Is it Hard to Move from TurboCAT to SmartCAT?

I continue to get calls from people that ask, "I've been on TurboCAT forever. I'm sure that nobody else is left using it, but I need to move to your windows software, is it hard to make the move?!?".

Actually, we still have many many many people in just your boat! People loved TurboCAT because Cheetah has been known for its simple and reliable software for years. We have continued that trend into SmartCAT, in many ways making it much better than TurboCAT. It's no wonder that people loved TurboCAT so much that they don't want to jump. However, as time goes by and old *and reliable* laptops are becoming harder and harder to find, people find themselves at the crossroads, wondering what they'll have to give up to make the leap.

We find that it takes people about 10% of the time to learn SmartCAT that it initially took them to learn TurboCAT. It does take a little bit of time, but surprisingly little at that.

Since it is in Windows, it will be different, however, you'll notice when you get into SmartCAT that the editing is virtually identical! You still hit "n" to scan to next, "t" to text global, "g" to steno global, and the list goes on and on and on!

We've spent our lives and careers here over the last 5 years ensuring that our beloved TurboCAT users can make the transition with minimal time and effort and allowing them to go out and buy bright-and-shiny new computers and new printers without stress!

Our SIX training options, in decreasing order of self-drive:

1. The Manual! Currently weighing in at 478 pages, it's electronic in format, very very good and very user friendly, full of pictures and great for the self-directed, self-teaching sort of person! If you're a "Get-In-There-and-Figure-It-Out-Myself" sort of Court Reporter, this is for you! This is included at no additional charge with the purchase of SmartCAT and is automatically installed when you install SmartCAT (we update it with each new release too and you can always get the latest copy from the website if you're up-to-date on your maintenance contract).

2. Quick-Start-Guide! This is a 16-Pager that takes about an evening (for a technologically-oriented, self-driven court reporter) to go through. Running through this will allow you to have a very nice context for getting going most-quickly in SmartCAT. This is also included at no additional charge with the purchase of SmartCAT and is also automatically installed when you install SmartCAT.

3. Online Videos! We have a whole slew of videos on how to get going on SmartCAT. You can play them, review them, go back-and-forth, stop them to practice using what you've learned and really immerse yourself in them. Also, we find that though many of our users know how to edit like the wind, they often need help on Windows, so we also offer some videos that help there too! Online Videos are available at no additional charge for our on-maintenance customers.

4. Walk-throughs! You can schedule 2- to 2.5-hour walk-throughs with us. It works like this: we limit it to a couple of hours (because, in our estimation, the brain can only retain what the butt can handle!). Then, when we start the call with you, we ask you what you'd like to cover. If you don't know, we have a path which we can take you through. If you're a beginner, we'll walk you through your style sheet and getting started. If you're an old pro, we'll give you tips and tricks on customizing SmartCAT to kick out beautiful, accurate transcripts in less and less time. EVEN BETTER, when you finish, we can schedule a time to do another one! We will do as many walk-throughs as you like to cover all the topics you wish. Walk-throughs are available at no additional charge for our on-maintenance customers.

5. Group Trainings! We hold 15 to 20 Group Trainings all over the United States annually. While primarily focusing on our major markets (we rotate through California, Chicago and New York, going to one location monthly), we also do get around to other spots in the U.S. as customers ask for them. Not only do we do One-and-a-half-day Basic Trainings for 1.2 Continuing Education Units (CEUs), we also do One-day Advanced Trainings for .8 CEUs. Basic Trainings are no additional charge for purchasers of SmartCAT within their first year and $310 for our on-maintenance customers after that first year. Advanced Trainings are $200 for on-maintenance customers. We do have a slight increase in price for last-minute enrollees. Your pricing questions can be found by clicking HERE.

6. Personal Trainings! Our SmartCAT-using, full-time-CSR, business-partner-Kelly will come to your house and work with you one-on-one until you feel comfortable! You read that right, she'll sit with you in your living room working with you and explaining in her very expert and highly personalized way how to make the most out of your SmartCAT system. Since it means putting Kelly on a plane, food and lodging expenses as well as taking her time away from knocking out expedites, we can't offer this as part of a maintenance fee. However, if you're interested, please do contact us at training@cheetahinternational.com for a quote.

So, as you may have gathered, we are utterly dedicated to making your transition to SmartCAT as quick & easy as possible, in addition to well-suited to your level of self-direction and inquisitiveness. As always, do let us know if there is anything we can do to be of help to you.

Greg L. Richardson
VP of Operations & Director of Marketing
Cheetah International, Inc.