BQE CORE Suite Reviews

Pros

The ability to customize many of its features is great. You can setup and keep track of time associated
with various cases, clients, projects. There are so many reports that you can run to keep track of your spending. Able to export invoices to LEDES format. Able to import time from excel spreadsheet.

Cons

It takes some time to learn the software, the tech support team was great in getting me up and running. If you want additional reports they have a custom report group but their cost is a bit high to modify reports. It looks a bit complicated but actually it is easy to use.

Pros

Super easy and very functional to use - we train all of our staff to use it

Cons

Some days it is slower than other programs to use

Pros

CORE is easy to learn and use. It is a great aid in data analysis and provides a live look into the status of projects.

Cons

The application has some bugs which need to be worked out. Filtering needs to be improved for the Resource Allocation and Forecasting tabs. The ability to add or remove fields from reports should be added.

Pros

The user layout is fairly easy to manage and self-explanatory.

Cons

Online credit card payments via Stripe have not worked well since we began using the product in August 2021. The error codes are never consistent and customer service never seems to be able to provide an explanation for the issues (even after ruling out user error). We also tried to set up ACH payments via Plaid and were never able to successfully link the systems. Many clients have had to call our office or mail a check to provide payment on their Core invoices which should have been online-pay capable.

Pros

I was began my position in mid-January. During this time, our company was making the transitions from BQE desktop to BQE Core. Since I was new our team was new to core, I embraced the fact that we were able to contact support and have them help us work through the transition. They are all wonderful to work with.

Cons

The only issues we periodically have is the online method could be slow and time out.

Pros

I really appreciate the ability to track time and expenses in real-time, generate detailed reports, and the software's integration with popular accounting and CRM tools. Additionally, the availability of mobile apps for both iOS and Android platforms is also a plus for us who need to manage our projects on the go.

Cons

I don't have much bad to say about the application. Sometimes it creates problems during column resizing. Also, online payment integrations are finicky.

Pros

Generally it is very easy to use. Plenty of reports to choose from and the way it is set up there is ease in checking your work. Project Managment really helps with pricing projects.

Cons

Only one complaint is that there seem to be little nuances that are hard to learn on your own. Sometimes I miss clicking a setting; it is hard to know all of them.

Pros

It is very user-friendly and simple to use

Cons

It can on occasion be a little slow but not often.

Pros

BQE Core is an incredibly comprehensive program! It has been incredibly helpful to digest our data on project costs, level of effort, and project forecasting.

Cons

The customization on the user end is minimal. You can't customize how your project and phase names are presented between different windows, you can't format your invoices to have different layouts without contacting the customization team, and the program has been touch-and-go with performance decreasing during busy periods (beginning of the month the program runs incredible slow).

Pros

Fills our invoicing needs. Great support.

Cons

Not user friendly - complicated. Slow.

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.

Alternatives Considered

WorkflowMax

Reasons for Choosing BQE CORE Suite

We were using 4 applications to run our business We are Sharefile, Timefox, Quickbooks and MSExcel to track our projects and handle time/billing/productivity and forecasting. It was getting cumbersome

Switched From

ShareFile

Reasons for Switching to BQE CORE Suite

For its simple to use interface and definitely Mobil apps are far superior

Pros

I like having so much data at my fingertips to get a sense of finances for the company, tracking accounting (invoices, vendor bills, etc.). Customer service is AMAZING, you can call right from the app on your computer and they are available pretty much anytime, even when I'm working late. The workflow to be able to send things internally. The dashboard view is really helpful to see what's important to you. If you are already set up as a company, onboarding can be really quick as they have a team that can enter your data.

Cons

Data entries are sluggish, you have to wait for the line to be created before you can add information to additional cells. Invoices are not as tidy as I would like (activity & description, really duplicate the information). Individual training needs improvement, the consequences of choosing option A or B to enter information has consequences down the line that were not clearly explained and only discovered after months of entering in a way that was not what we really needed.

Pros

CORE has by far proven to be the most suitable fit for small architecture practices and firms as compared to many others out there cost hundreds of dollars more for each seat. The application serves our daily needs to keep our projects and staff on account, efficient and profitable.

Cons

Sometimes there's too much of a good thing, being that there's more than 1 way to get what you need and therefore it can get a bit complicated and confusing to navigate.

Alternatives Considered

Monograph

Reasons for Switching to BQE CORE Suite

We came over from ArchiOffice and CORE offers flexible pricing tiers and discounts for long term subscription, as well as a full compliment of modules included.

Pros

Honestly, the support from the support team if there is a problem, has been key to rating the software.

