of the system is strictly cheque with order.

At this price there is a limit to how much "pre-sales" support I can afford to provide. I will answer any queries and will put prospective users in touch with current users who are prepared to provide a reference. Any user buying the system who finds it is unsuitable for their requirements may return the disk(s) and paperwork for a full refund within 30 days of purchase.

It is my intention to provide a first class professional support service. For an annual fee (currently £220 plus VAT) I will provide support and software updates, answer queries and resolve any software errors with Virgo Accounts by telephone, post or e-mail between the hours of 9.00 am and 5.00 pm on normal working days and on the understanding that I may take up to two fortnight-long holidays each year. The support service is usually available for twelve months. For the first year only, if the support service is paid for at the time of order then the period of support will be extended to fifteen months.

Whenever a query or problem is reported I will endeavour to resolve it as quickly as possible. If there is a delay for any reason I will keep the user informed of progress. If there is a problem with the user’s data I may need to ask for a copy of the appropriate data files on diskette.

I promise to act with honesty and integrity at all times, and I expect similar integrity from those with whom I deal.

I reserve the right to charge an additional fee for any extra support that may be required as a result of (i) misuse of the system, (ii) failure to follow recommended procedures, (iii) hardware or operating system malfunction or failure, (iv) failure on the user’s part to report a problem promptly when it occurred, (v) where the answer is readily available in the user manual, or (vi) out of hours service.

The Virgo Accounts support service does not include general advice on how to use a computer, DOS, Windows or any utility program under this agreement. Such advice is available as a separate service, if required, and will be charged for additionally at the prevailing rate. The support service does not include training in the use of the system; if required, this, too, can be supplied as an additional service.

A User Manual is supplied with the system as an Internet (HTML) document, which is viewable using a Web Browser program. A hard copy of the manual is available for an additional £25.

I am not an accountant and therefore I will not provide accounting advice. Your accountant is best placed to advise on such matters.

I will listen compassionately and generously to all suggestions for changes to the system and will endeavour to include them. However, I do not promise to include all suggestions into a future release, other than statutory requirements and bug fixes which will be added or changed as necessary. When I do not include suggested changes I undertake to give reasons for my decision.

If you have any comments about the software or the service I provide please let me know. After all I’m unlikely to change anything I’m not aware of. Always feel free to say some nice things!