--- title: "BQE CORE Suite Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is BQE CORE Suite the right Trust Accounting solution for you? Explore 789 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/141096/BQE-Software/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" --- BQE CORE Suite 4.5 (789) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/141096/BQE-Software/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated August 4th, 2026 # Reviews of BQE CORE Suite Ease of use 4.4 Customer Service 4.6 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews Jessica S AdminAccounting, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “It’s a powerful, all-in-one solution that helps streamline project management, time tracking, and accounting in a single platform. While there is a bit of a learning curve at the beginning, the efficiency and visibility it provides into projects and finances make it well worth it.“ May 6, 2026 CF Colby F Architectural TechnologistArchitecture & Planning, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “Not being able to read longer titles on projects.“ April 18, 2026 Janapher S Operations SpecialistProfessional Training & Coaching, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “The ability to manage projects, track time, monitor expenses, and handle invoicing in a centralized system improves organization and efficiency.“ July 20, 2026 Bryon Y PrincipalArchitecture & Planning, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Very slow, cumbersome at times to run reports and navigate. “ March 18, 2026 Janapher S Operations SpecialistProfessional Training & Coaching, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “It is a comprehensive platform that helps streamline project management, time tracking, billing, and financial operations.“ July 20, 2026 Bryon Y PrincipalArchitecture & Planning, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Not really geared for project/task management. “ March 18, 2026 Montasir M Civil EngineerCivil Engineering, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “It is an intuitive and powerful tool that simplifies project management, time tracking, and expense management for small to midsize businesses.“ January 13, 2025 TM Tim M Senior Engineer IConstruction, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “One minor complaint is that sometimes my time entries double up for no reason. “ November 21, 2024 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 789 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Montasir M. Civil Engineer Civil Engineering Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Boosting Productivity with Intuitive Project Management Solutions" January 13, 2025 5.0 CORE’s ability to handle project budgets and automate tasks makes it a valuable asset for improving productivity and organization. Pros It is an intuitive and powerful tool that simplifies project management, time tracking, and expense management for small to midsize businesses. Its user-friendly interface, customizable dashboards, and real-time insights boost efficiency and streamline operations. Cons Nothing came to my mind at this moment. It is very user friendly Review Source SH Sydney H. Office Manager Design Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Speed up time and expense tracking, easy all-in-one system!" June 9, 2025 5.0 Overall our company is very satisfied with the use of CORE. We have become much more efficient in our operations and allowing more of our employee's time to be not only used for more important things than tedious admin work, but also easier to view and project their day to day tasks. Pros Able to implement it quickly, and my team caught on quick with training. It was not as painful to switch from our previous processes as we expected. Cons There have been some minor bugs but we were never without anything for an extended amount of time and customer service has been very helpful. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director of Operations Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Software has issues, but their customer support is pretty good" September 1, 2023 2.0 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](https://www.capterra.com/p/155685/Deltek-Costpoint/)[Deltek Acumen](https://www.capterra.com/p/10001903/Deltek-Acumen/)[Deltek PPM](https://www.capterra.com/p/154650/Deltek-Project-Portfolio-Management/)[QuickBooks Online](https://www.capterra.com/p/190778/QuickBooks-Online/)[Deltek Vision](https://www.capterra.com/p/1404/Deltek-Vision/) Reason 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. Switched from [Harvest](https://www.capterra.com/p/75598/Harvest/)[QuickBooks Online](https://www.capterra.com/p/190778/QuickBooks-Online/) 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. Review Source GB Gideon B. Customer Manager Media Production Used the software for: 2+ years ### "An elegant tool for expense management " March 20, 2025 4.0 The software has automated our daily operations and saved us alot of time. Tye product is a game changer. Pros The software is simple and easy to use. Recording expenses using the platform is much easier. BQR CORE also enbles us to quickly track and control our expenses in real-time. Cons I appreciate services of the product. It is worth it. Review Source VG Vicky G. Interior Project Manager Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Recommended" January 13, 2025 5.0 Pros It is very easy to use. And lots of functions Cons nothing I really don't like. It is all good. Review Source TM Tim M. Senior Engineer I Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Helps Me Focus on the Business End" November 21, 2024 5.0 Overall, I find the suite to be very helpful for what I need it for. It allows me to focus on my work without stressing about this aspect of the business. I more-often-than-not trust that things are taken care of properly and effectively. Pros It's easy to navigate and find what you need. This is an important aspect because I don't want to have to spend a lot of time trying to navigate my way around. Cons One minor complaint is that sometimes my time entries double up for no reason. This can lead to confusion within our payroll department. Switched from [ArchiOffice](https://www.capterra.com/p/233317/ArchiOffice/) Tried to make invoicing more streamlined Review Source GN Garrett N. Architect Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Signal Arch" January 3, 2025 5.0 Excellent a great tool - would recommend to any ARE firm. Pros I think it is easy to navigate and the user interface is very pleasing. I