Test Teams Information

Thinking of joining our Test Teams?

When releasing new products, the quality of the software is our primary concern. Testing new products under real-world scenarios is critical.

Alpha Testers get the very earliest access to new products during the initial stages of the creation of the software.  Beta testers come into play after we have completed our own intensive internal testing and we select a number of customers to try our products before release.  These Beta Testers help us ensure that the software meets or exceeds the exacting standards of our customers.

What is Alpha and Beta Testing?

The Alpha testing phase involves limited access to very early releases of the software.

The Beta testing phase of software design exposes the new software to a wider audience of real people, real hardware, and real usage in a real world environment. It can help you to get ahead of the rest of the pack and can give you advance information and a competitive edge over your direct competitors who do not have access to new technology.

What isn’t Alpha and Beta Testing?

Alpha and Beta testing is definitely NOT an evaluation, but a true test of the software.  The software you receive will not be of release quality, and should not be evaluated on those terms.  You can be pretty certain that you will receive buggy or incomplete software, more so in the Alpha testing phase.

Beta testing is not a method of getting free software long-term, because the software automatically expires shortly after the testing period ends.

Alpha / Beta Tester Advantages

There are a number of significant advantages to becoming an Alpha or Beta tester:

• Early access to the latest technology – you will be getting a look at the new features before anyone else.
• The opportunity to review new features and enhancements before the product is released.
• The opportunity to affect the direction of future development through your suggestions
• Making the software that you will be using better as a result of detecting bugs.
• Alpha and Beta software is provided without any additional charge for the period of the test.
• Priority technical support without any additional charge to ensure resolution of any issues as quickly as possible.
• The pleasure of finding unsuspected bugs.
• The Tester will be notified when new versions become available, and may freely update the beta test version of the software.
• Testers qualify for significant discounts on release versions of the software they test, and in some cases get the release software free!
• Testers also qualify for significant discounts on new add-on products and services related to the software they are testing.

Qualifying to be An Alpha / BetaTester

You do not need to be a programmer or even a very experienced computer user to qualify as an Alpha or Beta Tester – in fact it is probably better if you are not because it will help us to get a more ‘real world’ result from the tests.  However, you do need to have a basic understanding of the Windows operating system and be capable of basic file handling operations.  For example, you must be able to move, copy, rename, delete or modify a file and should be able to negotiate a website and download files from it without the need for any technical support for the process.

Since the software is financial in nature you should have a basic grounding in accounts or book keeping, for example that which you would gain from running your own business or possibly from a formal qualification.  Technical Support will not be able to offer advice on accounting issues relating to your personal or business finances, only on the operation of the software.

You must be willing to test every function, and work with the developers in correcting any errors that are found by re-testing.  You must also have the ability to test on a private and secure platform – it must be your computer, and it must not be in a shared environment for security reasons.  You will also need to agree to our Testing and Non Disclosure Agreements.

To receive an application pack please email the team or call 0345 193 0617 for more information.

We look forward to welcoming you as part of our Test Team!