BQE CORE Suite Reviews

CORE is a real time saver !

Comments: Implementation took longer than expected but has proved worth the extra time to get it right.

Pros:

Using CORE to invoice our clients has freed up so much of my time I'm afraid I could have streamlined myself out of a job. Billing previews that used to take days are now done in hours. The time to create invoices and submit them for approval takes about 25% of the time before CORE. Easy to learn and a breeze to use.

Cons:

ORE is a very complex software system to set up, but once we worked out all of the nuances and specifications, this software rocks!

This product delivers...if you want it, it can be done.

Comments: the exec. appreciates the overall business analysis that can be obtained, time keeping is given back to the body of the staff and not the admin. staff, and can be seen and impacted live. project management is a complete task, not just partial tasks here and some in another area. Generally positive...difficult at first because change is hard, but once the benefits are realized, embraced ultimately.

Pros:

once full integration is close, one can really see how the product can fully encompass all aspects. full analysis can be achieved if all data is inputted, but only then. if pieces are missing, so is the entire impact. time keeping can be accurate for all the employees...same story, expenses can be fully analyzed, project costing can be fully analyzed...but one must enter all of the data. it replaces most existing processes so it's difficult for some to "move on" so as not to duplicate. there are some glitches, but there usually is.

Cons:

there might be too many features...not all businesses have them and while some recognize it, some will try to fill in all the blanks and this can be time wasteful. while there is a lot of "help", "dumbing it down" is never a bad thing. why not make it easy to understand? not everyone is an engineer...admins use it as well so keep it easy to understand for all. this gets more important the bigger the company gets...will support more administrative positions, so use the "kiss" principle-keep it simple st***d. admins will get these tasks delegated to them ultimately so make it easier to understand no matter the degree/education

BillQuick - A look at one year post conversion

Pros:

BillQuick is a powerful tool in tracking project time and expenses for professional services. We converted from 7 years of Quick Books data. Although the conversion and integration was not a seemless process, and the learning curve was much longer than originally anticipated, we are now tracking project profitability at a much higher level than we ever have before. BillQuick Tech Support is fantastic. They are patient and knowledgeable, and we have received a lot of added value by having the Gold Care Tech Support package added onto our services. Additionally, we have invested quite a bit of extra money on having Bill Quick Customization Department write customized reports. Although the standard reports section is extensive, we were unable to find reports that gave us exactly the data we wanted to see. It's nice that this additional service is offered, but it would be nice for them to give us a handful of customized reports as part of the conversion process and then charge extra from there on out.

Cons:

The software is not as user-friendly as it could be. Some things are overly complicated and require detailed use before you understand the functionality of the software. It could not be more different that QuickBooks, and the transition for us was difficult. Personally, I highly underestimated the learning curve. In the beginning, we were only using BQ for time and expense logging and we maintained our Quick Books file for all other general accounting, which I would strongly discourage. Although the SYNC feature does work to sync data between programs, it is not a clean sync and much of it needed cleanup on either side of the sync. This was very frustrating. We just recently converted all of our general accounting in QB over to the Accounting portal in BillQuick. This has helped to have all of our financial records in one software system and our data is much more consistent. However, the "Accounting" portal is not perfect and there are a number of features that are lacking where QB has it all dialed in. Examples: 1) in looking at a vendor bill, there is no indication or PAID FLAT to see it has been PAID or not. To see if it is paid, I have to look at the previous checks. 2) In a report that lists all AP checks written for a particular time frame, there is no TOTAL at the end of the report. 3) BQ allows duplicate check numbers. (This is not a complete list, but the top 3 things that drive me insane.) These seem like basic accounting features and for them to not be included in an accounting software is frustrating. DISCLAIMER: we have not yet upgraded to BQ2015 and remain on BQ2014 for a while longer. My understanding is that BQ2015 has updated a number of accounting features, so I look forward to seeing if any of those issues are remedied.

BQE makes time keeping and tracking simple

Comments: BQE makes time keeping and tracking relatively easy. Good layout for site navigation. You can add widgets to your "dashboard" for what is important to you.

