Calculus Knowledgebase

Calculus Knowledge Base

Welcome

This is the new home for our documentation. Here you will find a modern, online and accessible platform.

Did you know there is an online portal for you to check and update your open tickets?
Find more information here.

If you need extra help at all, you can still find us at the below. 

Department Phone # Email
Support (including Web issues)
 01892 342 916 / 0845 125 91 93 support@findesolutions.com
Admin 01892 342 900 / 0845 125 91 92 admin@findesolutions.com
Sales 01892 342 900 / 0845 125 91 92 sales@findesolutions.com
Accounts 01892 342 900 / 0845 125 91 92 accounts@findesolutions.com

Our phone lines are open Monday-Friday 9am to 5pm, outside of these times (including weekends and bank holidays) only emergency support is available on the support number above. Please be aware there may be charges for this.

System Security & Recovery FAQ

Last Reviewed
 2025-05-22
Next Review Due 2026-05-22

Calculus ensure your system is secure and safe, unfortunately though, things can go wrong. Our environments ensure you stay safe, and in the event you do have disaster, we can get you back online as quickly as possible.

Below are some common questions we get asked surrounding your system security and recovery.

Unless your agreement or the questions otherwise specify, the protection and security is provided only to hardware that is on an active agreement with Calculus. If you have 3rd-party hardware the protection and backups will be managed by that party.

NCompass

What protection is on my NCompass system?

Leased servers and workstations will come with our EDR (endpoint detection and repsonse) platform that monitors for malicious behaviour, as well as 17 performance metrics. 

Purchased servers are provided with:

Purchased workstations are provided with:

You can extend a more comprehensive protection plan to any of your workstations, contact the sales team to find out more.

Is my NCompass System backed up?

Yes. As standard you will get a daily backup of your database locally for speed in the event of a disaster, and an offsite encrypted backup for security and safety, this is stored for a rolling 7 days. The support team can assist you with keeping your own copy of the local backup safely if you wish.

If you have a 3rd-party server, Calculus will not backup your data without an express written agreement.

The backups provided can be upgraded on any servers or workstations to include more comprehensive backups. Contact the sales team to find out more.

Our cloud platform provides more frequent rolling backups.

What about remote access for NCompass Apps?

Access to the API is timed token based, secured with SSL certificate on the API (Where the app talks to do exchange data).

What measures should I implement on my NCompass System to maximise security?

By default, NCompass and its relevant infrastructure operates on a least privileged basis. What this means is that the users of your system will only be able to access parts of the system they need to without being expressly granted that permission. NCompass has a security rights option in the administration menu which allows you to grant and deny access to your users at a granular level.

In the unlikely event our monitoring detects suspicious activity, the support team will start the runbook to handle the event. 

What is the recovery time if I do have a disaster scenario with my system?

Refer to your specific agreement for contractual obligations. The below is provided as an example.

Depending on the severity and nature of the failure, a backup system can be online and ready within 2-4 hours in a limited capacity for NCompass. In the event of a hardware replacement being required to get you back online, this is next business day on a like-for-like basis - limitations may occur for those of you further afield where shipping may take 48 hours, as well as the timing of the failure.

Talk to our sales team for more tailored options, such as cloud disaster recovery as part of our Platinum Protection plan.

Is NCompass PCI Compliant?

NCompass does not directly take any card payments, but does integrate with systems that do. These systems are PCI compliant. You may find that you do fail PCI compliance due to things such as open ports which are necessary for NCompass Apps to work - this is perfectly normal, if you do receive a failed scan please email support with a copy of the report indicating the failures.

Website

This only applies to Calculus provided WP11 sites, i.e. Magento.

Is my website secure?

Your website is a public facing entity, this means anyone in the world can acces and view the data on your site which differs to your NCompass system which has controlled access via tokens or credentials, or is locked down to prevent external access.

Your website traffic is protected in transit by an SSL certificate, this is the S part of the HTTPS you'll see at the start of your URL.

