Question 1

Understanding Malcolm! - some concepts and how to use the product

Accepted Answer

Malcolm! is a super powerful and flexible web based product but it might seem a bit confusing at first.  Here is a quick primer on some core Malcolm! concepts and features which we hope will help you understand the product and use it in the way that makes sense to you and your business.

**Core Components of Malcolm!**

Malcolm! has two core content components: ***Malcolm! FAQ*** and ***Malcolm! Workflow.***

Malcolm! FAQ is all about answering your user's questions and/or providing information (eg a how-to or a policy).  
Malcolm! Workflow is all about taking your users through tasks or procedures.

Before we created Malcolm! we spent a lot of time building online systems that helped companies digitise what they do.

We found that - in broad terms - this came down to designing and developing systems that: 
* answered questions and
* took users through a process.

**For example**

Lets say you sell and service industrial heating systems.  A potential customer might want to know if you service a particular type of boiler that they have in their office.

You can let that potential customer find the answer to that question themselves via Malcolm!.  You'd create a question along the lines of "Which types of boiler do you service?" and in your answer you'd include all the makes and models that you work with.

Your potential customer would come to your website, and be able to find the answer themselves using Malcolm!

Next, having learnt you do indeed service the boiler they have in their office they might want to book a service appointment.

To do this you are likely to need to know a few details - for example their name, their company name, where their office is and perhaps a few other details like their phone number and email, when they are available for a service visit, any issues they are having with the boiler and when it was last serviced.

You can create a form that asks all those questions in Malcolm! and add that form as a "Book a service" link onto your website.  When a customer fills that form in Malcolm! can email you all the details. Malcolm! can also do lots of other clever things like pass that request into other systems that you might use.

**Why would I want to do this?**

* **Customers like it** - nowadays more and more people prefer to do things online
* **You look professional and slick** - Malcolm! can integrate with your existing website and you can style all the screens to match your brand
* **It's available 24/7/365** - customers can find what they need at a time that suits them 
* **Save time** - stop burning time answering the same questions or doing the same process again and again
* **Consistency**- receive complete information from your customers in the format you need it
* **Efficiency** - pass customer information collected via Malcolm! into your other systems automatically
* **Get feedback** - Malcolm! let's your customers feedback to you whether the information they found was helpful or areas for improvement 
* **Analytics**- get statistics on what customers are searching for, what they are reading and the most popular times for certain types of requests
* **Great management tools** - You and your internal team / staff can see everything at a glance via MyMalcolm - the comprehensive control panel area of Malcolm!

[You can see some examples of possible uses of Malcolm! here](https://malcolm.app/examples)

**Use Malcolm! FAQs and Workflows together or separately**

One of the things to bear in mind is that you can use the FAQ and Workflows parts of Malcolm! together or individually.  It may be that you want to build a customer knowledge base using Malcolm! FAQ but you have no need for Workflows at the moment.  That is no problem! Similarly you might want to create a series of web forms for various user servicing tasks using Malcolm! Workflow but don't need to answer questions with FAQs.  Again this is no issue. You simply use the parts of Malcolm! that make sense to you and your business.

**How does Malcolm! work with my current website?**

At the heart of Malcolm! is flexibility.  We want to make it as easy as possible to work with our system.  We also want to offer options for a wide user base - from a one man band with no or limited web development knowledge through to big companies who may have large in house technical teams.

At one of the end of the scale is our Hosted Hub.  Every instance of Malcolm! comes with a hosted Hub.  This is a website that we host for you. You can customise it entirely to your requirements.  You can change the branding, the colours, the fonts, the layout, the copy, the icons etc etc.  You can even configure it to work on one of your own domains or sub domains.

If you don't have a current website your Hosted Hub could be your main website.  If you already have your main website at www.domain.com you could set up your fully branded Malcolm! Hosted Hub at a sub domain like support.domain.com or help.domain.com or customers.domain.com

Some customers may not wish to do this and instead may wish to integrate Malcolm! into their current website.  No problem!  We have a whole section in the MyMalcolm Control Panel dedicated to this and there a variety of ways you can bring content and functionality from Malcolm! into your own website.  We've also got a plugin for Wordpress and a variety of widgets and further integration options. Want a floating widget? No problem.  Want a button which opens a modal/overlay?  No problem.  Customers on our Enterprise plans can have full programmatic access to Malcolm! content and functionality via our comprehensive API.