like the webinars too. Cons Signing in every time can be a bit of a slog. Review Source MK Mary K. Finance Analyst Management Consulting Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "BQE Core makes life easier!" January 6, 2025 5.0 BQE Core is easy to navigate and if issues and/or questions do arise, their customer service team is always quick to answer our questions! Pros BQE Core Suite makes invoicing and reconciling expenses fast and efficient, giving us the opportunity to update any items that may need adjusted prior to finalizing any entries each month. Cons BQE Core Suite runs a bit slower than we would prefer, but otherwise, it suits all our needs! Review Source GH Gunes H. Attorney Legal Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Good time keeping program" January 3, 2025 4.0 Pros It's convenient to use. I like how it tallies all my hours on a daily and weekly basis. Cons Sometimes BQE CORE Suite glitches (not too often, though). Review Source CC Cassidy C. Interior Design Design Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Great Product" January 3, 2025 5.0 Overall, very satisfied with using the program Pros It is organized; everything is easy to find. Clear labels, info graphics, and tutorials are great Cons I did find the expenses portion to be a little confusing Review Source CS Christine S. Finance Manager Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Existing User" May 7, 2019 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. Pros 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. Cons 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. Alternatives considered [Deltek Vantagepoint](https://www.capterra.com/p/225612/Vantagepoint/)[Kantata](https://www.capterra.com/p/110832/kantata/)[Wrike](https://www.capterra.com/p/76113/Wrike/)[Zoho Analytics](https://www.capterra.com/p/129749/Zoho-Analytics/) Reason for choosing BQE CORE Suite Zoho- (would have to interface with too many other software products) Mavenlink and Wrike, although awesome PM related software did not handle the AEC community as well as I would have liked. I currently have QB Enterprise Contractors edition, but it is for payroll only and duplicating invoices/checks from the old system at a high level for accounting purposes. This software did not, nor ever will do what I was told it could handle when I was looking to upgrade from PRO to an AEC community software. A total waste of high dollar money. Will go back to PRO or on-line for payroll only as soon as I am up and running 100% in CORE. Deltek, while they bought out WIND2, which is what I am replacing, and they covered pretty much everything in their new software options, I will not and cannot purchase a software where the company does not allow me some free demo months. If I couldn't demo and do one on one sessions with the software I was looking at and talk to techs, I wasn't interested. Deltek does not give you a free trial version and they are overpriced. Totally turned off by this company. They think they own the market in the AEC industry, and they really don't, but charge you like they do. Every software has a work around most of the time. I was determined to find one. Total Synergy...Never really gave this software a fair chance. With a walk thru demo, I was told something couldn't be done and just started looking elsewhere. Review Source MH Mark H. Operations Manager Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "This new year marks one whole year we've been using Core" January 15, 2020 5.0 Core has an amazing catalog of built-in reports. One thing we find ourselves often wishing for was a kind of “Quick List” report that would output a list of something, one item per line, single-spaced and nothing else but a clear statement of the search and filtering criteria at the top. Examples include a list of invoices overdue x days, list of current projects, list of deposits, payments, checks, every transaction ever related to a certain project, etc. These lists are handy when reviewing Core data, or bringing a quick list into a meeting, where the entries can be highlighted, color coded, and/or checked off as you go. Pros I have to say it has succeeded with flying colors after being bombarded with all kinds of unusual circumstances with hundreds of our architecture projects! Well done! I'm constantly amazed how well thought-out the original approach was in Core's basic design allowing it to handle all of our client's weird situations, and we're just one of the zillions of other companies using Core who do things so differently than we do. I say this with a little authority, as well, because I wrote my first program at age 15 in 1968 and I have seen (and suffered) \*everything\* in all the eras of computing since. Core is badass. Every system has issues, but it's important we all stop and appreciate the unimaginable amount of work that went into making Core really effective. No one paid me to say this and I'm not getting any brownie points. I'm saying this because I know intimately what the developers have gone through to make today's Core possible. Whew! Cons While Core has one of the best time sheet entry forms around. It would be great to have a more graphical time entry interface such as the kind iOS and Android users are familiar with when using, say, a calendar app, in which they can use a mouse or finger to draw time blocks graphically, then double-click/tap them to set the info for that block. Alternatives considered [Deltek Vision](https://www.capterra.com/p/1404/Deltek-Vision/)[Unanet ERP AE](https://www.capterra.com/p/130633/Clearview-InFocus/) Reason for choosing BQE CORE Suite We selected Core for its modern design and awesome feature set which helps us run all areas of our business under one roof Review Source PD Paul D. Vision + Design Director Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "If you can spend the time to implement it, it’s beyond worth it. " December 7, 2022 5.0 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. Alternatives considered [Deltek Vision](https://www.capterra.com/p/1404/Deltek-Vision/) Reason for choosing BQE CORE Suite Easiest to understand at the beginning. Seemed to be right in the middle. Review Source KA Kristen A. case manager Legal Services Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "BQE review" January 10, 2025 4.0 I've had a positive experience for the most part Pros The functions are simple for the most part Cons The sections could be laid out in a more simple and accessible fashion. Review Source JS Jess S. Project Designer Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Great Tool