BQE Core - Time and Billing

Comments: We discovered BillQuick on line after struggling with a user friendly way to record, retrieve, report and correct errors in time entries for our Clients. Filling in time sheets accurately is a critical part of our business and billing process. Unintentional errors on time sheets, with time entries logged under incorrect work phases or project scopes are inevitable and our previous billing software only allowed time entries to be moved one at a time, which was done when the WIP was being reviewed. The result was a painful and time consuming process at the end of each moth for our accountant which resulted in delays in getting our invoicing out in a timely manner. With BillQuick, time sheet errors can be moved quickly and easily across data sets in batches. Changing time keeping software can be a stressful decision, often met with resistance from staff. However after carefully researching BillQuick and completing the training session, and seeing the ease and intuitive nature of the time keeping options, I was confident that I would be able to coach staff through the process with ease. The ease of time entries means that fewer staff are delinquent on keeping time sheets up to date. This has numerous benefits, the primary one being being able to bill on time. There are other time allowance features such as limiting time assigned to a team member for a project, and notifying team members in real time when the Fee for a work stage has been exceeds (time entry presents in red). I was a bit skeptical about the claims of vastly reducing invoicing time, but from experience can confirm this is true. This software has enabled us to consistently get billing out within the first 10 days of the month, with invoicing taking a fraction of the time it used to. This enables us to close out each month efficiently, properly monitor quarterly and annual targets, and focus on fixing problems quickly. Ease of monitoring Fee Expenditure also means it is easier to stay out of trouble and address problems as soon as they arise. There are many linked features such as monitoring staff and project profitability which provide solid back up data when assessing bonuses etc.

Pros: It is very easy to learn to use for both staff entering time and new accounts staff. The ease of time entries means that fewer staff are delinquent on keeping timesheets up to date. Projects can be broken down into phases - this is KEY for tracking fees within an Architectural Full scope of services. You create your own Activity Codes which you can align with your preferred Contract It REALLY does speed up invoicing tremendously It offers a WIDE range of invoice templates and reports to analyse project Fee expenditure and report to Clients It allows for various levels of security access so that Senior Staff are not beholden to the Accounts Department when they need to report to a Client or check the Fee against the Contract All staff can monitor Fee in real time (assuming time sheets are up to date) Senior Staff can easily monitor and give feedback to staff on performance and productivity, based on various time periods, for example on Billable vs non billable hours, contracted hours performance etc The technical support is excellent Integrated with Quick Books very well

Cons: I can't think of anything really....If I had to be critical I would say: - there are so many reports that you are unlikely to use them all and can get lost in the Report Centre. However there are tabs for your favourites and memorised reports. - Expenses are very very to enter but not as easy to unwind/change as Time entries

Recommendations to other buyers: As a principle in a firm and a practicing Architect who would rather spend time on creative endeavours and the least amount of time dealing with billing, I would recommend this software to anyone running an Arch/Eng firm. It really has vastly improved our billing efficiency, as well as our project and staff monitoring. If you have phased projects I would ensure you understand how to use this feature, and set this up as a standard, because if you add a phase to a project after you have already billed it the invoicing stay with the original phase created.

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.

Recommendations to other buyers: If you are considering Billquick, take the plunge, but...first: look at samples of the existing reports and invoices and outputs at the very beginning. If you don't see what you need, have them create a customized copy of your critical forms from day one. Second: load your data into Billquick without any massaging and work with it in the evening for a few days to see how things flow before you decide how you are going to do your conversion. Third: Consider having someone from Billquick come in and spend a day or two on-site to work with one or two people who will become your in-house experts.

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.

Recommendations to other buyers: I would say that this is an easy software to use and a lot can be done with it from what I see. My company does not use all the features (AP, Payroll), but I would advise to make sure that the product is good for all your needs. Look at every report that you need to use and confirm that you can get things done without having to pay for report customization.

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.

Recommendations to other buyers: Do not just trust the demo online or even the FREE version to make a final decision. In retrospect, I wish I had visited another office that used the software in a similar fashion. Even though I did download the free version and imported some of my data into it, it wasn't a real-life application experience. The platform is so completely different from our previous software that it literally was similar to learning another language, without the benefit of a vacation to someplace exotic to gain that experience!

