User Reviews Overview
About BQE CORE Suite
BQE’s powerful all-in-one platform and expert support give Architecture, Consulting, and Engineering firms the intuitive tools they need to meet the demands of their firm, empower their team, maximize profitability, and deliver...
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- Industry: Architecture & Planning
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Yep, there is a feature for that!
Good. Invoicing and time entry in the program fit our needs. There are always more features that we discover when we need more from CORE.
Pros
The program is cloud based which keeps us current. Most of the time when I have specific report, feature, or activity that I want, I can find what I need quickly. As with many programs, CORE does more than my office utilizes it for. Invoicing and time entry are usually smooth processes.
Cons
We migrated from ArchiOffice and feel that the way contacts are managed in CORE is utterly useless. We've abandoned it in favor of a piecemeal assortment of Office 365 and Mac built-in programs.The structure of projects is also something that can be improved. When a project transforms from hourly to percentage or adds phases, CORE has some flexibility but there are troublesome aspect such as migrating time from a single phase project to ensure it can be captured in invoices.
Alternatives Considered
Deltek VisionReasons for Choosing BQE CORE Suite
Saved money through the al a carte module cost structure compared to previous program.Switched From
ArchiOfficeReasons for Switching to BQE CORE Suite
Easier to migrate our ArchiOffice data into CORE.- Industry: Utilities
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
BQE Core key to Business Operations
CORE allows us to operate efficiently as a business. Overall, the CORE product I would recommend to any business who relies on billable hours as their core business. The ability to invoice directly from the platform and customize project fields are nice features.
Pros
BQE Core is critical to the overall operation of our business. CORE allows us to charge time and expenses to different projects, in which we utilize CORE's invoicing suite to invoice customers in a timely manner. CORE's suite helps us manage cashflow and WIP better than we ever have before.
Cons
CORE has moments where the platform loads very slowly. Invoices can be customized, but that comes at a cost. We would like for CORE to have the ability to allow it's customers to customize their own invoice templates. When a project has many phases, invoicing by master project is not possible.
Reasons for Switching to BQE CORE Suite
BQE Core met our business needs better. The ability to customize project fields, bill multiple classifications for one individual on the same project, and the ability to invoice directly from the project time and expenses were the main factors in our decision.- Industry: Environmental Services
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Excellent Software
Excellent - their people know the product, when you call with an issue you SPEAK to someone who is knowledgeable. They answer the phone which is such a great thing
Pros
The ability to speak to someone who knows the software when an issue arises.
Cons
Honestly I don't have an issue with it at all. We got the product BillQuick first and then went online to Core, which was a blessing because a couple of months later the pandemic hit and we were all homebound.
Top BQE CORE Suite Alternatives
- Industry: Architecture & Planning
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Software has issues, but their customer support is pretty good
In theory, I like all of the features that core has to offer, however, when the features don't work the way they're supposed to it becomes a bit of a nightmare to use. It has a lot of bugs, crashes often and in general is just not very user friendly.
Pros
I like the expense management feature for employee reimbursement and client billing purposes. I also liked the accounting feature that allows you to bill expenses straight from the Cloudfeeds. I also really liked their customer support. They have a solid team on standby for customer support. I would often get the same person when I called. They are super friendly and know how to navigate the software.
Cons
It's time consuming to use - it's so slow and there are a lot of features that bug out and simply don't work the way they're supposed to, so I spend a lot of time navigating all of that, which is a bummer.
Alternatives Considered
Deltek Costpoint, Deltek Acumen, Deltek PPM, QuickBooks Online, Deltek Vision and Deltek PaymentsReasons for Choosing BQE CORE Suite
The owner of the firm worked with the BQE team when they first started building the software, he was informing them of features that would be useful for the architecture firm, so he set the company up with BQE to support their mission.Reasons for Switching to BQE CORE Suite
The owner of the firm worked with the BQE team when they first started building the software, he was informing them of features that would be useful for the architecture firm, so he set the company up with BQE to support their mission.- Industry: Civil Engineering
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
BQE Review
I switched to this system after using another finance system for 18 years and it was an easy interface and allowed for minimal training so even our entry level staff picked it up quickly.