Pros:

Good for time-sheet tracking. Both for yourself and tracking time billed to projects. Easy input with a well-working search feature and "Load Recent Activities" button. Also breaks up billable and non-billable time for you.

Cons:

Our company does not use the Project Planning/Tracking App, so not comment on the usability of that.

Best product out there, basically out of the box .... no implementation needed

Comments: Just great, it allows me to have a far quicker pulse of the business in financial terms and also marketing wise keeping track of proposals.

Pros:

It is very well structured, in a logical manner and has put a lot of attention into details of how projects can be deployed in so administrative ways in the AE industry. It can keep a project very simple o very sophisticated in terms of phases, budgets, reporting, etc.

Cons:

Moving from Archioffice (the previous software from BQE) to CORE was not flawless at all. I would have liked more support from BQE and that they acknowledge it is not flawless or that things willl appear automatically.

Core has been an integral in helping us to understand and grow our business

Comments: Overall experience has been great as we use Core for our integrated accounting, time/expenses, and invoices, and it has been integral in helping us to understand and grow our business in the first year.

Pros:

A little over one year back as we started up our new business I was researching for the best accounting, time and expense tracking and billing software. I selected BQE Core because it had an intuitive interface, easy reporting and it was on cloud. For any startup business the cost is always a big factor, the fact that BQE Core was a fraction of other similar software packages was an added bonus! We use BQE for our integrated accounting, time/expenses, and invoices, and it has been integral in helping us to understand and grow our business in the first year. At every moment, I have the info available to understand my cash flow, liabilities and A/R all in one interface, which never would have been possible if I used other accounting software.

Cons:

In a separate excel doc I track our projected income and expenses for each two-week period so I can plan cash expenditure. If BQE had a feature to track overhead and projections in relation to billable work, that would really integrate all functionality in one software. Other than that, I don't have any suggestions for improvement.

We are particularly impressed with CORE’s user-friendly, “all in one” design

Comments: Our small but rapidly-growing architectural firm was looking for a project management and billing solution. We were particularly impressed with CORE’s user-friendly, “all in one” design.

Pros:

It provides us with a single source to record employee time, manage project tasks, budget, invoice and track project performance. We took advantage of the various training packages and technical assistance BQE offers to help us get up-to-speed with CORE in a matter of months. BQE also worked with us to develop a custom invoice that provides our clients with current and past billing information in a clean and easy-to-read format. With the mobile app, our partners access CORE data anytime, anywhere, and can record travel expenses directly from their smartphones. BQE has demonstrated to us that they listen and responds to suggestions on how to make CORE an even better program for its users by providing regular updates and enhancements that incorporate our suggestions. We are very pleased with CORE and BQE.”

Cons:

Everything is working for us and if it does not then that is what support is for. Like any other new software implementation there is a learning curve. We took advantage of the various training packages.

Great invoicing platform for Time Based Civil Engineering

Pros:

Time tracking; overall look of the invoices; tracking payments

Cons:

Needs to improve features like adding email to each project; being able to make notes only visible to us on an invoice; seeing payment dates while looking at invoice (this takes several steps by going to the project tab); CORE can be slow and I find I have to enter 2-3 times before it will respond (Server issue?); Being able to create our own "template" for what assignments need to be used when creating a project and there's more not specified here.

Great software for a small firm

Comments: We went from no project management system and manual accounting. This has improved our productivity and improved profits.

Pros:

Setup was very easy, the support was great at each step. It is the most cost effective for a small firm. At any time I can call or email a question and get a quick response. They are constantly updating and improving the system.

Cons:

Updates sometimes cause lags the system, but if you sign up for updates they will let you know when they are doing them.

BQE Core Review

Comments: Overall satisfied with BQE, easily can get my time cards done on a daily basis.

Pros:

Ease of use & the incredible visibility of time spent.

Cons:

Slight lag at times but usually it will come and go.

If you can spend the time to implement it, it’s beyond worth it.

Comments: We have really enjoyed the experience, it has since become a bit more expensive and potentially out of our price range.

Pros:

I love all the reports that we can create, track progress of our projects financially, and use it to teach our team about management.