Comments: Overall, this is a good office management tool for the architect. We have used it for the past 10 years and find it invaluable in all we do in managing projects and running the business.

Pros: The product is great for the management of a project from time and expense reports to document management. It also manages the office contacts and calendar of events for all the employees. It will give you in real time if you are making or losing money on a project. It tracks and creates invoicing for all project clients. If you use QuickBooks, it is integrated directly with that software for complete accounting management. It is a great tool for Architects in that it is formatted for what we do (tasks and phasing of projects). If you have internet connection, you can get access to this program while on the road,

Cons: When opening up project file, it takes 2 or 3 clicks to open up a file, such as Word, PDF and AutoCAD. Very, Very frustrating. Many of my employees do not use is function and simply use Window file manager to open and move files. We should not have to do this. It uses Java in the background for some of its operations, and I am not a fan of Java... it is always updating. Updating of the software is somewhat difficult for the person not a computer nerd.

Comments: As architects, we get set in our own way of doing things and never want to change. In ArchiOffice 2013 we found a product that pretty much adapts to how we do things. Sure we changed our methods a little, but for the most part it does what we want it to. We began looking for an office management software in 2007. We realized that the old method of using a spreadsheet was making us miss lots of opportunity for reimbursements that we could have been charging clients until too late. Just recapturing these lost revenues has paid for ArchiOffice. After 6 years, the program is so comprehensive, there are modules for everything you need in an architects office. The main points are easy; project lists, contact lists, time records, billings, and a shared calendar. But dig deeper and you get time tracking per job, project phases or tasks; time records, that at entry, keep everyone informed as to project progress; intelligent records, filling in more than you really want to know about project time expenditure; RFI logging, shop drawing logging; billings, showing cash flow and work in progress; phone call records and a shared calendar; not to mention dozens of reports, and more. For example - when a project Architect is out, and an electrical shop drawing comes in, the office manager can look up the engineer in project info/contacts, and forward the submittal on the same day. Then, they can place a task on the architects to-do list, 7 days out, noting that it should be returned; and then also they can set another task for 10 days out, reminding them again that it should have been returned. We use it for document management; scanning and storing the shop drawing when it is returned. Remote access from anywhere with an Internet connection makes it easy to reach information in the field. The superintendant, without his copy of a spec or shop drawing, can remotely access it thru Archioffice. 6 years of use, and we love it. All that glowing review, and yes, it does have a few flaws. The biggest is that Syncing with Outlook is nearly a waste of time. It can be done, but it requires that you run old Java, then run parallel Outlook files. We just don't even bother. When we do have a problem, the tech support is awesome. In 2010, after a major upgrade, I think I wore out tech support for 3 months. But currently, I think I have emailed two questions in the last 3 months. Always fast and complete responses. AO2013 is mature enough of a product that problems are few and far between. I will admit, as Architect/IT guy/Managing Partner, I use every aspect of this program - not just a few areas like most of my employees. I still look at competing programs, and haven't found one that adapts to my ways as well, or is as comprehensive.

Comments: We are an environmental consulting firm operating in Canada. We were using Caseware Time before purchasing BillQuick about 3 years ago. Our previous system was inadequate because it didn't have a strong reporting capability. Caseware also did not roll over projects from previous years - a problem for us because we sometimes have long running projects. We are currently using BillQuick 2011, and we automatically receive current updates with our priority support package. The implementation was not a smooth transition to say the least. Caseware and BillQuick were not at all compatible, and we feel we are still trying to rid ourselves of some of the demons. As a result, we are still trying to work out the kinks after all this time. For the most part, we have had very good help from the folks at BillQuick, especially Irfan and Mario. We are still on a learning curve, and hope to have the kinks resolved before the year's end. BillQuick's pros definitely outweigh the cons, and I think that we eventually will have the system running to our satisfaction. We have not yet done a lot of employee/manager training, since we feel we need to get the system running more smoothly before we unleash them on it! For the most part, the ease of invoicing for straightforward invoices is great. We previously compiled and sent out invoices manually. That being said, we do seem to run into most of our problems with BillQuick in the invoicing and reporting area. We do a fair amount of pre-billing in our business, and BillQuick does not really allow us to properly utilize the reporting required for this type of invoicing, in terms of WIP and over/under contract amounts. For example, when we pre-bill, we would like to see a negative amount reflected in the WIP and then, as time is added, have that WIP eventually even out and possibly go into the positive. We have tried in the past to work with negative WIP, and it has not gone well with the reporting functionality, especially in terms of WIP reconciliation. The other issue we seem to have arises when we use the "Mark as Billed" feature. What good is this feature if you cannot associate a bill with an invoice number? As a result of this shortcoming, our "mark as billed" invoices do not get picked up in the reporting process. When we do a manual invoice versus an hourly invoice, does the software track the non-billable time that may be in the project as well as the billable? All in all, we feel BillQuick is a good program and has the potential to be great. We realize that we need more personalized training, and that some of our difficulties are due to our unique business needs. Thanks for all the help and support.