Pros
The ability to run multiple reports and drop them into excel.
Cons
I wish we could save multiple filters for the T&E reviewer since I use that the majority of the time.
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Great software
Pros
time tracking is super helpful for everyone
Cons
initial setup is a heavy lift if you're the only one doing it
Alternatives Considered
NetSuiteReasons for Choosing BQE CORE Suite
Quickbooks Online was a massive downgrade from their desktop programSwitched From
QuickBooks OnlineReasons for Switching to BQE CORE Suite
price- Industry: Architecture & Planning
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
6 months using BQE Core Suite
its been very positive, lots of options and it tracks everything and helps us create documents for all aspects of our operation
Pros
The options and amount of things that the program can do.
Cons
i wish it was a little more intuitive, once you learn it then its not a real issue,
- Industry: Architecture & Planning
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 1-5 months
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Review Source
BQE Core Ease
Overall, BQE Core has greatly enhanced our operational efficiency, and we highly recommend it to other firms looking for a comprehensive project management and accounting solution.
Pros
BQE Core is miles ahead in terms of user-friendliness, intuition, and customization capabilities. The platform is intuitive and user-friendly, making it easy for our team to adapt quickly.
Cons
I would have liked to see a bit more integration with MS365
- Industry: Civil Engineering
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Weekly for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Simple, easy and quick
Pros
All Entries are easy to maintain and quick.
Cons
It is very easy to categorised all the expenses
- Industry: Legal Services
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Monthly for 1-5 months
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Review Source
BQE Review
I had an overall really positive and pleasant experience with BQE
Pros
I like how swift and easy it is to use the BQE software!
Cons
I don’t have any dislikes that come to mind! Very pleased with the use of this software
- Industry: Architecture & Planning
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
BQE Core Review Dec 2022
This software does take some time and effort to learn, but as with everything you get out of it what you put into it. You need to take the time to both learn and enter data so that you get accurate results.
Pros
The customer service is outstanding and available 24-7. The software itself is easy to use as long as you put the time in to learn what it can do. Reports are great and very customizable and if you cannot find what you need there is an option to reach out for a custom report for a fee. Time entry is extremely easy to do whether you are in the office or on the go.
Cons
Invoices when in draft mode cannot only have some changes made to them, whereas other PM software I have used lets you update more whilst in this mode. Also we started using the accounting feature and the bank feed updates are still not working
Alternatives Considered
Deltek AjeraReasons for Choosing BQE CORE Suite
We made the switch so that we have more insight into our projects.Reasons for Switching to BQE CORE Suite
We were already using ArchiOffice and where happy with this project, so we decided to stay with BQE.- Industry: Architecture & Planning
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
BQE - We rely it!
No issues to write about, just as mentioned it is a bit to maneuver, but overall experience is positive.
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 OnlineReasons for Switching to BQE CORE Suite
I didn't choose it, but everyone seemed to think this was best for the architects and accounting.- Industry: Law Practice
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Entering time is now much easier
Pros
Moving to Core has definitely helped us eliminate the manual data entry process. Prior to using Core the time entry process was not that easy and we had to enter time manually for all the employees in our old software. Another area that so far, we like in Core is the powerful invoicing. Easy time entry and invoicing feature are the best so far that we enjoy in Core. We also appreciate the excellent customer service support team. They always go above and beyond to help out.
Cons
Needs to be more user friendly. At time we did experience glitches which were rectified in a timely manner.