Cons:

The price to add users is a bit high. The ability to work through custom KPIs is tough.

it’s truly changed how we operate as a business

Comments: We have only been using the software since September 1st. Previously we were using Excel for project management, timesheets, and AR invoicing. In addition, we were using Word and Excel to generate manual invoices (then converting to PDF). Not only has the billing process been improved, but we have been able to implement Internal Financial Controls. We purchased the HR and Accounting modules a couple of months ago and are in the process of implementing our own HR templates. We are looking forward to automating the HR process. It’s truly changed how we operate as a business and made us ten times more efficient in so many different ways.

Pros:

The call-in support is always available. The billing module & templates. It is easy to generate invoices. The batch update feature. Uploading documents in various modules. View of information projects are restricted to authorized personnel. Ability to sort and filter various screens. How CORE will remember where you left off if you leave a screen or log-out (same filters, etc.).

Cons:

Core can use these improvements: 3. What improvements would you like to see in Core • An Accounts Payable Widget that shows open invoices that are due within a customized time frame. • A tracking method for professional continuing education requirements. • Enabling dependency between phases (not just within phase). • Download GANNT chart into Excel that looks like the chart (not just a list). • Being able to modify draft invoices without having to delete and start over. • Vendors – tracking COI’s w/60-day advance reminders. • AP checks to include invoice number (not the bill number). • In the project structure, a separate tool to move a phase up or down (rather than the grab and drop). • The AR invoices to automatically sort to open status only (not all invoices). • The ability to hide or delete built-in accounts in the Chart of Accounts. • Custom HR forms that can be sent to employees and electronically signed. • In billing, projects that are in complete or cancelled status, it will not show up in the drop-down menu when creating batch invoice.

The Value of Core

Comments: As mentioned, the product is great. The support is second to none. Core has been the tool we had been missing.

Pros:

We have used Core for a couple of years. Our firm specializes in foodservice design and our services are performed through architectural firms. This software is an incredible tool for other service related firms. The software and its tools are incredibly robust. The single major aspect is residing in the cloud. This allows connectivity from any where. Additionally, the project and/or staff performance tools are an amazing snapshot of our things are going. We also schedule our project tasks with Core. Those tasks are assigned (allocated) to staff with end/due dates. Task completion percentages allows project management to monitor progress. The notification system alerts the appropriate team members when task have been completed. There is an abundance of management tools and controls.

Cons:

Although the training is great, the online resources plentiful and the on-call support fantastic; there is a bit of a learning curve as the software is so robust. It just take a little time to become familiar with it and proficient. So you must go through the training and then dive in!

BQE Core Review

Comments: I am staying with BQE because it is the best all-in-one program I could find. It isn't perfect and, in many ways, it is miserable to use because it takes a long time and is slow, not optimized for fast use and there are a lot of features that are missing required for efficient use.

Pros:

I like that this software is fully functional and can potentially do anything a consultant or engineer would need to do without having to use other products.

Cons:

BQE can do almost everything and therefore it is complex and requires a lot of assistance from tech support. I have found that on most calls I have made the lower tier tech support has to contact the upper tier tech support and gets back with me later - sometimes. I am still waiting on them to fix some things (for weeks or months now). The 'powerful' proposal builder is a joke. Tech support just told me to type it in another program and import it, but that doesn't even work well. I have found a bunch of bugs and half thought out ideas. For example, to enter receipts or documentation for transactions other than credit card transactions requires a bunch of extra steps and cannot be done from the phone. Projects are complex (which is a good thing because they can do a lot) but it takes a lot of effort to setup a project and it can't be created from a template on the phone. I have bumped up against a bunch of walls inside BQE and when I ask how to do this or that I'm just told that isn't a feature BQE has.

