BQE CORE Suite Reviews

Great Product Overall

Comments: It is a great product overall and very satisfying

Pros:

It is a great product that meets my needs perfectly. It is very intuitive and easy to use. Also the seminar staff was very friendly.

Cons:

Searching engine seems a bit laggy and slow.

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

New product for us - Really like it so far

Comments: I would definitely recommend Core to others. You have to learn the product first but once you do, it's very helpful.

Pros:

The reports we are able to run are extremely useful to us. You can see how each project is doing super easily.

Cons:

At first it was a little hard to use but only because we were used to another program. Now that we use it every day, it's become very helpful.

Software has issues, but their customer support is pretty good

Comments: 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.

Review from an intern at Top Site Civil Group

Comments: My experience has been well, except for what I shared in the cons.

Pros:

It is easy to navigate through the program and look for help if needed.

Cons:

One thing that has grabbed my attention is that you are not able to take off hours that you have put down. Instead it is forced to have a minimum of 1 hour. I know I should have not done this, but I logged in a couple of hours before hand and was not able to go into the office that day. So when I tried to take them off it would not work, I instead took off a couple of hours from the days I did work.

BQE CORE - Must have

Pros:

Tracking time & expenses has never been easier. The interface is very easy to use and provides great historical data of your time tracking that differentiates between billable and non billable hours. Having never used the software before, it has been very easy to familiarize myself with it and use on a daily basis.

Cons:

Whenever I go to save a line entry for hours, it defaults as non-billable even if I click the billable box. This causes me to have to click billable after i save each entry.

Helpful software for our small firm!

Pros:

We previously tracked time and expenses manually so upgrading to a software where it's more automated has really proven useful for our company.

Cons:

There is a learning curve to using Core, but with the available training and support from the software we got adjusted really quickly!

BQE Core Suite Review

Pros:

Very easy to enter in my time on a daily basis.

Cons:

Hard to make an edit to my time once I saved it on my timesheet.

Excellent software for Time and Expense

Pros:

The app is a great addition to the web version of the software. You can upload your time and expense with ease.

Cons:

There was a learning curve to integrate the software, but with the help of the support team we were able to overcome the obstacles.

Office Admin

Comments: it's been a short experience, and I am still learning, but overall, everything has been really simple to learn.

Pros:

the Ease to navigate, and simple fixes and easy comparable side by side reports.

Cons:

there isn't anything I really dislike about BQE CORE Suite

Robust Software Program

Comments: Tech support is the best I've ever experienced. Very knowledgeable and helpful. Just wish I didn't have to call them so much.

Pros:

There were a lot of interfaces to this software. It did everything we needed, but not everybody was on board with the difficult of use.

Cons:

It was probably way more than a company of our size needed. We are switching to Squava after just a year and a half. We felt like a beta tester of this software. Our project managers thought it was hard to use, and didn't feel our data was always accurately depicted.

Invoices have been easier to process compared to previous software

Comments: Overall experience is great. As mentioned we experiencing error free time tracking, billing and the presentation of invoices is far better.

Pros:

We use the time, billing and accounting functions frequently and it has made my job a lot easier and smoother compared to tracking down expenses and time for the team members. Processing reports are simple as well. Less error of tracking time/expenses as compared to our previous software. Invoices are more accurate. Invoices look professional and clean.

Cons:

Cannot think of anything at this time. We are really enjoying the software

So far we have had positive experiences in Core

Comments: Core has greatly solved our resource allocation, project management and Time & Expense tracking.

Pros:

We are getting more and more use out of Core. So far we are just diving in, but it has helped our time tracking and expenses and keep our documents in one place. Allocation and forecasting, project management and time and expense setup are all helpful. We are using our custom report for allocations and it is working well for us.

Cons:

Any changes, we pass through ideas and so hopefully they are updated as new features - we would like to know the status of our requests just so we can discuss in our meetings.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Great product! Practical, customizable, and good value for the money.

Comments: 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.

The logic/use process seems to flow very well

Comments: 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!

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.

I feel liberated with Core

Comments: 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.

Using Core has helped us analyze our data better

Pros:

This software has lot of features and the best part is you can pick and choose the features that best fit your business. Although, Core is feature rich it is amazing how intuitive this software is. Support is great but most of the times we are able to figure out or answer our own questions if we get stuck that how simple and user friendly Core is. After switching to Core our management team is able to analyze the real time data to figure out the areas of improvement.

Cons:

No real changes to suggest as of yet. There is already a lot to absorb. Anytime we need help or improvement in the software we send the feedback to BQE

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.

Everything that is charged to a project can be seen in real-time

Comments: We have been using BQE since March 2015. Prior to then, we kept all project information in QuickBooks. The staff were not able to see where they were on projects since they did not have access to QuickBooks. Currently everything that is charged to a project can be seen in real-time.

Pros:

The ability for each employee to input their time/expenses is one of the features that I like the most. I also appreciate that staff members can check time and expenses for their projects to see where they are on projects with a budget. Invoicing is now streamlined because the information for the project manager's review is on one page. Budget information is on the draft invoice which makes it easy to see when a project is over/under budget, and who has coded time to the project.

Cons:

I wish there was a better way of archiving old vendor bills.