BQE CORE Reviews

Miguel R.Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)

4.0

What I like the best is that it is easy to navigate and while have a frequent use I am able to integrate this into my daily schdule. With just opening the website and clicking a few buttons, the ease of implementing this with checking my emails increases greatly. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Victor M.Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)

4.0

I like that it offers a lot of tools that can help with organizing your project time log and budgets. Although it did take a while to get used to, in the end, it has been very beneficial. That and their support team are fantastic, they are readily available, and I have always had my problems resolved after speaking to them. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

maegan b.Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)

4.0

The most helpful aspect of BQE is the add a line feature to the time tracking. You can easily add a line to a project when entering your time without having to re-enter all of the project information. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Simon R.Strategy Director

0.0

We have not long implemented BQE Core for time recording and billing in an establish service business. The implementation process has been quite bumpy and their responsiveness has been patchy. Worst of all as above they have removed the functionality to record time offline on the mobile app as they have introduced a bug into the live environment. This functionality is one of our primary requirements as our workforce is mobile. Their handling of this issue has been genuinely appalling and has exposed how poor their governance structures are. They are far more focused on adding new functionality rather than offering a stable functional platform. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Architecture & PlanningSmall-Business(50 or fewer emp.)

0.0

This software and the customer service are absolutely horrible. Problem after problem they had no fix for. Just excuses or we will get back to you. It got to the point that our managing partner did not trust any of the numbers the program generated. No two reports seemed to say the same thing. Even canceling our subscription was difficult. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

James P.Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)

0.0

There is an inconsistency in the behavior of the software that makes it less intuitive than it could be (imagine if Windows had five ways to close a window rather than always being an X in the upper right corner). Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Brianna T.Architecture & Planning

5.0

It's a beneficial tool - it helps with communication and projecet management on the employee end and it helps with capacity tracking and resource needs on the leadership end. I think our company won't fully realize the benefits for another year, when all of our data is inputted accurately and the team feels comfortable with all the features, but we're excited to get there.

Deborah V.Maritime

5.0

The entire team is more accountable for a wider list of aspects of the job. Time, expense are now relatable to the team, not just to management due to the analytics being on everybody's screens, not just management. Awareness is the first step toward making the effort to make changes.

Paul D.Architecture & Planning

5.0

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

Anonymous ReviewerArts and Crafts

1.0

It was the most expensive waste of time I've experienced in a long while. It's right up there with Yelp advertising. Once you get pay it's over. I determined that this didn't work for me at a bout 2 weeks in. But, I was patient and tried to work through it with them. Roughly a month later, we came to the understanding that it doesn't do what I need, and they can't make it do what I need. (Quickbooks and Method Crm was doing this stuff before) I asked for a refund or even for the remainder of the year I paid for. I was told they "Don't Do Refunds" So, They're cool with over-promising, Taking $650, understanding that you're not using the program any longer, and are dissatisfied. Pretty Lame If You Ask Me

Shannon G.Mechanical or Industrial Engineering

1.0

I have never in 25 years worked with a more frustrating software and unreliable software

Sherif A.Design

1.0

HORRIBLE

Alex PhillipsCivil Engineer

10.0

I use BQE Core to fill out my timesheets and I love the user interface. This is very easy to use, all of my vacation time is shown and as a user, I am very happy with it. The display shows my PTO hours remaining as well as saves the jobs from the previous week to avoid having to re-enter them all.
Display Accessibility Organization Ease

Verified UserEngineer

10.0

BQE Core is an amazing software that allows for greater insight into accounting and invoicing management. Additionally, our organization utilizes BQE Core for time entry and project invoicing allowing effective allocation of resources where they are most needed. BQE Core's intuitive interface collects all this information and presents the data in easy-to-process formats, enabling greater insight into operations, both on a day-to-day and long-term basis.
Accounting. Invoice Management. Time Tracking.

Stephen QuinnPassive House Certifier

10.0

We are using this software within our company on a daily basis to track time, budget, and numerous other metrics. The reporting feature has proven to be a very valuable tool in keeping track of project budgets on an ongoing [basis]. Using the same software for time tracking and billing has proven to be very efficient.

