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About BQE CORE Suite

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Pros:

Overall the experience is good, however the accounting module should be improved in order to be more user friendly.

Cons:

Early on we had a difficult time understanding the vendor bill workflow.

BQE CORE Suite ratings

Average score

Ease of Use
4.4
Customer Service Software
4.6
Features
4.4
Value for Money
4.5

Likelihood to recommend

8.7/10

BQE CORE Suite has an overall rating of 4.5 out 5 stars based on 772 user reviews on Capterra.

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Steven
Steven
Accounting Assistant in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Insurance Software, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

CORE is a real time saver !

5.0 2 years ago

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!

Deborah
Human Resources Administrator in Canada
Maritime, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

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

4.0 last year

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

Stacy
US
Construction software
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

BillQuick - A look at one year post conversion

3.5 9 years ago

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.

Joanthan
Off ce admin in US
Construction software, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Great software

5.0 3 months ago

Pros:

time tracking is super helpful for everyone

Cons:

initial setup is a heavy lift if you're the only one doing it

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Utilities, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

BQE Core key to Business Operations

4.0 2 years ago

Comments: 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.

Melidee
Accounting Manager in US
Civil Engineering, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Great invoicing platform for Time Based Civil Engineering

3.0 9 months ago

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.

Melissa
Melissa
Manager in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Architecture & Planning, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Great software for a small firm

5.0 2 years ago

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.

kevin
Field Inspector in US
Construction software, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

BQE Core Review

5.0 6 months ago

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.

Eric
Tech in US
Architecture & Planning, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

6 months using BQE Core Suite

5.0 3 months ago

Comments: 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,

Angelo
Sr. Construction Administrator in US
Architecture & Planning, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

BQE Core Ease

5.0 3 months ago

Comments: 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

Cathy
CFO in US
Architecture & Planning, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

CORE has given our principals and project managers more access to real time data

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: As we continue to get more proficient navigating CORE, it has given our principals and project managers more access to real time data reducing the potential for errors in reporting and data transfer in multiple areas to better service our valued clients.

Pros:

Project management and accounting real time data metrics anytime and almost anywhere through cloud based hosted subscriptions allowing quick response time to our valued clients. CORE has eliminated need for complicated spreadsheets and various other methods of housing project data. Coming from QuickBooks desktop accounting which we have used for almost 19 years, CORE accounting subscription has given us access to company financial data anywhere. We are utilizing Core for time tracking, expense reports, billing, project management and accounting.

Cons:

The display as feature needs to be expanded and made specific to invoices and time cards. Core has ePayments for credit card and we are waiting for ACH feature which is going to be there somewhere in August.

Jill
Business Admin in US
Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Robust Software Program

4.0 5 years ago

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.

Paul
Vision + Design Director in US
Architecture & Planning, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

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

5.0 2 years ago

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.

Laura
Office Manager in US
Civil Engineering, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

it’s truly changed how we operate as a business

5.0 4 years ago

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.

Ken
President in France
Architecture & Planning, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

The Value of Core

5.0 2 years ago

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!

Lisa
Accountant in US
Civil Engineering, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

BQE CORE Suite

4.0 2 years ago

Comments: The biggest benefit is not having to constantly perform backups and worry about losing our data because my computer crashes. Since we utilize several of the options we had before in BillQuick, we haven't made too many changes.

Pros:

We upgraded from BillQuick to CORE earlier this year. The ability to access whatever I need online makes it so much easier if I need to work from a location outside of the office. Integration was effortless and the help videos are easy to understand and implement. I needed very little training as it was very similar to BillQuick and feel anyone who has used any type of accounting software should be able to use without a great deal of effort. There are several training sessions available to new users on a weekly basis that made it easier for me to schedule. The ability to get immediate customer support is a definite plus.

Cons:

Sometimes I've had issues where it takes awhile to save time card entries but this may be an issue with our internet and not the software. There have been a few quirks where completed jobs suddenly become active; the interest in the bank reconciliation doesn't carry over to the general ledger. There were also several report default templates that were available in BillQuick that are not available in CORE. You may need to pay for a customized report that used to be free.

David
Business Manager in US
Architecture & Planning, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

I highly recommend bqe - Core!

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: I value honesty, and I value those that take ownership. I recommend bqe-CORE. I just designed a ‘custom report’ for our company utilizing the CORE ‘Custom Report’ section. They were great to work with. We are now using ‘my’ Company report starting January 2020. This ‘custom report’ pulls in all our client ‘project data’ real time. It shows what’s important to us…. our project team. We have many concurrent project-phases (hourly or not to exceed contract phases) under the parent project, that start one year and end the next. This custom report is a great tool for us… color coded – RED, showing when over budget (time or ‘not to exceed’ contract fee).

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

Barbara
Principal
Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

We Are All Surprised I Am Writing This Review!

5.0 8 years ago

Comments: I purchased my first licenses of Billquick reluctantly, as an overpriced timesheet management system for my very small business and quickly began fighting to make it meet my partners needs for invoicing our clients. It was not pretty and there were times when we had serious discussions about whether this was the right fit for me. but the BQ team didn't give up and I am glad I did not. One advantage of a rough start was the opportunity to get to know and really appreciate the exceptional quality, skill, and patience of the support team assembled for BQ clients. Over the years, we have struggled and grown and improved our skills and processes together, and that is one of the exceptional things about this software and this company. They really do listen to their users and try to incorporate our priorities and needs into the upgrade process. The program is feature rich, and most companies won't need to use every feature that is available, but there are convenient and graceful ways to make each person's interface efficient, streamlined and comfortable. When the same program is usable for an intern on his first day and our power user when she is invoicing you know it is easy to use. I used to wish Quickbooks would get a better time management and invoicing capability so I could stop buying Billquick, but now I am trying to get rid of Quickbooks! The network versions work well, I can access the program over a VPN, and I have gone months without calls to the Support Team lately. Having grown from 5 to 30 employees since becoming a customer, I have to say, Billquick has been part of our path to success.

Pros:

Great ability to customize individual user views, strong client and project tracking functions. Efficient invoicing capabilities with interface with Quickbooks. Consistent updates and improvements to the program. Very strong customer support and help desk.

Cons:

I do wish there was a different pricing model that allowed different segmentation of the features, I would like to see stronger payroll/benefits/hr functionality and accounting completed so we can ditch Quickbooks, and my project managers would like additional flexibility in building gantt charts.

Andrew
Principal/Senior Scientist in US
Environmental Services, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

CORE usage = happy owners = happy employees = good business

5.0 last year

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.

Stan
Principal in Norway
Accounting Software, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Like the flexibility

5.0 5 years ago

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.

Sanda
Partner in US
Civil Engineering, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

It is easy to invoice projects and for time entry

5.0 4 years ago

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.

Lori
Director of Finances & Administration in US
Civil Engineering, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Slowly getting there

5.0 5 years ago

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.

Vickie
Office Administrator in US
Environmental Services, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Core has been a gamechanger

5.0 3 years ago

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.

Faith
Office manager in US
Legal Services, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Switching to Core has been a big improvement

5.0 4 years ago

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.

Bhikhu
Accounting Manager in Canada
Health, Wellness & Fitness, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

BQE review notes

5.0 2 years ago

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