Cons

Sometimes the software is a bit tricky to maneuver, but as mentioned the support team is great.

Alternatives Considered

Quickbooks Online

Reasons for Switching to BQE CORE Suite

I didn't choose it, but everyone seemed to think this was best for the architects and accounting.

Pros

SIMPLICITY – it is an easy transition from paper time sheets in a format that employees can easily understand. Employee time entries can add memos that are invaluable to explain charges to clients or counsel employees on their activities.
FLEXIBILITY – Some projects require slightly different reporting/invoicing formats to fit the client’s needs. BQE support assists with accomplishing just that at a reasonable cost.
SUPPORT – Over these years, issues in understanding inputs or reporting have been addressed in real-time, on-line, to help maintain operation schedules for billing and reporting.
REPORTS – Both summary and detailed reports are available that can include memos to help clarify time and expenses. One can look at a project from different facets based on a manager’s needs.

Cons

Some of the labor reporting modules need to be reviewed that use an integer formatted numbers that round off and be updated to use an accounting formatted number with 2 decimal places. My accounting department uses two report for payroll that use incorrect time (rounding up) instead of an exact job time/cost figure. I have to review and have them update to the corrected time values each time.

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!

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.

Pros

The product is great for the management of a project from time and expense reports to document management. It also manages the office contacts and calendar of events for all the employees. It will give you in real time if you are making or losing money on a project. It tracks and creates invoicing for all project clients. If you use QuickBooks, it is integrated directly with that software for complete accounting management. It is a great tool for Architects in that it is formatted for what we do (tasks and phasing of projects). If you have internet connection, you can get access to this program while on the road,

Cons

When opening up project file, it takes 2 or 3 clicks to open up a file, such as Word, PDF and AutoCAD. Very, Very frustrating. Many of my employees do not use is function and simply use Window file manager to open and move files. We should not have to do this. It uses Java in the background for some of its operations, and I am not a fan of Java... it is always updating. Updating of the software is somewhat difficult for the person not a computer nerd.

Pros

We transferred 12 years of ‘Project History’ to bqe – CORE effective January 1, 2019. I am the Business Manager and I report directly to the owner of the Company. I keep current the clients we work with…..and all project-phase information for the company , billing – invoicing, using the CORE operating system. As a former Marine Corps officer…. then commercial banker (15 years) I believe that ‘People make the difference’….. not machines. The people at bqe – CORE, particularly the HELP DESK, are all professionals – they know what they are talking about and they care. I highly recommend bqe – CORE!

Cons

I wish there were more built-in invoice/report customization options

Pros

I can have access through any computer. This the only good thing

Cons

You can count on Mondays of the software not working due to updates that they did, the registries do not add things correctly - ex. The ledger balance is $15,000 and you have an expense of $300 and your new balance is $1000; and the beginning balance of the account is now showing -$33,000 when it was actually 0. We have to keep a separate excel spreadsheet so we know how much money is in our account because random amounts will just pop up in the ledger. When you reconcile you can only see the unreconciled items through a backwards way instead of them appearing on the monthly reconciliation report. Once a contract limit is met, all time goes to non-billable and is never calculated in the total cost of the project. The only way to have all costs allocated to a project is for them to be billed or marked as billed. We are currently looking to switch as soon as possible.

Pros

Time and expenses recording. Invoice creation. Financial planning and reporting.

Cons

The ability to customise reports is an additional costed service. It is really set up for USA and I had some tricky times making sure I reset up the currency. Also, you need to use 'Purchase Tax' for 'VAT' to make things work as you would expect.

Alternatives Considered

Quickbooks Online

Reasons for Switching to BQE CORE Suite

ONline tutorials and reviews.

Pros

Core has been a huge time savings for us. The ease of creating invoices, making and customizing reports, and entering time has improved our ability to get more done overall. We have been very pleased with all aspects of customer service, the integration team, custom reports team, trainers, and call center for the one off type questions and issues. We would recommend Core to anyone on the fence about the service. It is such a user-friendly software program

Cons

There was a bit of a learning curve in the beginning and training coordination was somewhat challenging but nothing extraordinary.

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.

Pros

Core has a easy and intuitive user interface which makes our day to day processes easier. With Core being a cloud software close to 200 employees are using it on a daily basis for time and expense tracking, billing and engagement management. Our business is not a typical accounting firm with 1 or 2 billing person, we have 75 people in our billing department that do invoice simultaneously out of Core. Prior to switching to Core it was a daunting task. All the processes are faster and better with Core. It is is our main business management software and we before it we had a local system installed on our servers.

Cons

More tools for creating reports according to our needs and more options for administrators