Comments: I just want to witness to the fact that everything that Engineering Office says about their wonderful support is true. A lot of companies over embellish and when you have a problem it is like pulling teeth to get some help. Not at Engineering office. They respond to phone calls and emails very quickly. The employees that they have in training and support should be the jewels in their crown. I have had the pleasure of working through frustrating problems with customer support, only to find it is some small thing and getting it fixed or training me to fix it goes quickly. Customer support representatives are FABULOUS and they have great patience and compassion for their customers. They realize that customers can't fix everything and that sometimes it is just beyond us. I learned this software quickly and came to a company that had not set it up correctly and nothing Sync'd together right. Customer support representatives held my hand and walked me through knowing that I was under a deadline. That is what is wonderful about this support team. They are human and they realize that you are human too and that things happen and they are there to guide the way, educate, and even fix the big problems. Anyone who chooses this software should realize that the Maintenance and Support fee that you pay is well worth it. Keep up the good work. It is very appreciated by your Customers.

Pros: It is very easy to use and you can learn it quite quickly with help of online webinars, the help pages, and just fishing around in the menus. Very clear and concise.

Cons: I wish that the SYNC process was done with a macro and I didn't have to do anything more than schedule it to go.

Recommendations to other buyers: If you are a small to medium firm, use Quick Books, and want a job costing solution that it is so much easier to use than Quick Books, then Engineering Office is a great tool to use. Simple and straight forward and easy to learn. Tons of Reports and management tools for Job Progress, Accounting, Job Costing, and Budgets. There are tons of ways that you can manipulate each of the reports that are provided. The reporting is truly amazing for canned reports. You can change your criteria all over the place to design a report that best works for your needs.

Pros: Absolutely Nothing. Their software doesn't work yet they sell it as a "solution".

Cons: I have no confidence the software is doing what it should and always have to manually double check to make sure it's billing all time at the correct rates, and that it does the math properly. With the online version, you have no guarantee that your month end download contains all your data, and you may end up not billing critical time on your invoice. This cost us lost revenue with one of our clients. The desktop database (MS Access version) is unstable. We had the database get corrupted (become unusable) and lost a week worth of data. Besides becoming completely unusable, we have seen past data within the database change: hours being lost, rates being deleted, expenses being deleted, vendor hours being reallocated to another vendor¿s bill, and others. There is no guarantee that past data within the database will remain accurate. Billquick is aware of these two major issues (online version not downloading the entire dataset, and the instability MS Access version) yet they continue to sell both of these products as "software solutions".

Recommendations to other buyers: Don't buy it and put your company's success at risk. Get something else or develop your own. The company will not work with you to get a solution that actually works. After our initial complaints, we were switched from the online version to the desktop version for free (but wait....). We were told we would get an SQL database that would fix many of the issues we were dealing with, and that the company knew about. However, they just switched the online Access version to now a desktop Access version. Better, but still has the underlying stability problems. My last conversation with their head of Customer Service went quite poorly. I reminded him, we were promised to switch to an SQL database; however, due to our current public review of their software and that is simply doesn't work, he would not do it for free. He wanted us to pay for a version of their software that actually works. He also stated that even Microsoft doesn't support the number of users we have for MS Access, so we should they? So my question would be, "Why would you develop a "software solution" using a database platform that both you and Microsoft know has problems?" You're dealing with company's financial livelihood. Selling a software that you know doesn't work is blatantly disingenuous.