**Don't forget your Internal Customers!**

Remember that your business or organisation may have more than one type of "customer!".  As well as using Malcolm! with members of the general public you can also use it internally to help a particular business function or department.

For example:
* In our example of being an industrial heating sales & service company above you could use an instance of Malcolm! for your service engineers. Various knowledge about things you service could be stored in Malcolm FAQ! and you could build digital versions of processes or business procedure in Malcolm! Workflow - for example job sheets or part order forms. 
* You could use Malcolm! as an online presence for your [Human Resources](https://malcolm.app/examples/human-resources) or [Finance department](https://malcolm.app/examples/finance)
* You could use Malcolm! as a way of [communicating information about your premises or facilities](https://malcolm.app/examples/commercial) 
* You could use Malcolm! as a home for an [internal project or initiative](https://malcolm.app/examples/internal)

Question 2

What is a Workflow?

Accepted Answer

A Workflow is a web based form that your customers complete.  You can build these forms quickly in MyMalcolm and use them to create a digital version of a business process.

**For example**
* A contact form
* A survey
* A customer enquiry
* A new customer details form

You can build everything from simple single screen journeys through to more complex multi-step journeys with conditional routing (ie offering certain choices based on previous answers).

Malcolm! automatically stores all data - including abandoned forms.  You can export this data at any time.   You can also pass that collected data through to other systems via Integrations or Webhooks.

Question 3

Do I need to pay VAT?

Accepted Answer

Value Added Tax (VAT) is the sales tax in the United Kingdom where Malcolm! trades from. The current UK VAT rate is 20%.

[Our pricing is quoted excluding VAT. ](https://malcolm.support/pricing)

The UK is no longer a member of the European Union (EU) however the VAT rules around UK companies trading with EU based businesses and EU based individuals continue to apply.

Whether VAT is applicable to your purchase of Malcolm! and how we apply it can be summarised as follows:

* If you are a UK customer (individual or business): we charge VAT at 20%

* If you are an EU Business and supply a valid VAT number (we check it): we will not charge you any VAT

* If you are an individual in the EU: we will charge you VAT at your local country VAT rate ([details here - PDF)](https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/taxation/files/resources/documents/taxation/vat/how_vat_works/rates/vat_rates_en.pdf)

* If you are a company or an individual not in the UK or in the EU (eg you are in the USA or Australia): we will not charge you any VAT

Question 4

What are Integrations?

Accepted Answer

Integrations are a way of passing data you collect in a Malcolm! Workflow into other third party software or systems. We currently offer integrations with: * [Dropbox](https://www.dropbox.com) * [Mailchimp](https://www.mailchimp.com) * [Mandrill](https://www.mandrill.com) * [Twilio](https://www.twilio.com) * [Zendesk](https://www.zendesk.com) * [Salesforce](https://www.salesforce.com/) * [Pardot](https://www.pardot.com/) * and over 1,500 over apps via Zapier.com ([more info here](https://support.malcolm.support/faqs/how-do-i-use-zapier-to-connect-malcolm-to-other-applications-or-services-i-use)) Malcolm! Integrations

**Configuring Integrations** Once you have created your Workflow, go to the Configure section and select Integrations. There you can link your third party accounts at our integration partners to your Malcolm! Instance by providing your credentials. Once your accounts are linked you can configure integrations with that partner and choose the data from your Workflow that is passed across. You can configure whether data is passed on every Workflow completion or only when certain conditions are met. It is possible to have multiple integrations so, for example, you could create a form which collected details from a new customer including a copy of their ID. You could then subscribe that new customer to a Mailchimp mailing list and store their uploaded ID documents in your Dropbox account by creating two integrations. Integrations in MyMalcolm