Leslie UnderwoodOffice Manager

2.0

We use it daily, mainly for time tracking. It works very well for tracking time, allowing us to apply it to certain phases of projects. I am enjoying learning all that Core can offer. I do wish it wasn't so complex, it is very detailed, which is good, but making it more user friendly would be nice.
Using the back button, takes you all the way back instead of just one step back. More user friendly like Quickbooks Adding the payroll feature without having to pay extra

Verified UserManager

3.0

Archioffice was used across the whole organization as both a time keeping tool, billing tool, and project management tool. It handled the problem of time tracking and budgeting of hours and fees.
The overall layout and physical design of the portals could be simplified greatly. The program is anything but intuitive to use. I found myself clicking what felt like a 1,000 times just to complete one small task. Billing was very cumbersome and the program did not integrate smoothly with Quickbooks as was previously promised. Saving and making templates for billing etc. was a tedious process that also cost extra! The program is as good as what you put into it, but they designed the software for a more particular one-sided way to work and manage, so it made customizing a project to your companies methods tricky. Overall a very cumbersome program that looks as if it was designed at the start of the millennium and note 16 years into it.

Verified UserEngineer

6.0

I use this product for time tracking. It makes accurate time tracking easy across multiple projects in the same week or even day. It also easily tracks your vacation and holiday balances. The dashboard is customizable and gives a nice summary of how you are spending your time from week to week.
Sometimes the autosave doesn't trigger properly It can be difficult to use on small screens

Christine S.Finance Manager

5.0

We've had our ups and downs. After a couple of days on the phone with customer support, things have been clarified and settled. I understand some of my problems now and how to fix them. It is really the first time I have felt comfortable with my choice in software. As I learn new things, play with it more and talk with customer support things that I thought might be deal burners, are really not. We all need to accept change, and for me as a former development programmer, I am used to it. I was not that into our existing software that we are replacing as I only had to deal with it for a year as I am kind of the new employee. Yes, I looked at several different software options. Yes, some had more features than others, some less. It is going to be pretty difficult to find a replacement software that is exactly like the one you are replacing. My original review stated there were a lot of bugs. I'm not so sure about that statement any longer. For me, it works better through Crome than Edge. I did have quite a few issues when running in Edge. This may be a problem that has since been fixed, but I'm okay in chrome.
I have had more time with the software since my last review. As I slowly convert the firms old data to this new software, things are falling into place quickly. I'm becoming attuned to the software. Learning little things I didn't know where there, both by playing around and talking with customer support. This software is easy to learn. Not a real big learning curve, assuming you are familiar with project management, accounting, project setup or you have people familiar with those areas. I do it all, and basically maintain everything for everyone else.
I don't have many, but if I had to pick... they are not really cons, as I hope they will expand to these later on. API with Office 365/Outlook would be a nice added bonus. For me, especially Outlook. Also API with Quickbooks desktop version. This isn't a big issue, as I hope to also phase out QB and only use that software for payroll. Which I will then have an API if I go with QB Online/payroll. I will always use QB for payroll, so I am use to doing journal entries into systems to reflect the payroll numbers. This is not a hardship for me.

Laura C.Office Manager

5.0

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.
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.).
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.

Jaydra P.President, Investigator

5.0

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.
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.
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.

Kimberly P.Business Manager

5.0

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.
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
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."
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.

Scott K.CEO

5.0

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.
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
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!

Deborah V.HR Administrator

5.0

The entire team is more accountable for a wider list of aspects of the job. Time, expense are now relatable to the team, not just to management due to the analytics being on everybody's screens, not just management. Awareness is the first step toward making the effort to make changes.
It-Vericlock- did not have the features that we were looking for...BQE is useful in all aspects of the business. Much more comprehensive product. VC was also immovable...it did one thing one way. BQE can be easily changed up if what it does doesn't live up to standard.,
The time tracking is the first and most impactful of the features. As the team grew more comfortable, they found it easier to get more specific with the breakdown...not being so vague. After six months most of the team seems very comfortable with the use of the product.
I am HR Admin, and we do not yet have the HR module, so it is likely having the smallest affect on me. The time and expense features that I use the most is not always accurate due to some of the automatic features, but we have/had not stipulated our needs. It is customizable to make this work more in our favor, but we had to know of the effects first. I like least that we had to wait and experience the detriments to see what it would do first, so that we could then make those changes