If you need help using DT Max, you can contact our support team via the methods described below.

Support is available year-round during normal business hours (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday). During March and April, support hours are expanded (8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekdays, and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays).

We offer assistance by email, by fax, by telephone, and on our Web site. Greatest speed and efficiency will occur in this order.

The basic package provided to our clients includes the two or three CD versions released every year, and the assistance provided by our support team. When deemed necessary, interim versions and patches are available on our Web site only.

Help yourselves!

The fastest and most efficient method of support is helping yourself. Use the knowledge base to find answers to your questions. Better yet, set someone up to be the DT Max in-house expert, then make sure that he or she gets all the information required to fully understand the program. Have them attend DT Max workshops!

The knowledge base, accessible by pressing [F7] or by selecting Knowledge base from the Help menu, provides you with an online information database which should have all the information you need to support yourself and your firm throughout the tax season. You can view all the DT Max documentation and jump easily between references and documents by clicking the hyperlinks that connect related information.

Among its many features is the What's new? bulletin, which informs you of the latest changes to the program and refers you to relevant files in the knowledge base to look up further information. It also features the FAQ’s (frequently asked questions), which report typical questions asked by our users and which we feel may be of interest to all. Among those are the Latest known issues, which document glitches encountered in using the program.

Installing the knowledge base

To install the knowledge base, DT Max will create a sub-directory named "kb" from your main DT Max directory. Do not delete this sub-directory.

When installing DT Max, you will be given the option to install the knowledge base in one language only or in both languages. If you choose not to install it in both languages, note that the button that gives access to the other language (if you are viewing the knowledge base online) will still appear on the documents. It will prompt a "URL not found" message as it will not be active.

Updating the knowledge base

The knowledge base is updated as new information becomes available. This may include answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ's), and information on changes, improvements or problems in the program. New documents will be mentioned in What's new? and include hyperlinks to the corresponding, more complete document.

You will receive an updated knowledge base with every new version of DT Max.

Remember that the online knowledge base is updated daily during the tax season.

Accessing the knowledge base

To access the knowledge base from within DT Max, choose any of the following options:

• Go to the Help menu, and choose Knowledge base.

• Press [F7].

• Press [Ctrl+F8] while in the client data entry screen. (In this case, DT Max will bring you to the explanation of what a keyword does rather than to the main page of the the knowledge base.)

• Press [F1] from various places in the program. (In this case, DT Max will provide context-sensitive help about the area where you are.)

From inside DT Max, the easiest way to access the knowledge base online, on our Web site, is by choosing DT Max on the Web from the Help menu and then clicking Knowledge base on the top bar.

From outside DT Max, run your browser and open the file that you want in the knowledge base online. If you access it frequently outside DT Max, it may be useful to set "Bookmarks"/"Favorites" depending on your browser.

How to use [F1]

If you need help using DT Max, first consult the context-sensitive online help available at almost every stage of the program simply by pressing [F1].

How to find a keyword with [F8]

While working on a client's file, pressing [F8] or clicking the Keyword help index icon will give you four ways of locating a keyword: by reference to an index by topics, by line number on the jacket, by form number, or by reference to an alphabetical list.

Find out what a particular keyword does [Ctrl+F8]

If you want to know what a particular keyword does, or how DT Max handles a particular calculation, press [Ctrl+F8] when a keyword is selected in a client file or in the [F8] help, and a brief explanation will appear.

By email

To get an answer as quickly as possible, send your questions and receive your replies by email. Use the DT Tax and Accounting software support request form, accessible by selecting Software support from the Help menu in the DT Max program.

Alternatively, you can access any email program, provide the same information and email it to us at dt.support@thomsonreuters.com.

Over the Internet

To enable you to get software support quickly and without spending time waiting on the phone, you may wish to consult the DT Max knowledge base on our Web site. On the DT Max knowledge base page, select the Search option on the left and enter key items you wish to search for in the entire knowledge base. All existing references to these terms will be returned. Select the appropriate documents from the results and you should find the answer you are looking for.

By fax

Select the Software support option from the Help menu, and click Support request form. Fill out the form, print it and fax it to DT Tax and Accounting at (514)733-8058. A member of the software support team will quickly get back to you by fax or by telephone.

By telephone

If you wish, you can also reach our software support team by calling the DT Tax and Accounting support lines at (514)733-8355 in Montreal, or toll free at 1(800)663-7829.

Please be prepared to provide our dispatchers with the following information:

• Your name

• The name of your firm

• Your licence number (found under Help, in the option About DT Max)

• The support category of your question (one of the following):

  1. Installation and setup

  2. DT Max features

  3. Keyword help

  4. T1 tax calculations

  5. T2 tax calculations

  6. T3 tax calculations

  7. Efile errors

  8. Electronic transmissions

  9. Printing

  10. Other

The user who calls for software support should be the person most familiar with DT Max in your office. When they call, a software support file will be opened and this person's name will be entered as the contact. This file will remain open and retain its position on the support queue until all questions from your firm have been addressed. Any additional questions will be added to that support file. This will enable us to monitor our support service more efficiently, ensure that you maintain your priority on the telephone queue, and that the caller (possibly your DT Max expert) has all the information required to help support your firm.

Answering your call

When a support person handles your call, they will seek more specific details regarding your problem and will then look it up in the knowledge base.

• If the problem is documented and the solution has already been released, they will show you how to find it. This will help prepare you to support yourself the next time.

• If the problem is documented but the solution has not yet been sent to you, the support person will send it immediately by email or by fax.

• If your problem has previously been brought up and an answer is currently being prepared, the support person will let you know of its availability.

• If the problem is not yet documented, they will ask you to send all the relevant information needed to diagnose the problem. An expert will work on the problem and someone will contact you when a reply is available.

This procedure will save us all a lot of time and will help ensure that the solution you are given is satisfactory.

The software support request form

Use the software support request form to contact DT Tax and Accounting and be sure to provide all the information requested. This will enable our support team to proceed faster and more efficiently.

The DT Max licence number

Whenever you need to get in touch with us, please have your DT Max licence number handy. This will give us easy access to your support file.

The anonymous extract

If you have a data entry problem which you feel requires providing DT Tax and Accounting with the client's keywords, create an anonymous extract. The anonymous extract gathers all the information contained in your client's file with the exception of the client's name and social insurance number. This feature is available in the DT Max Help menu, under Software support.

The diagnostic report

If you have a technical support problem that requires you to provide DT Tax and Accounting with information about your system, you can create a diagnostic report. From the Help menu, choose Software support, then Diagnostics, and click the button Generate report.

The DTWINF program generates audit reports detailing the software and hardware configurations of your machine. Audit reports help diagnose and solve problems related to configuration such as missing files, wrong DLL versions and incorrect registry entries.

If you have been instructed by DT Tax and Accounting staff to produce a system diagnostic report: In the Help menu, select Software support and Support request form, then tick the "follow-up request" box on the right, which will then allow you to tick the box Attach a diagnostic report.

Information required for technical support

If you have any of the following problems, be ready to provide the information listed below when contacting DT Tax and Accounting for technical support service.