There are a number of protections in place on the site as well which prevent unauthorised access and interaction, including (but not limited to):

Is my website backed up?

Yes. A full backup is peformed daily with a 2-day retention policy, with a monthly backup retained for 1 month. All backups are securely stored off-site.

Is my website in a secure facilty?

Yes. The datacentres are dedicated facilities, that include:

What is the recovery time if there is a disaster scenario for my website?

In the event of a data corruption incident (this has never occurred under the current infrastructure) 1-2 hours should be allowed for a restoration the most recent good-state backup.

If the there is a more complex failure, such as the hardware or operating system, recovery time can be up to 6-8 hours depending on the type of failure, for example:

Is my site PCI compliant?

Your site does not directly take payments, but does handover to gateways that are PCI compliant. If you do get any PCI failures on your website, please email the web team and include the full copy of report with the failures.


Calculus Software Solutions Online Help Desk

An account must be created for you by a member of the Calculus Software Solutions Admin Team before you can log in and access the online Help Desk. However, you may still read through this guide as a reference to understand what to expect when using the Help Desk.

If you would like to request an account or are unsure of your account details, please click the following link to generate a pre-filled email to admin@findesolutions.com

Step 1: Setting Your Password

Once the admin team has processed your account, you will receive an email.

  1. Open the email and click the link provided.

  2. Follow the instructions to set up your password.

  3. After setting your password, log in to your account using the credentials you created.


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Step 2: Account Information & Help Desk

My Account Page

After logging in, you will land on the Account Overview page.
This page provides basic information about your credit account

This section has limited functionality but offers basic visibility of your account status.

Help Desk

The Help Desk is located in the left-hand navigation menu.

When accessed, the Help Desk will display your active service jobs, sorted by last updated date or priority.

Key Features

  1. Submit a Ticket
    Click this button to open a slide-out window. You’ll need to provide:

    • Your name

    • The fault related to the job

    • A brief description of the fault

  2. Job Filter Dropdown
    Allows you to toggle between:

    • Active Service Jobs (default view)

    • Completed Service Jobs (recently closed)

  3. Quick Search
    Use this field to enter a service job number.

    Tip: Ensure the correct filter (Active or Completed) is selected before searching.

  4. Page Selector
    If you have many service jobs listed, they will be divided across multiple pages.
    You can navigate between pages manually or use Quick Search to locate specific jobs faster.

  5. Job List Window
    Displays your current tickets based on:

    • Your selected filter (Active/Completed)

    • Recent activity or job priority


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Raising a New Service Job

To raise a new service job:

  1. Navigate to the Help Desk from the left-hand menu.

  2. Click the Submit a Ticket button in the main Help Desk window.

  3. A slide-out form will appear where you need to provide:

    • Your Name

    • Subject – A brief title for the issue

    • Message– Detailed information about the problem or fault

  4. Once all fields are completed, use the submit button in the bottom right of the form to create the new service job.

The new job will then appear in your Active Service Jobs list, sorted by most recent update, this list will automatically refresh upon submission


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Adding an Entry to an Existing Service Job

Step 1: Select a Service Job

Step 2: Post a New Entry

Step 3: Identifying Your Entries


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Product Search Advisor

This module is a chargeable module, if you are interested in this module, please reach out to our admin team on the following link to inquire  Click Here 
If you have already purchased this module, please continue.

Introduction

Our product search advisor is a powerful tool that allows your customer to quickly search and find a product using and advanced configuration of your filters across your products to drive this quick catalogue search using a smart intuitive interface. Please see a basic user interaction using the advisor below.

To briefly explain the video, this allows the user to select a category, and using your own configuration of the advisor you can guide your customers to shop by relevant results related to those category. for example, TVs to be shopped by size, laundry to be filtered by load size, and/or installation type, and this can all be configured using our smart front end utility.

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once this module is enabled for you, a front-end utility becomes available to you to use in a variety of different configurations. it will display by default all categories available to you.

