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Using VMXpert

Open VMXpert from the Support Center modal (the "?" or "Help" button in the top bar), or press Ctrl+Shift+Space anywhere in VMX.

Choosing how hard it thinks

Below the message box is an effort selector with three levels:

  • Quick — fast answers for simple lookups and how-tos. Costs the least.
  • Standard — the right choice for almost everything. This is the default.
  • Deep — slower and more careful, for big analyses and tricky reconciliations. Costs the most.

Your choice sticks for the current conversation. If Deep appears locked ("Ask your admin to turn this on for you"), your administrator can grant it on the Managing AI Access page. If you're near a usage limit, VMXpert may note that it's running at reduced effort.

Attaching files

Three ways: click the paperclip, drag and drop a file onto the chat, or paste a screenshot straight from your clipboard.

What VMXpert does with them:

  • Spreadsheets and data files (CSV, Excel, text) — reads them directly for analysis. Older .xls files need to be re-saved as .xlsx first; VMXpert will tell you if that comes up.
  • PDFs, Word documents, and photos — reads digital PDFs and .docx files exactly as written; scanned documents and photos are read with text recognition. A favorite workflow: upload a vendor invoice or order sheet and ask VMXpert to draft the purchase order from it.
  • Audio (voicemails, recordings) — transcribes them so you can ask questions about what was said.

VMXpert can also read documents already stored in VMX — like the invoice PDF attached to a purchase order — so you don't need to re-upload anything.

Limits: files up to 5 MB, up to 4 attachments per message, and uploads expire after an hour (just re-attach if a conversation runs long).

Downloads

Ask for a list or report and VMXpert can hand it back as a CSV, Excel, or PDF download link. Download promptly — generated data files are removed after the first download. Any table VMXpert shows in chat also has a small ⤓ CSV link in its corner for one-click export.

It knows what screen you're on

VMXpert automatically sees which VMX page you have open, which is why its suggestions change — register questions at the register, inventory questions on the inventory screen. You can ask things like "what does this button do?" or "where is the total on this page?" and it knows what you're looking at.

On report pages, the sidebar has an ✨ Ask VMXpert about this report link — it opens the chat with suggestions tuned to the report you're viewing, and VMXpert reads that report's own guide before answering questions about its numbers.

The Steps checklist

For bigger jobs — an import, a multi-part report, a cleanup — VMXpert breaks the work into steps and shows a Steps checklist card in the chat, ticking items off as it goes. It's the assistant's working plan made visible, so you can see where it is and what's left. You don't need to do anything with it, and if the job changes direction along the way, the list updates too.

Managing conversations

  • History — past conversations are saved; you can search, star, and rename them.
  • Messages — copy any answer, edit-and-resend your question, or regenerate a response.
  • Stop button — if VMXpert is heading the wrong direction or taking too long, stop it and re-ask with more specifics.
  • New chat — when a conversation gets long, the meter near the composer will suggest starting a fresh one; long chats cost more and respond slower.
  • Continue in a fresh chat — if you're mid-task when a chat gets long, use ↪ Continue this task in a fresh chat (offered in the long-chat notice, and always available under the ⋯ menu). VMXpert writes a short brief of the work so far — the goal, what's been decided, and the next step — and starts a new chat that already knows it. The new chat opens with a "↪ Continuing" note; just pick up where you left off. The brief itself is free, and the fresh chat answers faster and costs less per question than staying in the long one.
  • ✉ Email me this conversation — in the ⋯ menu; sends the transcript to your own email address on file.

Telling VMX when an answer is wrong

Hover over any of VMXpert's answers and click 👎 — pick a quick reason (Wrong for our store, Didn't answer the question, Out of date, or Something else), add a note if you like, and hit Send to VMX. The report goes straight to VMX with the conversation attached, so there's nothing to copy or explain twice — it's the fastest way to get a wrong answer fixed for everyone. A 👍 on a good answer takes one click and helps too.

Administrators can see the feedback left on any conversation under Admin → Toolbox → VMXpert → Chat Activity. To flag a whole conversation rather than one answer, the ⚑ Report chat option in the chat's ⋯ menu does that.

Warning

VMXpert can make mistakes — double-check important work, especially numbers you're going to act on.