Comments: BillQuick is a sophisticated time and expense billing software. It can be customized to individual needs. I use it for my accounting practice, but don't need many of the features available with the product. It will integrate with QuickBooks, however, I prefer to use it simply to track time and expense; then use QuickBooks directly for my invoicing. The BillQuick software will produce very detailed invoices if you choose to use the program to prepare client invoices. You can customize the appearance of the invoice to give the client as much or little information you want.

Pros: Compared to other time and billing software, BillQuick is a bargain. The program allows you to set up multiple engagements for each client so you can track time and expense separately for each engagement if you so choose. Once you have everything set up, the program works very smoothly. Customer support has been very good. I like the layout of the screens and the icons that take you the various program applications. They make it very easy to move from one application to another regardless of the particular application you are in.

Cons: I am not a technical person and there is a bit of a learning curve with the product. Because it is designed to be very customizable to a wide variety of industries, there are many features you may not need. This is not a bad thing.

Recommendations to other buyers: You absolutely want to use the SQL database with the product; not the standard database (which they may no longer offer anyway). The standard database can be very unstable and you will spend too much time with tech support repairing the database. Since switching to SQL, I have not had any issues with the program. If you have the standard database and want to upgrade to SQL, pay the fee to have tech support upgrade it for you. It's a complicated process for someone to attempt on their own. Do not even think about upgrading to SQL in the middle of tax return filing season.

Pros: I could never pick one particular item about this product and vendor that I like the best. The complete software package is so versatile, user friendly, and accurate. The vendor service provided is due is beyond compare with any other company I have worked with. Their expertise, promptness and patience any time I've needed assistance directly relates to their mission of taking very good care of me as a customer, ensuring I meet my daily work target. I've been using BillQuick for 6+ years and needed tech support twice. Problem solved within 5 minutes and right back on track!

Cons: There is nothing I dislike at all. Product and vendor has outperformed what I was previously using for the last 30 years.

Recommendations to other buyers: I used another accounting/project management software program for 30 years and their maintenance and licensing renewal costs were rising rapidly every 2-3 years. I knew I had to find another alternative, because we all watch our bottom line. I admit I hated the thought of having to learn a new program, and was resistant to change. However, upon evaluating BillQuick through one of our engineering firms that was using it, I found it was much more versatile and easier to use than what I was used to. The technical staff of BQ did a fabulous job of converting my files into the BQ format and the synchronization/coordination process incorporating QuickBooks took less time than expected. The training provided was exceptional and I learned all I needed to in 4 hours. I worried for nothing and moving to BillQuick was the best decision.

Comments: If you are a single division company the migration to this process may be an easier process. But for our seven division business, making the move to BQE has been nothing less than a nightmare. Way more time spent than I expected (which is compounded by the fact that it is time I don't have). The fact that BQE is California based, effects their customer support efforts to those on the east coast ...at least in my experience it has. Be sure to spend a lot of time testing the software before you buy...I made the mistake of buying it based on their sales communications (which you be offered a lot of deals and promotions of the bells and whistles the software has)..I find that it is not easy to use and have found that my clerical support flat out hate using versus our current, more intuitive accounting software.

Pros: It's easy to get sold on it's capabilities and functionality. Real time dashboards and remote access to timesheets via any electronic device are very nice touches.

Cons: Despite being told it would be an easy transition, it has not been the case. Software is not nearly as intuitive as current software (QB), for my needs had to buy a report writing software (SAP) which also requires training. First time through with data conversion on four of our company files, two came back incomplete and wrong, one came back with our project structure flipped upside down, and we never got back the fourth file which may be because it was for a Canadian entity and despite being told they know how to handle the tax issues faced in Canada, we did not have that confidence in them, and we have yet to see the first run through of the data conversion three months after uploading the file. Customer support is also not as responsive as I'd like and I would say working with them is just another negative issue

Pros: We previously developed our own billing software using excell spreadsheets. Switching to BillQuick allowed us to automate our billing. We set up our projects (hourly, fixed and fixed not to exceed and phased projects) and our employees directly input their time into the software. Billing is reviewed on screen by the department supervisor and then by the project managers. Invoices are then created and either emailed or mailed to clients based on their preference. The software has allowed us to track project progress and accounts receivable. Statements are very easy to create using the standard reports. We rarely receive complaints or even questions from clients concerning our invoices.