- Industry: Civil Engineering
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
I am happy to say that I took a leap of faith in upgrading my office to BQE
Prior to using BQE software I used Wind-2 and SEMA4 which are costly programs. I was not a newbie to using project management software when implementing BQE. My greatest frustration in using those legacy programs was that they did not have any flexibility in them that allowed me to update or “correct” erroneous entries into the system database without having the data reprogrammed in some way by the vendor. Support for BQE can assist making changes on the fly if need be and hopefully will continue to support the services industry in the future. I have witnessed the mission of BQE to continue to improve the software and support for its users. I am happy to say that I took a leap of faith in upgrading my office to BQE and have not been disappointed.
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.
- Industry: Management Consulting
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Review Source
My BQE Experience
Pros
I like that BQE is user friendly and makes it possible for the entire company to enter their own time and expenses anywhere, anytime.
I like that when there are updates to the system, users are informed.
I really like that everything entered through the mobile app sinks right away into BQE.
The technical support customer services is great. Even when someone is not sure of the answer, they research and get back to you. The support group is dedicated, knowledgeable and professional. Lenny is the best.
Cons
I do not like that all reports are Word documents. With data, it is impossible to sort and filter when looking for information.
It would also be easy if questions/answers could be given directly in BQE prior to invoicing instead of having to print each pre-bill and send to managers for approval and then enter their answer back in BQE.
The system allows write up/down of billable hours but you cannot run an accurate report of the amounts that were written up/down (I think in BQE it includes non billable hours). I keep track of mine on an Excel spreadsheet and it would be nice if I did not need to have an additional spreadsheet.
It would make more sense if each field that is populated in all categories could be use for reporting purposes. For example, if running a list of client, it would be good if we could choose what fields we want to see on the report for each client (like contact person, email address, industry...). Sometimes, I have to run three reports to get the information that I compile in one Excel spreadsheet.
Maybe I do not have this information, but the only way to access report customization is via email. It would be nice to have a support line for easy questions regarding a new report.
- Industry: Architecture & Planning
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Great tool for the Architect's office
Overall, this is a good office management tool for the architect. We have used it for the past 10 years and find it invaluable in all we do in managing projects and running the business.
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.
- Industry: Accounting
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Great product! Practical, customizable, and good value for the money.
This product saves me time and keeps all my cases organized so I never miss important deadlines or follow-up tasks. Well worth the money.
Pros
1) It has a nice look and it's easy to use because it is organized in an intuitive manner.
2) It is also incredibly customizable. There are so many ways to filter reports and adjust who sees which reports and when, it kind of blows my mind. I have done so many things to customize this software to my firm's needs and I still feel like I've just scratched the surface. This also means it will continue to be useful as my firm grows, which is incredibly valuable.
3) It's a cloud-based software, which means I never have to worry about installing the latest updates. It's also an extra bonus layer of data security because the data is not housed on my local in-office server.
4) Tracking time is easy, and once hours have been billed to the client they are marked in the system (this may seem like a pretty basic feature, but it was surprisingly difficult to find in a case management software).
5) It talks to QuickBooks online, and it's easy to transfer data. It saves a lot of time to transfer invoice and other data from the project management software directly into my accounting system.
6) The customer service and follow-up support is great. I was walked through the initial implementation, which got me up and running almost immediately - very little work time invested in the implementation. After using the software for a few weeks, I scheduled a one-on-one training session with a BQE trainer to get all my firm-specific questions answered which was great.
Cons
My only (minor) complaint is that it does not yet also function as a CRM. I hope they add this feature because I'm looking forward to incorporating that data and function into the same system as my case management.
- Industry: Computer Software
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
The logic/use process seems to flow very well
The logic/use process seems to flow very well. The QuickBooks integration is very stable and makes sense once you understand it. The user interface looks nice, is operationally smooth and is very responsive both in design and speed.