**Customer Consent** A reminder that it is good practice - and in certain territories a legal requirement - to ensure that your customers actively consent to their data being passed to third party companies who, like Malcolm!, act as data processors on your behalf. You act as the data controller. Most companies handle this consent via provisions in their Privacy Policy which their customers agree to. It is good practice therefore to include a check box in your Workflows that reminds customers of your Privacy Policy and their continuing agreement of it. **Integration Failures** Sometimes integrations may fail. This could be for a variety of reasons, for example the integration partner's API's may be down and/or there may be a problem with your account at the third party provider (for example your Dropbox account may be over quota). Firstly don't worry re losing customer data - Malcolm! will always store any user submitted data so if there is a problem with an integration you won't lose any data. When a problem occurs we'll create a notification to let you know and periodically retry the integration. You can review the Integration logs and retry a failed integration event manually via MyMalcolm (navigate to the Workflow via Library then select Integration logs) **More Integrations coming soon!** We will be adding more and more integrations to Malcolm! in the coming months. If there is a particular integration you'd like us to add [please let us know! ](https://support.malcolm.support/workflows/feedback)

Question 5

How do I write a good Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)?

Accepted Answer

Some top tips for writing a good Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) include:

* Think like your customers and try to phrase your title in a way a real customer would ask you a question

* Use the brief summary area to provide the initial answer - this is what customers will see in search results and when browsing FAQs

* For the full answer you can repeat the Brief Summary information but go into more detail

* Try and be concise and punchy with your answer - it can be useful to break up the text with subheadings and bullet points

* Don't repeat information if it's available elsewhere - better to link to that information! For example if you have an FAQ answering "What times are you open?" and your opening hours are on your main website your answer can simply be "Our opening hours can be seen on our website here" and you can add a link

* If you have images or media (eg a YouTube video) that can help with an answer don't be afraid to include it in your answer - Malcolm! fully supports this and customers love it!

* Remember to use tags and categories as that will help your customer find their way to the FAQ

* Use the feedback option in Malcolm! as that will let customers tell you if the content is useful or not. Regularly review the feedback you get in MyMalcolm!

Question 6

How do I use your Wordpress plugin?

Accepted Answer

First download the Malcolm! Wordpress Plugin [here](https://github.com/acknet/malcolm-wp-plugin/archive/master.zip).

In MyMalcolm! create your embeds as normal - [instructions here.](https://support.malcolm.support/faqs/how-do-i-embed-content-from-malcolm-into-my-own-website-or-app)

At the end of the Embed creation process when your embed code is generated there is some text which says "Embedding in a Wordpress site?" - if you click that text you will be shown your instance ID and for some embed types you will be shown a shortcode. There is also an option to have this information emailed to you.

In Wordpress, install the Malcolm! plugin then goto Settings --> Malcolm! and add your instance ID.  Currently on some versions of Wordpress when you add the instance ID and press Save there is no acknowledgement of this but you can verify the instance ID has indeed been saved by navigating away and then back to Settings --> Malcolm!

You can see your instance ID in your URL when you are in MyMalcolm eg:
https://my.malcolm.app/instances/XXXXXXXXXX/dashboard  
The instance ID is the 10 digit code code shown where the X's are above.

For Widget and Full page embeds this is all you have to do - you can then configure on which pages your embeds appear via  MyMalcolm (via the URL rules section of the respective embed).

For inline embeds and overlays you need to position where you would like the embed or the overlay launcher in your content. You do this using the Shortcode. Go to the page or post in Wordpress, make sure you are in code editor (not visual editor) and put the Shortcode where you wish the embed to appear / or the overlay be launched from.

If you have any issues with you embeds not appearing [first check these things.](https://support.malcolm.support/faqs/why-is-my-embed-not-showing)

Question 7

Can you send me a (VAT) invoice?

Accepted Answer

You can download an invoice / receipt for each payment you've made to us in the Billing Section of MyMalcolm.  Select "invoices / receipts" in the left hand vertical navigation and then click the icon on the right of each row to download the invoice / receipt associated with each payment.

If you have paid VAT as part of the payment we've taken from your card your invoice / receipt will show a breakdown of this.

[For more information about Malcolm! and VAT see this question. ](https://support.malcolm.support/faqs/do-i-need-to-pay-vat)

Question 8

How do I invite people to join my Instance team?