Cons: It would be nice to have reports that we can adjust, however, BillQuick has done an excellent job of preparing our customized reports. We paid to have customized reports for hourly, fixed price and phased invoices which covers 99.9% of our invoices.

Recommendations to other buyers: Check tutorials concerning the use of the software and compare it to your present procedures. There were instances where we changed our procedures to adapt the software, however, it proved to be very flexible. We looked a QuickBooks and PeachTree before deciding on BillQuick. It was a great decision. Calls from clients requesting list of outstanding invoices and summary of payments are very easy to generate.

Comments: This software has allowed us to organize and manage our projects unlike ever before. It also has allowed us to eliminate a staff member that managed the invoicing, time sheet management and in general, all the work involved to chart and track a project's profit or loss. It also has a calendar of events and to do lists for all the staff that has helped us to manage the activities of all the staff members. Being web based, it also allows us to access the software from multiple offices, job sites or from anywhere else we have access to the internet (phone or computer).

Pros: The project planning and tracking of the finances (budgets, timesheets, and invoicing/receipts of payments) are great!

Cons: Hard to come up with a con, but the only one I can think of is that it takes 2 (sometimes 3) clicks to open a file. I think they are working on improving this to get it back to one click as it was before. Also, uses Java that I am not a huge fan of.

Recommendations to other buyers: The server for the software and project files needs to be dedicated and not a staff member's workstation.

Pros: We started using Archioffice in 2007 in the V8 days. It was a godsend. Despite some minor glitches (it never worked with Quickbooks), the ease of use, the ability for non-computer technical staff to customize templates, and the online user guide and videos (free and easy staff training) made it perfect for a small design office. We soon transitioned all our office management and project paperwork to the system. Support was great (despite the time difference; we are in Australia). They knew their product and got us back on track with minimal stress. It was a solid product, reasonably priced, well supported, and easy to use and customiae.

Cons: But then along came AO2010/2011 (a shift in technology) and the sale to BQE. The party was over. After a painful transition process to AO2011, our data was corrupted, the custom templates we had invested a lot of time setting up stopped working, Outlook sync ceased functioning, etc. The list went on and on, as did the time spent dealing with BQE support, who seemed to have no idea what this product did or how to deal with problems on the spot. They always had to refer to a senior tech somewhere else in the world. 'Wait until AO2013,' they said. 'This will be the best version yet; everything is being sorted out.' So we are trialling AO2013 (yet another shift in technology), and we are so unimpressed. There's more frustration and more time wasted on an office system that we can barely use.

Recommendations to other buyers: What was an effective and affordable product has become an increasingly expensive piece of junk. We've held out long enough and spent a fortune in time trying just to make do with patches and workarounds. That's not good enough for a product that is supposed to be professional software. I'd recommend using a series of Excel sheets and Word templates over this software. It really has become that unreliable. We are going elsewhere.

Comments: Bennett Trenchless Engineers has been using Bill Quick for the past 5 years. It is a rich, flexible software program with excellent customer support. BQE seems to be working constantly to enrich and improve the software to meet the challenges of today's quickly changing technology. I am always impressed with the professionalism of the support staff and their willingness to patiently "walk me through" the issues and questions I have. I would recommend this program to anyone who needs a project management program with dynamic reports. There is a report for almost anything my boss asked me for. If by chance that report does not exist, BQE is willing to make a custom report for a reasonable fee.

Pros: Project managers and staff enter their own time and expenses which allows me to get my invoicing done in a short time without errors and the need to reverse and redo. There are so many reports that help our PMs manage their projects and reduce losses. The reports reveal where we stand with regard to company profitability, gross margins, staff billing, etc. Great reports to track where your company is doing well and where they can improve.

Cons: The only con I have about Bill Quick is that it is such a dynamic program that for me, the learning curve was longer than Quick Books and other software I have used. That being said, what you get once you learn what is there and how to manipulate it is well worth hanging in there and getting familiar with the reports, the different invoices, etc.

Recommendations to other buyers: I would highly recommend spending the time and money for the training. BQE Gold care support is always there to help and always resolves my issues.