Dynamic Filters Configuration

Open the Configurator

Navigate to Calculus > Product Advisor

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From here you will see each parent category separated into its own block. Within each block you will configure the specific attributes which will be used for the sub department.

Configure Attributes

In the example bellow we have used the Washing/Drying Capacity attributes as Filter 2, the manufacturer as Filter 3 and adjusted the labels accordingly.

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You can see how this will look on the website here:

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Missing Attributes

You can see here that there are 13 products in Floorcare but only 10 have the Colour attribute.

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To view all products that are missing filter attributes, click Export Missing Filter Report in the top right of the page.

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This will then generate an Excel file of all missing attributes from individual products.

Save Changes

Once you have finished configuring your filters you must press Save Configuration at the bottom of the page and flush the cache.

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Optional: Search Advisor Widget

With the Products Search Advisor enabled you will also have the ability to inject the advisor as a widget throughout the site but with some caveats.

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In the example above the advisor has been added to a laundry landing page and displays just the sub departments of Laundry in the first filter. This is achieved using a HTML code element in Magento's page builder.

Start with adding a HTML code element to your block or page. Once added, select the image.png icon that appears when hovering over the element. In here you will select image.png and select product advisor from the Widget Type dropdown.

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You should no see a new dropdown called Category. Select the parent department you want to use for the first filter.

NOTE: The advisor can only use a single department when used as a widget.

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Once you have selected your department, now press image.png and save your block/page.

Website Integrations (3rd Party)

Website Integrations (3rd Party)

Membership Pricing Support

Routing

Routing

NCompass Advanced Retail: Routing and Planning

Version: NCompass v11.15+
Purpose: This guide explains how to configure and use Routing and Planning in NCompass Advanced Retail.

Contents

Introduction

The Routing module helps optimise field calls into the most efficient order, reducing travel time and distance.

In the latest release, NCompass uses Google’s upgraded Routing API to improve routing accuracy and optimisation, including support for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The module can automatically organise and time calls, making it easier to notify customers of their estimated appointment window. It can also route calls automatically and, when used with the points-based system, lock an engineer’s day once travel time pushes them beyond their working hours. This adds protection against overbooking.

Configuration

Before using the Routing module in NCompass, complete the initial setup.

Google API Key

Follow the internal guide for setting up your Google API key:

Setting up Google API ... | Calculus Knowledge Base

Note: This may already be configured if you use NCompass Mobile or have previously used routing in NCompass.

Routing Wizard

Go to:

Tool > Licencing and Quick Configuration

On the Routing line, select Click for wizard.

Step 1: API Key

Step 2: Engineer Timings and Locations

For each engineer you want to route, set:

Optional:

Note: You can edit these settings later for each engineer individually after completing the wizard.

Click Save & Next >

Step 3: Padding, Rounding, and PM Calls

Configure field call padding for the customer appointment window:

Configure rounding times:

Google’s Routing API may return exact times such as 9:57 AM. Use the rounding setting to round these times to your preferred option.

Configure afternoon calls to either:

Click Save & Next >

Step 4: Automatic Routing

Recommended: Speak to the implementation team before enabling automatic routing.

Automatic routing will route every enabled engineer, on every day where a new call is booked or an existing call is amended.

Important: This may increase usage against your Google account if you exceed your monthly call allowance.

If you want to enable automatic routing:

Click Finish

Engineer Settings

After completing the wizard, you can update engineer-level routing details.

Changing Routing Settings

Go to:

Salesperson & Engineers > Edit

Engineer tab

Update:

Routing tab

Update:

Automatic Text Messages

To configure customer SMS notifications with estimated field call windows:

Go to:

Salesperson & Engineers > Edit

In the Engineer tab, configure:

Note: These settings must be configured for each engineer individually.

Routing & Planning

Automatic Routing Explanation

NCompass can automatically route each enabled engineer for every day they have calls booked, if this has been configured in the routing wizard.

