This guide is intended to provide information to existing PPS users who have or are planning to migrate from a locally hosted solution to one stored on one of our dedicated servers.

In this guide, you'll find a checklist of things to take a look at to configure your new PPS Hosted system.

If you're planning to move to PPS Hosted and any of the points in this document raise queries or concerns then please contact us beforehand.

 

PPS Hosted Checklist

If you're a brand new user of PPS Hosted or have migrated from a local solution we recommend initially checking and configuring the following elements:

 

Section 1 - Access

If you were previously a Local PPS user then once you've moved to Hosted the way you access your PPS system will be different.

As your PPS Hosted system is stored on one of our secure servers you will need to access it via a Remote Desktop Connection. This allows your local device or computer to connect remotely to our servers and is reliant on a stable internet connection.

In order to do this you will need the following:

Hosted Login Credentials 

All the details you'll require to connect to PPS Hosted can be found in the email entitled Your PPS Hosted Login Credentials. This will be sent to your registered email address once your Hosted system has been created.

Important: You will receive a separate Hosted username and password for each of the licenses you have purchased. Each license/login represents one instance of concurrent access. Users can share Hosted usernames but cannot access it at the same time. If someone connects to a Hosted login/license while it is in use then the previous user will be disconnected. Because of this, it is important to acquire as many logins as there will be people accessing the system at any one time, and that usernames and passwords are allocated appropriately.

Remote Desktop Connection

You'll access our servers, and your Hosted system via a Remote Desktop connection. This will differ based on the device you're using to access PPS. Find the relevant guide below which will detail installing or accessing the software and making the necessary configuration using your Hosted Login Credentials.

Windows PC - Apple Mac - Apple iPhone/iPad - Google Android

Internal PPS Login

Once you've signed into your Hosted license through the Remote Desktop on your device you'll be presented with the familiar white PPS login screen. You can enter your usual PPS username and password here.

If this is your first time accessing your PPS Hosted database then you'll have the opportunity to create a log-in for your system administrator at this stage.

Tip: To maintain server resources and ensure data security all our Hosted sessions sign out automatically if left inactive for a certain period. If you leave your PPS system inactive for one hour then you'll be disconnected but your session will remain active for a maximum of 30 minutes should you reconnect. Beyond this time, which may be shorter if the server is encountering resource issues, your session will be signed out automatically and any unsaved work lost.

 

Section 2 - Troubleshooting and Database Maintenance

Database Maintenance: If you've used a PPS Local system before then you'll already know the steps necessary to keep your system healthy. If you're new to PPS or fancy a brush-up, read our Database Maintenance to learn about the system's maintenance procedures.

Frozen Sessions and Switch To: If your internet has a drop in connection this can sometimes freeze your Hosted session, but this can easily be resolved. You may also see a Switch To message when opening documents which just needs a quick keyboard shortcut to release.

Connection Issues: If you are being disconnected or frequently seeing black screens when connected to the hosted system your internet connection might be dropping out:

• Check your download and upload speed
  The connection to the server does require a stable and consistent internet connection with a reasonable download as well as the upload speed to keep the connection steady.
• Check the latency/ping speed
  Latency in the connection could also be causing an issue. The latency is the time it takes for a packet of data to get from one point to another and because you are sending information to the server and receiving information from the server constantly, you will want the time it takes for the data to travel backwards and forwards to be a low as possible.
  A latency measurement of 25ms or less would be recommended and this can be measured by running a speed test or ping test or asking your internet service provider (ISP) to advise. It is advisable to test the latency when you are experiencing issues as latency can fluctuate.
• Try a Wired connection instead of using the WiFi
  Wireless Internet connections have higher latency than wired connections. When possible, use a wired connection.

Section 3 - Printing and Scanning

As you're now accessing your PPS system via a Remote Desktop your scanner or printer will need to be able to connect to this remote session in order to allow scanning and printing.

Important: In order to link with PPS Hosted your scanner will need to be fully TWAIN compliant and have full TWAIN drivers installed and up to date. If you're unsure or require the latest drivers then contact the manufacturer for assistance.

To begin, you'll need to install TS Print/Scan on your machine with PPS closed. These programs are necessary to scan to PPS and will link the Hosted session with your local default printer.

You can then have a look at this guide for steps on Printing and Scanning in PPS.

If you use or are looking to use a label printer then please refer to this guide specifically for Hosted systems as only certain models are supported and require some additional configuration.

 

Section 4 - Documents

Saving to and from PPS Hosted

Now that your PPS system is cloud-based you'll need to be able to connect it to the drives of your own machine so that you can upload documents and also save files from your PPS system when necessary.

You can find details of how to enable local drives through your remote desktop on PC and Mac here.

Documents

If you have an existing PPS system which is locally hosted then any documents you store or access through PPS will need to be hosted within the database structure so they can be transferred to your new Hosted database. PPS Hosted cannot facilitate the access of documents stored on online drives, and storing files on local storage rather than the PPS servers can result in data not being accessible to other users/via different hosted connections.

 

Section 5 - Emails

PPS Hosted systems can only send emails through an SMTP server. Upon signing up for PPS Hosted you'll be set up with free-of-charge use of our  Sendgrid SMTP account so you can begin sending emails straight away.

If you're using our free SMTP account then you can still configure your from name and address but you won't have access to the account to view your email activity and statistics; you'd need your own SMTP account in order to do this. For more information on SMTP accounts and sending emails from PPS please read this guide. 

Important: If moving from PPS Local to Hosted please ensure you check your 'from names and addresses' for each Hosted license via Tools > System Set-Up > Email Settings as these may have changed during the transfer.

All emails leaving the SMTP account we provide come with an unsubscribe link at the bottom. If one of your recipients clicks this link they'll cease to receive any emails sent from PPS using that SMTP. They can be removed from the unsubscribe list if you forward a written request for this from the blocked address to support@rushcliff.com. Find more details on our unsubscribe link here.

If you'd prefer to use your own SMTP account then you can follow the steps in this guide for the details. 

 

Section 6 - SMS Account

Check that your SMS Account is set up if you intend on sending any SMS confirmations or reminders. If you have previously used only a local PPS system then your SMS account might be set up under the local system's registration number but the SMS account settings can be transferred into the Hosted system.

 

Section 7 - Automatic Confirmations and Reminders

If you would like your confirmations, reminders or follow-ups to send automatically make sure that you have Activity Manager set up.