for Time Tracking!" September 3, 2024 5.0 Overall has been a very positive experience using BQE CORE Suite. It allows for clear communication between myself and my team leadership, so there is no question about where my time is going and how long a task took to complete. Pros It breaks down each of my projects clearly and I can directly see where all of my time is going! It offers a lot of control. Cons It did not feel very user-friendly initially, but I caught on after some questions asked to my coworkers! Review Source LH Lee H. Owner Computer Software Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "BQE Core Review" December 5, 2022 4.0 I am staying with BQE because it is the best all-in-one program I could find. It isn't perfect and, in many ways, it is miserable to use because it takes a long time and is slow, not optimized for fast use and there are a lot of features that are missing required for efficient use. Pros I like that this software is fully functional and can potentially do anything a consultant or engineer would need to do without having to use other products. Cons BQE can do almost everything and therefore it is complex and requires a lot of assistance from tech support. I have found that on most calls I have made the lower tier tech support has to contact the upper tier tech support and gets back with me later - sometimes. I am still waiting on them to fix some things (for weeks or months now). The 'powerful' proposal builder is a joke. Tech support just told me to type it in another program and import it, but that doesn't even work well. I have found a bunch of bugs and half thought out ideas. For example, to enter receipts or documentation for transactions other than credit card transactions requires a bunch of extra steps and cannot be done from the phone. Projects are complex (which is a good thing because they can do a lot) but it takes a lot of effort to setup a project and it can't be created from a template on the phone. I have bumped up against a bunch of walls inside BQE and when I ask how to do this or that I'm just told that isn't a feature BQE has. Switched from [QuickBooks Desktop](https://www.capterra.com/p/212058/QuickBooks-Desktop-Pro/) It has project management features. Review Source LM Lisa M. Accountant Civil Engineering Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "BQE CORE Suite" December 7, 2022 4.0 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. Review Source BR BethAnn R. HR/Administrative Manager Accounting Used the software for: 2+ years ### "BQE Core is a great software to use and the employees are always available and willing to help!" December 5, 2022 5.0 Awesome! Pros The Billing is super easy to enter payments and reconcile. Cons not being able to make changes to the invoice templates on my own. We have to pay to have the developer make changes to the template and so because we don't want to pay, we have to tweak each invoice ourselves... Reason for choosing BQE CORE Suite a wider range of things offered. Switched from [Practice Pro](https://www.capterra.com/p/115871/PT-Practice-Pro/) online website Review Source Gillian C. Business Manager Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Product" December 2, 2021 5.0 I have consistently had a wonderful experience with BQE Core. They are always there to help out when needed, and the monthly webinars are always helpful. Pros Nice and easy to set up and very easy to implement to new employees. Customer support is wonderful and prompt. Lots of one on one training options that will walk you through everything you need. Many different ways to track projects, budgets, staff etc. Always growing and adding features based on feed back from customers. Cons Project management set up can get tricky since there is so much involved, but there is good training to make it not so intimidating. Some features in project management would be nice to be available in Time/Expense subscription for ease of communication within the organization. Reason for choosing BQE CORE Suite Unique to the industry, good reviews and pricing Review Source JM John M. President Civil Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "I am happy to say that I took a leap of faith in upgrading my office to BQE" April 3, 2020 5.0 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. Review Source WE Wylan E. Contracts Specialist Legal Services Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "BQE Review " October 5, 2024 5.0 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 Review Source AM Angie M. Office Manager Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "BQE Core Fast Automated and Convenient" December 5, 2022 4.0 Creating an automated system time keeping and Accounting systems has saved us plenty of time to do other tasks. The Customer Service is great, if they don't know an answer, they will get back to you within 24 hours with the answer. Pros This provides an all in one time keeping/Accounting/Invoicing/Project management software. We are working our way to using all of the modules. Cons At first, this system is huge and can be overwhelming. The training video are very vague. Review Source SG Shannon G. Office manager Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Do not get this software" January 13, 2022 1.0 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. Reason for choosing BQE CORE Suite When I started working here, the company already had the software Review Source KM Kimly M. Principal Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Full of features to help manage the business" August 2, 2022 5.0 I understand that the program have much more to provide than what I understand. It is more powerful than what I know how to use. Pros The multiple features and ability to see where you are at at any time. Cons Not very customizable by user, Need better "FREE" training. Reason for choosing BQE CORE Suite Because it was so powerful Switched from [ArchiOffice](https://www.capterra.com/p/233317/ArchiOffice/) Because BQE bought them out. Review Source Evan F. Principal Professional Training & Coaching Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Perfect for small professional services company that has lots of projects" December 5, 2022 5.0 amazing customer support and a great product. Glad to not be shopping for a new product for sure! Pros Custom project setup and full integration with Quickbooks online Cons There are a few features we would like regarding locking down timesheets and making the invoice approval without needing excessive licensing...but we manage Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.