Whenever an engineer’s diary changes, that engineer and date are added to a re-routing queue. Once processed, NCompass recalculates the total duration of the day.

If the new total exceeds the engineer’s working hours, NCompass prevents any further calls from being booked for that engineer on that date.

This allows estimated travel time to be considered when preventing overbooking.

Access via Two Week Planner

Go to:

Field Calls > Two Week Planner

Then:

Access via Scheduled Calls

You can also access routing from Scheduled Calls:

Routing Options

Available options include:

Suggested Routes

Use the Suggest buttons on the right-hand side of the window to re-route calls using Google’s API.

Suggest Fastest Route

Optimises the calls in the order Google determines is best.

Suggest Other Route

Additional routing options:

Note: NCompass will use the system defaults (such as first call / last call) if these have already been set on the field calls.

Manually Route Calls

To manually re-order calls:

NCompass will then calculate the estimated travel time and distance for your manual route.

Move Calls from Other Engineers

You can overlay field calls booked on the same day for other engineers.

To do this:

This shows purple pins on the map for calls booked to other engineers.

Click a pin to view:

Additional actions:

The route will then refresh to include the newly added call.

Add Field Calls Ready to be Booked

You can also overlay sales that are in stock and ready for delivery booking.

To do this:

This shows green pins on the map for calls ready to be booked.

Click a pin to view:

From v11.16 onwards, this planning information is displayed directly on the pin details.

Additional actions:

The route will then refresh to include the newly added call.

Saving a Route

Click Round Times & Save Route to save the route against the engineer/day and apply times to each call using the padding settings defined in the wizard.

Note: If configured, NCompass will lock the route at this point so no new calls can be booked.

Additional Planning Tools

Flag Tags

Flag tags can be configured against Skills so a character is displayed when a skill is assigned to an item on the field call.

This is useful for highlighting calls involving:

Go to:

Administration > Item Groups and Engineer Skills

Then:

Example:

If a skill such as Large Item Delivery has a flag tag of L, any call containing an item with that skill will display L:

Weight

If van weight restriction is being used:

If you want to enable this on your system, contact the Calculus Implementation Team.

Fleet Tracking

These features require NCompass Mobile.

If you want to learn more about the delivery app, contact the team for a demonstration.

Planned Route vs Actual Route

Use Route Plan Enquiry to compare planned distance and duration against actual travel distance and duration.

Go to:

Field Calls > Route Plan Enquiry

You can:

Map GPS Location and Current Call

The Current Call feature shows where the engineer is and how long the current call marked as Travelling will take from their current position.

From the Scheduled Calls screen:

A window will display:

GPS History

NCompass stores GPS history for each engineer for each day they are using NCompass Mobile.

This lets you:

Go to:

Field Calls > Show GPS History

Then:

NCompass Anywhere

NCompass Anywhere

What is NCompass Anywhere?

NCompass Anywhere is our latest application that brings essential reporting and management features to your fingertips. Designed to enhance your work on-the-go, the app offers a streamlined and user-friendly experience.

This document will cover how to gain access to the application, and how to use these exciting new features. 

Please note: Before using NCompass Anywhere, your NCompass System needs to be running version 11.15 or newer. 
If you believe you are not already running this version, you can book a slot for your system to be updated using our booking link here.

NCompass Anywhere

NCompass Anywhere - Mobile App

The NCompass Anywhere Mobile App is currently only available on the Play Store for Android Devices, however we are in the process of deploying the application to the App Store so it can be installed on iOS devices. 
If you want to use NCompass Anywhere on an iOS device today, you can do so via a Web Browser on the device by following the instructions in the NCompass Anywhere - Webpage section 

Getting Logged In

To install the NCompass Anywhere App, simply search for 'NCompass Anywhere' on the Play Store, and tap to install the highlighted option below: 

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Once the App has been installed, tap onto it to open it.
You will then be presented with the below screen, and prompted to login to the app: 

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Before attempting to login for the first time, we need to action the Yellow Warning message at the top of the screen to setup a folder on the device to store logfiles. 
Simply tap onto this warning, and follow the on screen prompts to get this configured. 