Pros: BillQuick is powerful software and in general it has helped improve the productivity in the office. It used to take us days to do billing in Excel. BillQuick has cut down that tedious billing process significantly. Our Project Managers are happy because they have everything they need about their project in on location which is Project Center. Recording time and expenses using web suite and mobile apps has made it possible to see the real time project progress. There are several different invoice templates in the software and we have a very unique format that we need to send our invoices on and BillQuick created a custom invoice template for us which fits our needs. We are dealing with different customer service on our other software and I think there support is top class and definitely a customer service driven company

Cons: Can't think of anything. It has been 10 years since we started using BillQuick and the experience is getting better with every year that passes by because they release upgraded every year which is most driven from user feedback.

Recommendations to other buyers: If you do not find a report or a invoice template that you need, ask them and they will customize it for you at a very nominal price.

Pros: This software is intuitive and very reliable. It interfaces seamlessly with QuickBooks for a complete accounting experience. In the rare event that I cannot generate a report or do not know how to best accomplish something, I put in a call or e-mail to BillQuick support and receive nearly immediate, courteous and helpful response. If needed, we do a "Go to Meeting" session to get things figured out. I have never been left hanging. It's nice to know there are real knowledgeable people there if I need them.

Cons: I really don't have anything negative to comment, it's that good. It's reliable and robust, a win-win. My only negative, if I had to choose, would be that the sales reps are a bit pushy for my taste. I subscribe to "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" so when I am "reminded" multiple times that there is a discounted upgrade available, it's a turn-off. That said, I still recommend the product.

Recommendations to other buyers: If you have a law practice or any other type of professional services based business, this is your last purchase. Combine it with QuickBooks or use as-is. It has many of the same capabilities for a full accounting experience, but I like having the redundancy that comes with the combined products. It's easy to learn, most of all it's RELIABLE.

Comments: We've been using BillQuick since 2008. Prior to that we were using TimeSlips. The transition was a breeze and we have never looked back. We have found BillQuick to be a much more robust program overall, and BQE continues to add new features. The support team is spectacular and well worth the GoldSupport plan. BQE has done a great job when it comes to incorporating our feedback into updates. The program has a decent amount of flexibility, so with a little tweaking and some report customization, most companies should be able to suitably represent the information that is important to them.

Pros: Feature Rich, Customizable User Experience, Excellent Customer Support, Integration; although we're looking forward to the day when BillQuick eliminates our need for QuickBooks altogether. There are reports for everything from Profitability to Fee Schedules to User Permissions.

Cons: It's hard to complain about having so many reports, but despite their volume, at times we find that we need two different reports to show information that could have been incorporated into one. Filtering is easy, but it would be nice to have the ability to add/replace fields.

Recommendations to other buyers: Spend a lot of time digging through the features, so that you have a good understanding of how you will use the product. Setting up templates which incorporate Groups and Project Control will help smooth out your process. You may need to have BQE customize an invoice to suit your needs, and Custom Fields may be the key to this. Create policies for how features should be used before making them accessible by users. A copy of Crystal Reports might be worthwhile if you're picky about reports.

Comments: Thanks for asking me to participate in this survey. WRK has been a BQE customer for some time, but I have been using the program for about a year and a half. I'd like to consider myself an expert in the program....but I'm nowhere near that close. My responses are below. I did not answer the "value for the money" question above as I have not priced other programs and have no frame of reference. Sorry.

Pros: Being a database, it can store infinite information. This info can also be easily searched. Helpful us when recalling details of a project from 3-4 years ago. The Gold level support is a must (and worth it if there is an issue). The Facebook group (comprised of BQE staff and users) is an excellent resource for learning from others and receiving "after hours" support for a quick "how to". The BQE team is very enthusiastic about their products and also does a good job of providing continual education via free webinars.

Cons: There are several small items I could mention to make BillQuick more user friendly, but in reality, for as much data as it holds for us now (about 6 years worth) it does a good job of keeping track of all the pieces within the database. I have had several items, after talking to support, that I've been told will "get on the list to be fixed". It would be nice to hear when those changes have been implemented.

Recommendations to other buyers: While I don't have another program to compare it to (for billable hour projects), I think BillQuick is a very good tool and the Gold Level support is very worthwhile.