Comments: As architects, we get set in our own way of doing things and never want to change. In ArchiOffice 2013 we found a product that pretty much adapts to how we do things. Sure we changed our methods a little, but for the most part it does what we want it to. We began looking for an office management software in 2007. We realized that the old method of using a spreadsheet was making us miss lots of opportunity for reimbursements that we could have been charging clients until too late. Just recapturing these lost revenues has paid for ArchiOffice. After 6 years, the program is so comprehensive, there are modules for everything you need in an architects office. The main points are easy; project lists, contact lists, time records, billings, and a shared calendar. But dig deeper and you get time tracking per job, project phases or tasks; time records, that at entry, keep everyone informed as to project progress; intelligent records, filling in more than you really want to know about project time expenditure; RFI logging, shop drawing logging; billings, showing cash flow and work in progress; phone call records and a shared calendar; not to mention dozens of reports, and more. For example - when a project Architect is out, and an electrical shop drawing comes in, the office manager can look up the engineer in project info/contacts, and forward the submittal on the same day. Then, they can place a task on the architects to-do list, 7 days out, noting that it should be returned; and then also they can set another task for 10 days out, reminding them again that it should have been returned. We use it for document management; scanning and storing the shop drawing when it is returned. Remote access from anywhere with an Internet connection makes it easy to reach information in the field. The superintendant, without his copy of a spec or shop drawing, can remotely access it thru Archioffice. 6 years of use, and we love it. All that glowing review, and yes, it does have a few flaws. The biggest is that Syncing with Outlook is nearly a waste of time. It can be done, but it requires that you run old Java, then run parallel Outlook files. We just don't even bother. When we do have a problem, the tech support is awesome. In 2010, after a major upgrade, I think I wore out tech support for 3 months. But currently, I think I have emailed two questions in the last 3 months. Always fast and complete responses. AO2013 is mature enough of a product that problems are few and far between. I will admit, as Architect/IT guy/Managing Partner, I use every aspect of this program - not just a few areas like most of my employees. I still look at competing programs, and haven't found one that adapts to my ways as well, or is as comprehensive.

ArchiOffice has definitely been useful for our firm

Pros:

ArchiOffice has definitely been useful for our firm over the past six years! We don't use all of the features that are available but the time tracking, budgeting and invoicing have been incredibly helpful for us. I used to spend a lot of time with spreadsheet updating to get accurate information on where we were in each client's budget and with ArchiOffice this is done for me and it is information I use daily. I especially like how we can see the hours to date as they are entered and how many hours we have exceeded our estimate. This information becomes valuable when we create new proposals. We have a much better handle on exactly what it is taking for us to complete each project so we can forecast with more accuracy. Also helpful has been the Performance report which gives us a real look at how each project performs financially. I would not go back to doing this all in spreadsheets! ArchiOffice has made my job much easier over the years. Another thing I appreciate is the project list which saves me from tracking that in another program.

Cons:

The only thing that would help us out would be to run ArchiOffice on a Mac platform.

Comments: We are an environmental consulting firm operating in Canada. We were using Caseware Time before purchasing BillQuick about 3 years ago. Our previous system was inadequate because it didn't have a strong reporting capability. Caseware also did not roll over projects from previous years - a problem for us because we sometimes have long running projects. We are currently using BillQuick 2011, and we automatically receive current updates with our priority support package. The implementation was not a smooth transition to say the least. Caseware and BillQuick were not at all compatible, and we feel we are still trying to rid ourselves of some of the demons. As a result, we are still trying to work out the kinks after all this time. For the most part, we have had very good help from the folks at BillQuick, especially Irfan and Mario. We are still on a learning curve, and hope to have the kinks resolved before the year's end. BillQuick's pros definitely outweigh the cons, and I think that we eventually will have the system running to our satisfaction. We have not yet done a lot of employee/manager training, since we feel we need to get the system running more smoothly before we unleash them on it! For the most part, the ease of invoicing for straightforward invoices is great. We previously compiled and sent out invoices manually. That being said, we do seem to run into most of our problems with BillQuick in the invoicing and reporting area. We do a fair amount of pre-billing in our business, and BillQuick does not really allow us to properly utilize the reporting required for this type of invoicing, in terms of WIP and over/under contract amounts. For example, when we pre-bill, we would like to see a negative amount reflected in the WIP and then, as time is added, have that WIP eventually even out and possibly go into the positive. We have tried in the past to work with negative WIP, and it has not gone well with the reporting functionality, especially in terms of WIP reconciliation. The other issue we seem to have arises when we use the "Mark as Billed" feature. What good is this feature if you cannot associate a bill with an invoice number? As a result of this shortcoming, our "mark as billed" invoices do not get picked up in the reporting process. When we do a manual invoice versus an hourly invoice, does the software track the non-billable time that may be in the project as well as the billable? All in all, we feel BillQuick is a good program and has the potential to be great. We realize that we need more personalized training, and that some of our difficulties are due to our unique business needs. Thanks for all the help and support.

