Frequently Asked Questions about QI Macros

Who are Your Customers?

• Read Our Customer Testimonials!
• Clients by Zip Code
• Clients by Industry: Aircraft, Auto, Computers, Education, Government, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Telecom, Various

Other

Pricing and Licensing

Licensing

The QI Macros is a single user perpetual license. You need to purchase one license for each user, regardless of whether the software is loaded on a network or on individual PCs. There are no annual maintenance fees. We do offer optional prepaid maintenance and update plans where users receive the latest version of the software every quarter.

QI Macros License Agreement

This perpetual license agreement is a legal agreement between you and KnowWare International Inc. It permits you to use one copy of QI Macros on a single computer. By opening and using the QI Macros software, you are agreeing to be bound by the terms of this agreement. The QI Macros is owned by KnowWare International Inc. and protected by U.S. Copyright laws. You may transfer one copy to a hard disk. Any enhancements added to the existing macros are considered the property of KnowWare International Inc. You may not copy, rent, or lease the QI Macros or the documentation accompanying it.

Unlicensed Users

Companies are required to ensure they have purchased licenses for every user. If a company finds they have unlicensed users, they need to purchase new licenses at the undiscounted price of $199 per license plus an upgrade to the most recent version of the software for $99. If a company finds that multiple licensed users loaded a single upgrade, they need to purchase upgrades for the other users at the undiscounted price of $99 per upgrade.

Pricing and Quantity Discounts

Quantity discounts are calculated on a per order basis so make sure you consolidate your orders to receive the best possible price. Pricing, shipping and other order information can by found on our purchasing page.

How do I order?

You can order in one of the following ways:

1. Call our 24 hour order line at 888-468-1535
2. Fax an order to 888-468-1536
3. Order and download immediately using our shopping cart.

Orders are filled in 24 hours and shipped Priority mail. Overnight service is available; it just costs more. For item # and pricing information your can view our shopping cart or download our latest QI Macros product brochure.

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Can I Get a Quote?

Use our shopping cart to get a quote, just don't go all of the way through the check out process.

Do you have an evaluation copy?

You can download a 30-day evaluation copy at www.qimacros.com/freestuff.html.

Maintenance and Technical Support

Windows, Excel and Mac compatibility

PC: Supports ALL VERSIONS of Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP, NT, Vista and 7, even networks (just load the macros on your PC and tell Excel to look in your alternate startup directory).

Supports Excel 2000, XP, 2003, 2007 and 2010.

Macintosh: Supports MacOS 8-X and Excel 5.0, Office 98, 2001 and 2004.
The QI Templates work in Excel 2008, but the macros will not because the Macintosh Office team chose not to support VBA code. There are rumors that VBA might return in Service Pack 3 in 2010.

QI Macros Maintenance Policy

While every new release of the QI Macros seeks to be backward compatible with as many releases of Windows and Excel as possible, it cannot pretend to be forward compatible with future changes (i.e., service packs and new versions). We seek to support recent Excel changes, however, we do not provide endless support.

To meet varying customer needs, we offer:

• To fix any bug for free as long as it is reported within 12 months of your purchase date.
• To fix any compatibility problems for free that are caused by Microsoft Excel service pack and maintenance releases which occur within 12 months of your purchase date. This does not include new versions of Excel or Windows which are released after your purchase date.
• Bugs that are identified and compatibility problems that occur after 12 months will require the customer to purchase an upgrade to the latest version of the QI Macros.
• Optional prepaid maintenance plan at $90/year (lower with multi-year plans and/or quantity discounts). Purchasers of this plan receive the latest version of the QI Macros every quarter plus a new CD and user guide on their anniversary date. You must own the latest version of the QI Macros to qualify for this plan.
• On-demand upgrades for $99 (lower with quantity discounts) for QI Macros purchased after 1/1/2007.

If you do not have all of this information, we may have to search our database for your record and your request may be delayed.

Training

The QI Macros are so easy to use, most folks can learn to use them in as little as 5 minutes. Here are the training resources that are available.

Free Training Resources

• Free One Hour Webinars - Register for future webinars or view recordings of past webinars.
• 36 page user guide
• built in help file from the pull down menu
• free lessons on line course via email - sign up by sending an email to qimacros@aweber.com
• Archive of lessons and monthly ezines
• QI Macros Powerpoint Overview
  
  • Powerpoint Slides
  • Pdf

• QI Macros Training CD
• Six Sigma Tools Example Book
• QI Macros On-site Training

How did they come into being?

In working with improvement teams, I have found that most people are fearful, even phobic of two things: math and computers. Drawing graphs and charts sometimes made team members feel stupid, and they transferred that feeling to the improvement process.

More complex software is fine for statisticians, but a complete turn-off for most folks. I found that everyone wants is a simple, easy-to-use, all-in-one set of tools for documenting their improvement efforts. Like most people, I feel more comfortable using a familiar tool like Excel than I do trying to learn a bunch of new software. So I created macros to draw the graphs and a menu bar to make them easy to use. Then I added fill in the blank templates that are even easier to use. These tools and a laptop PC can accelerate your team by allowing you to immediately create graphs in team meetings. Just-In-Time documentation!

Couldn't I just develop them myself?

Sure you could, if you had thousands of hours to spend recreating and maintaining these macros, templates, and their associated documentation. The companies that have done this evaluation, including the U.S. Postal Service, concluded that the costs in time, money, and product delay simply wouldn't be worth it. After all, they're only $199 + $8 S&H, and there are quantity discounts when you buy more than one copy.

Can team members see my output?

Because the charts and graphs are in Excel, you can Email them to anyone who has Excel and they can SEE them. You can also copy and paste the charts and graphs into any Microsoft Office product--Powerpoint, Word--or other presentation tool (e.g., Pagemaker).

Can the QI Macros be customized?

QI Macros are written in VBA. We can create custom versions for you. Just let us know what you need and we will send you a free quote. Requirements can be emailed to support@qimacros.com

Do you do other Excel programming?

You bet! If you don't see what you want in the QI Macros, we can take any reference material and put it into an Excel template or macro. We often:

Tailor the macros for Fortune 500 companies

Develop Excel-based case studies for internal training

Develop new macros and templates

Develop measurement "dashboards" for mission-critical processes.

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Why are they only $199 when other packages cost more than twice as much?

First, most companies are hesitant to spend $300 on a new tool without a lot of research. Even then, in today's tight budgets, not everyone can have a copy. Limiting tool availability limits your speed, quality, and profitability. I found that the bestselling software in the world is priced around $100 to $150. I'd rather sell more at a reasonable cost, than a few at a higher cost. Second, because the macros use the power of Excel for data handling and graphic displays, my development costs are lower than for traditional statistical tools. This also holds down the cost of technical support.