Once this has been actioned, we are then in a position to enter/scan a System Code, Username, and Password to allow us to Login. 

Your System Code can be found on Desktop NCompass under Help > About NCompass > find in the highlighted section that appears in the new window, and take note of the number that shows (this will be in the format of 34-0100-xxxx):

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Please Note: the System Code is the same for all Users wanting to login to the App at your Company.


Your Username and Password are the same Username and Password you use to Login to Desktop NCompass. 

By Default, any existing Login for Desktop NCompass will have access to login to Anywhere. However, it is possible to control which Users do or do not have access to Login to Anywhere, which is covered more in the 'Configuring your NCompass Users for Anywhere' section.

Once you have successfully logged in, the app will take you to the home page below: 

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If you need to Logout at any point, simply press the Person Icon in the top left hand screen, and press Logout. 

Running Reports

The NCompass Anywhere Application has the ability to run any Report that is configured as an Additional Report inside Desktop NCompass (Reports > Additional Report). 

Please Note: The user you are logged in as needs to have permissions inside Desktop NCompass to be able to run Additional Reports. 
The 'Configuring your NCompass Users for Anywhere' section covers in more detail the tools that are available to control if a User does or does not have the ability to run these reports 

To run these inside NCompass Anywhere tap the menu ( ☰ ) icon > All Reports > Pick a Report Group > And then select the report you wish to run. 
The below is an example of All Reports > Field Calls > Incomplete Field Calls

image.pngIn the event that a report has multiple columns, you can use your finger to swipe left/right across the screen to scroll through these columns. 

Next to the title of the report, you will see a Filter Icon and another Menu Icon (in the form of 3 vertical dots) 

The Filter Icon will open a new window that allows you to apply filters to your report: 

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The Menu button gives us options to; 

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If you require a new Report adding to the system, please contact our Support team with a Specification of what you require, and we will be happy to review this request further for you 

Stock Management

The Stock Management screen allow you to search for a product either Scanning a Barcode, or by a Search 

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To scan a Barcode, simply press the Scan barcode button, and ensure that you allow NCompass Anywhere the correct permissions to use the Camera on your device if prompted to do so:

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Then, simply place the barcode for the product in front of the camera, and the app will then bring information about that product up on the screen. 

To Search for a product without using it's barcode, press the Search button, and in the Search Query box, search for the product in question. If required, you can press the 'Show advanced filters' button to have more granular levels of filtering 

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Press Search, and a list of products that match your search criteria will appear. Tap onto a search result, and press Select, and you will then be taken to a new screen that shows you information about that Product. 

From this new screen, you can see information such as: 

Helpdesk

Helpdesk is a new platform that allows you to see any existing tickets you have open with us at the moment, and create new tickets from this platform, without needing to phone our Support team. 
You do not need to be setup for NCompass Anywhere to be able to use Helpdesk, but we have added the option to be able to login to it through NCompass Anywhere to help have everything in one easy to use place. 

If you require assistance logging into the Help desk, please contact our Support team who will be happy to assist further 

NCompass Anywhere

NCompass Anywhere - Website

As well as being mobile app, NCompass Anywhere is accessible in a Web Browser of your choosing by visiting anywhere.findesolutions.com

This can be loaded on any device that has a Web Browser installed, be that a mobile phone, tablet, or PC. 

Getting Logged In

Browse to anywhere.findesolutions.com and you will be presented with the below screen 

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Here you are being prompted to enter in  System Code, Username, and Password, all of these are required to allow us to Login. 

Your System Code can be found on Desktop NCompass under Help > About NCompass > find in the highlighted section that appears in the new window, and take note of the number that shows (this will be in the format of 34-0100-xxxx):

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Please Note: the System Code is the same for all Users wanting to login to the App at your Company.


Your Username and Password are the same Username and Password you use to Login to Desktop NCompass. 