Pros
Overall, very good. There was a learning curve, as with all software, but it makes sense once you figure it out. There are lots of connectors/features so knowing what you need is a big part of this. Support has been very good. They methodically think through processes and help with issues, configuration settings, or bugs (which I recently filed and it will already be fixed by the weekend). The software appears to do what I need it do (Project/Time/Expense Management) and may also be our replacement for QuickBooks once we get the processes figured out. The cost seems to be fair and it’s Tiered Usage based on user needs was great and something competitors didn’t offer very well. We look forward to continue to use the product
Cons
Its big and complicated. I would spend time investing in documentation on what things really do for the back-end. For example: The QuickBooks integration is great, but finding out what actually happens is confusing. I had to set up small tests to figure out that “activities” really mean “services” in QuickBooks and you can have select what records have to sync… documentation (very technical) is very good for people like me!
Response from BQE Software
Hi Scott thank you so much for your review of Core, we strive to be cost-effective and provide a sleek user experience.
- Industry: Mechanical or Industrial Engineering
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Do not get this software
I have never in 25 years worked with a more frustrating software and unreliable software
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.
- Industry: Civil Engineering
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
I feel liberated with Core
As alluded earlier my experience with Core exceeds expectation. Most hiccups are sorted instantly with the knowledgeable support team. And with constant feedback, customization and updates, Core has met our firms needs and has delivered on every aspect of CRM and Project Management.
Pros
In my capacity as an Accounts Manager, I feel liberated to access critical client data in real time. Ability to update the Core database remotely from multiple devices has increased efficiency and productivity for the Finance & Accounting Dept.
Seamless integration across one interface has been a game changer for project management. Collaboration, time and expense entries and accessing overall health of projects is readily available. Key performance indicators and customizable dashboards offers the foodies who eat with their eyes an appetizing experience using Core.
Cons
Change is the only constant. Offering end user of Core inclusivity and engaging in product improvement will enhance significant updates. Select a Core group of users, incentivize and march to the finish line fielding their hands on user experience , constraints and limitations. Polishing and adding new features are the key to user satisfaction.
- Industry: Research
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
BQE CORE for small businesses
The technical team are superb and the (paid for) training essential to get you up to speed fast. The integration of time/expenses, project setup and control, invoicing and bill payments really good.
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 OnlineReasons for Switching to BQE CORE Suite
ONline tutorials and reviews.- Industry: Accounting
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Core has been a huge time saving for us..
It is such a user-friendly software program and the customer service is definitely great.
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.
- Industry: Civil Engineering
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Easy to use interface, with some room for improvement.
We've had our hiccups from the start when we decided to migrate from Billquick. The communication has been severely lacking from the start. Several data issues which have still be unresolved, and functionality that varied from BillQuick that we've had to adapt to, even though we were assured that everything that was in BillQuick would be part of CORE. The most significant issue we have though is response time and communication when there is a reported issue or problem. Customer service is readily available to address a new issue, but the resolution is poor.
Pros
Cloud-based, project performance data, reporting options.
Cons
We migrated from BQE's Billquick software. There were elements of the migration that went well, and some that did not. It's been over 6 months since migration and I'm still waiting on data issues to be repaired and issues to be resolved.
- Industry: Legal Services
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Tax & Legal Service Invoicing
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.
- Industry: Architecture & Planning
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
The automation with the cloud feed is great for accounting
I just love it. Your support, training, sales people are all really helpful.
Pros
All of it - we came from a paper, Excel, Filemaker Pro, Timeslips, Quickbooks mess. The automation with the cloud feed is great for accounting. The ePayment option is something I just set up for our company and am looking forward to having clients take advantage of, the project management module helps us track our time and expenses in the project in ways that we could not before. For the first time in our 45 year company history we have a company budget for this year. While I am still learning and looking at how our company can best utilize CORE in all areas, we are definitely benefitting from using it. It has made tracking unpaid invoices much easier, thus making it easier to follow up with clients who we need to receive payment from. We now have a payables system to use, instead of a paper file. I could go on..
Cons
For a small business, where many approval steps aren't really as necessary, some of these steps become a bit cumbersome. That being said, it does force me to look at the data people are entering and perhaps correct it before things get out of hand too far down the line.