Accepted Answer

On Team, Team Plus or Enterprise plans you can invite additional Team members to your instance. To do this go to the Team Section and click "Invite Team Members" towards the top right. You can then enter an email address and choose a role. Invite someone to your Team on MyMalcolm

Invite someone to your Team on MyMalcolm

The available roles include: * Editor: create and edit FAQs and Workflows * Publisher: as editor but also the ability to publish and approve FAQs and Workflows * Administrator: as Publisher but also access to Instance Billing, Settings, Brand and Team. * Read only: allows a user to view FAQs, Workflows and associated feedback and submitted data * Custom: create the exact permissions you want a team member to have You can edit and refine the privileges attached to a pending invite by clicking the invite tab, then the email address of the invited user. You can edit and refine the privilages of current team members by clicking on their name in the members tab, then clicking privileges. Team member privilege editing in MyMalcolm

Team member privilege editing in MyMalcolm

Question 9

What is the Malcolm! widget and how do I implement it?

Accepted Answer

The Malcolm! widget is a great way to put your content in front of users. By using the widget you can float content over an existing website or application. Want to let your users find out answers to FAQs about a product or service you provide but don't want them to make them navigate from the screen they are on? The Malcolm! widget is what you need. Or perhaps you'd like to float a feedback or get in touch form over your website? Super easy to do with the Malcolm! widget. You can even make the content displayed contextual to the screen the widget is floating over. How cool is that? We recommend you place the Malcolm! widget embed code on every page of your website. You can then configure whether the widget displays or not (and what it displays) from within MyMalcolm!

Here is how to start using the Malcolm! widget. **Step 1: Create an embed** Go the Share section of MyMalcolm and select the Embed tab and then Create an embed. Select Widget as the type of embed you want to create. Create an embed in MyMalcolm

Give your embed a name. Names your embed in MyMalcolm

**Step 2: Choose your content** From this area you can choose a single FAQ or Workflow to display in the widget, or you can choose collections of content. These collections can be a category, a tag or an author. You can also make a collection out of a search result including a search that is contextual to the meta content of the page that the widget is on - you can query content based on the page title, meta keywords, meta description or a meta search tag. Users can navigate content within the widget via clicking on items in the user interface eg categories, tags or authors. If you don't choose a specific FAQ, Workflow or collection of content the default content displayed will be the most popular content. Choose the content for your widget

**Step 3: Configure the visual style of your widget** You can configure various options about the visual appearance and behaviour of your widget. The options include what the widget looks like in it's pre-expand state (a button or a drawer), the text used on the pre-expand, the colours and logo plus the location of the widget on your screen. You can also configure whether you want the search and footer used on expanded widget and whether the transition from pre-expand to post-expand and vice versa are animated or not. Configure the visual style of your widget

**Step 4: Set up URL rules and visibility settings** We recommend you put the Malcolm! widget embed code on every page of your website. But you might not want the widget to appear on every page. Using URL rules you can mangage and easily change which pages the widget does appear on from within MyMalcolm! Manage URL rules for your widget

You may not want the widget to display on mobile browsers, or you may want the widget to only appear at certain times (for example when your office is closed) - you can configure these options in visibility settings. Manage your widget visibility settings

**Step 5: Publish and place code on site** Finally when you are happy publish your widget. Publish your embed

Finally collect your code - you can cut and paste this or have it emailed to you (or the person who is responsible for implementation). Collect your widget embed code

If you use Google Tag Manager you can also deploy the embed code via this system. [See here for more details.](https://support.malcolm.support/faqs/can-i-put-malcolm-widget-code-into-another-site-via-google-tag-manager)

Question 10

Can I embed YouTube or Vimeo videos in my FAQs?

Accepted Answer

You can easily embed YouTube or Vimeo videos into your FAQs.  To do this use the embed code provided by each of the platforms.

![Screenshot 2018-11-08 20.01.41.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/m6StT5M3j9/Screenshot%202018-11-08%2020.01.41.png)

Within the FAQ compose interface press the video icon.   This will bring up an area where you can insert this code.

![Screenshot 2018-11-08 19.59.19.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/QUvah1y7Eh/Screenshot%202018-11-08%2019.59.19.png)

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