By Default, any existing Login for Desktop NCompass will have access to login to Anywhere. However, it is possible to control which Users do or do not have access to Login to Anywhere, which is covered more in the 'Configuring your NCompass Users for Anywhere' section.

Running Reports

The NCompass Anywhere Application has the ability to run any Report that is configured as an Additional Report inside Desktop NCompass (Reports > Additional Report). 

Please Note: The user you are logged in as needs to have permissions inside Desktop NCompass to be able to run Additional Reports. 
The 'Configuring your NCompass Users for Anywhere' section covers in more detail the tools that are available to control if a User does or does not have the ability to run these reports 

To run these inside NCompass Anywhere tap the menu ( ☰ ) icon > All Reports > Pick a Report Group > And then select the report you wish to run. 
The below is an example of All Reports > Field Calls > Incomplete Field Calls

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Next to the title of the report, you will see a Filter Icon, an Email Icon, a Download Icon, and a Refresh Icon.

The Filter Icon will open a new window that allows you to apply filters to your report: 

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The Email Icon will allow you to send the report to a specific email address, in a specific file format

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The Download Icon will allow you to download the report either as PDF, or to Excel 

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The Refresh Icon will re-run the report, in the event that any data has changed.

If you require a new Report adding to the system, please contact our Support team with a Specification of what you require, and we will be happy to review this request further for you 

Stock Management

The Stock Management screen allow you to search for a product either by Entering a Barcode, or by a Search 

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If you know the Barcode/EAN of the product, then you can simply press the Enter barcode button and Press Ok. This will then take you to a page containing information about the product. 

If not, press the Search button, and in the Search Query box, search for the product in question. If required, you can press the 'Show advanced filters' button to have more granular levels of filtering 

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Press Search, and a list of products that match your search criteria will appear. Click onto a search result, and press Select, and you will then be taken to a new screen that shows you information about that Product. 

From this new screen, you can see information such as: 

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Helpdesk

Helpdesk is a new platform that allows you to see any existing tickets you have open with us at the moment, and create new tickets from this platform, without needing to phone our Support team. 
You do not need to be setup for NCompass Anywhere to be able to use Helpdesk, but we have added the option to be able to login to it through NCompass Anywhere to help have everything in one easy to use place. 

If you require assistance logging into the Help desk, please contact our Support team who will be happy to assist further 

NCompass Anywhere

Configuring your NCompass Users For Anywhere

As all permissions surrounding what a User can and can not access in NCompass Anywhere are controlled in NCompass Desktop, you will need to be logged into NCompass Desktop as a User that has the relevant permissions to able to access 'Administration > Security > User Management' menu to be able to change these permissions . 

Please be aware that NCompass Anywhere inherits the permissions set against a User in NCompass Desktop. So changing any permissions so the User can run Reports in Anywhere, means they will able to run the same reports in Desktop NCompass, as the two systems are linked. 

If you do not currently have the relevant permissions to change these settings against a User, pause here, and discuss with your manager to confirm if access can be granted to this section or not. 

Please Note: Our Support team are happy to assist you in configuring these permissions if help is required, but will only do so if they have be granted permission by a senior member of staff at your company.

To edit the permissions of a User, first select the User in question and press Edit. 

Using the navigation arrows, browse to the 'NCompass Desktop' tab. 
From here, you can control if a User has access to run Reports or not via the Reports tickbox highlighted below 

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If you require a member of Staff to be able to run any Reports configured under Reports > Additional Reports (which are the reports that can be run on NCompass Anywhere) but not be able to run any other type of report, then it is possible to do this via the Security Rights button in the bottom left hand corner of this screen. 

Please contact Support if you require assistance setting this up 

If you then use the Navigation Buttons to browse to the NCompass Anywhere tab, you can control if the user can Login to NCompass Anywhere or not via the Permit Login Button 

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By Default, all users are permitted to login to Anywhere. So if you only want select staff to be able to login to the application, then you will need to change this setting against each user.