CORE usage = happy owners = happy employees = good business

Comments: It's been a huge change from Deltek, but for the better. It's been fairly easy for two non-super-tech savy guys to run and implement, import 50+ existing projects with partial budgets, and the help line is GREAT!

Pros:

The dashboard integration is great, could use a few tweaks but exactly what we wanted out of this type of software - project based management system.

Cons:

CORE is set up to be based off individual projects which is great for our business, however Vendor Bills don't have an "easy sort" button to be associated with projects, instead it categorizes it by Vendor. When the PROJECT dictates the Vendor and their bill, everything should still be linked back to the project.

Like the flexibility

Comments: I have used BQE product for many years. The product is stable and pretty straight forward to use and today after a long time I needed customer support. The response as always was excellent and the problem I was experiencing was resolved.

Pros:

I like the flexibility and design of the software once I gone through the learning curve. The reports are straight forward and give me all the insightful data without customizing.

Cons:

I find the billing process steps a bit awkward but I am used to them now. It is annoying to have to look for the most recent invoice under Invoice Review once the invoice is processed as final.

It is easy to invoice projects and for time entry

Comments: We no longer have to rely on our IT to maintain the software and our servers or worry about the backups. Love the dashboards and overall beautiful looking interface of Core.

Pros:

We have been with BQE for 17 years and 3 years back we made a decision to switch to all cloud BQE Core and we love it. This was the best decision! All our employees were onboard without any difficulty as it is very easy to navigate in Core and everything is consistent, with the result there is no learning curve between the screens. We are also experiencing that it is easy to do invoicing and track time in Core. We are taking advantage of some of the advanced features of Core like 'Report Scheduler' that has helped us automate the reporting process. Our clients electronically receive statements and accounts receivable reports resulting in less human involvement in maintaining the cash flow.

Cons:

Very early on we were not pleased with updates stepping on our settings but since then it has been rectified.

Slowly getting there

Pros:

What we like the most about Core is the way everything is integrated in one application instead of using standalone apps that do not talk to each other. The ease of pulling up the needed date is definitely helpful. I have liked how some of my suggestions to Core ideas have been implemented. If more of these could be fixed and added to the software, the use of the software would be more efficient and effective.

Cons:

Although, BQE is working on a payroll module and i have to use a a separate payroll software to process payroll. On projects when you assign a group it doesn't let you assign to all phases and this feature addition would be great.

Core has been a gamechanger

Comments: We use the Time, Billing and Project Management modules; with this, I've been able to reduce time spent on billing (and have much better analysis tools) even as our company has grown.

Pros:

Logical organization of procedures, ability to customize reports, outstanding live help service. Having staff manage time entries (rather than having to manually input from timesheets) has been a gamechanger. The reports are also hugely useful and help project managers keep track of budgets in real time. We're still learning and finding new ones that are useful to us.

Cons:

Sometimes loading of project lists is a little slow/temperamental, but nothing major.

Switching to Core has been a big improvement

Comments: The overall experience has been good for the management and our staff. Tech support people are very knowledgeable, professional and patient.

Pros:

In our previous software we were not able to run reports that are helpful to our business. After switching to BQE Core we are now able to run all kinds of reports and it has been a big improvement just in this area. We are utilizing Core for time and expense tracking and billing. All our staff use it and with everything in one place it makes data mining easier.

Cons:

Some bumps in the road in the very beginning but well past that now.

BQE review notes

Comments: Nice

Pros:

User interface is good and it is also good that data is on cloud

Cons:

Slow and always buffering, too much time for processing

BQE Core is a great software to use and the employees are always available and willing to help!

Comments: Awesome!

Pros:

The Billing is super easy to enter payments and reconcile.

Cons:

not being able to make changes to the invoice templates on my own. We have to pay to have the developer make changes to the template and so because we don't want to pay, we have to tweak each invoice ourselves...