Comments: We're a small firm that started off using BQE's Billquick software, a reliable, rock solid performer but not completely suited to Architectural Practice. When BQE acquired ArchiOffice we decided this was for us. The promises of what this software would do are amazing. Reading the claims was akin to reading the Fountainhead for the the first time. This is a program that understands our profession and its challenges. We took the plunge and following BQE's advice they converted our data into a format that AO could use. Without dwelling too much, it didn't turn out well at all. After we worked through all those data issues it was clear that the AO platform was not nearly as reliable as BQE on a day to day basis. The program would crash moving from tab to tab etc... Data was generally correct but there were an inordinate amount of issues. After a flurry of calls to Tech Support you will learn the work-arounds for known issues and areas of the program to avoid. Finally we were acclimated to AO 2011 which was not perfect but quite stable and usable. Then on August 6th, 2012 we got the email that that AO 2012 was here. Considering they had Beta Tested the software and felt comfortable enough to release we again took the plunge. We installed in August 27th 2012. At this point we've been working through issues since then. These have caused us to spend hours on tech support calls, delayed our ability to invoice, and cost us considerable in terms of man hours and lost productivity (while our database is uploaded analyzed etc....). Our hope is that this is just a bump in the road and that once our issues are resolved we can move forward. Until then it's at least a weekly call to tech support when we're up against a show-stopping error. So here's my review: I love the theory behind this software and once it up an running its fairly worry free. I would recommend the software but implement with eyes wide open. If I had to start over I would 1) only initiate new projects in the software to keep the data pristine, and 2) never update to the latest version until 6 months after release.

Comments: CivTech decided to implement the software with the current QuickBooks software to improve time entry & add reports. Also to save time during the invoicing and payroll process. During the implementation of the 2 software programs and learning process the BillQuick Representatives, Customer Service along with the custom report process has been a good experience and will be an excellent benefit for our company. I would like to thank my rep and the representatives who have been essential in our company moving forward with understanding and using the BillQuick software.

Pros: The input ability that employees are able to enter their time to the projects for payroll. This software tool is good overall for saving time. In the past the employee entered their time on a spreadsheet and the accounting person reentered their time into the accounting program with QuickBooks. The more we learn about the benefits of BillQuick the more we like the software.

Cons: Taking time out to make the phone call to get the answer to fix a problem that came up. Basically it is part of the learning process which ends up being a good experience because of the knowledge and help that we receive will there is an issue.

Recommendations to other buyers: Yes, BillQuick is an excellent software program overall for companies allowing employees to enter their time into the system. This helps the Project Manager who has access to review the projects budgets and allows them to be involved in the accountability of the projects bottom line. Also gives the Project Manager the opportunity to submit a Change Order that needs to be processed in a timely manner.

Comments: I have found that the online product provides nearly all of the functionality that we need and it has certainly provides a more positive user experience than previous software we have used. This is a solid product at a price point that is reasonable for my small company. I greatly appreciate the prompt support and excellent customer service whenever I have run into questions or problems. The program has been easy for my staff to use and this has increased the adoption and decreased my workload. There are a few things I would do to improve the program but BQE does seem to be continually evaluating and improving the product.

Pros: Mobility, portability, storage for project documentation/contracts, ease of use/user interface, user support/customer service.

Cons: The online product does not have report previews and it is fairly difficult to narrow down specific reports that will be most helpful. In general it would be nice to have optional report customization without incurring fees. No archive/unarchive in the BQEonline.

Recommendations to other buyers: There were some pieces of information that were not clear to me when I changed from the premise to the online/cloud based product. While these would not have been 'deal breakers' it would have been good to know that any archived projects would not be available (so that I could have unarchived them prior to the move). I do sometimes run into program glitches or errors (typically in the reporting) but these are usually very promptly addressed by the support staff. I believe this is the hazard of a fast paced/continually evolving product and, to date, this has not caused enough problem that I have considered looking at other options.

Comments: What a life saver!!!! We've used BillQuick for the last five years. It has proved to be the perfect solution for our timekeeping and billing needs. BQE is easy to use and can be tailored to fit your specific needs. The program has a variety of easy-to-use features and an extensive catalog of reports that can be tailored to meet the most specific of requirements. And, if needed, they have a fabulous team who will develop a custom report, tailored to fit your specific needs and reporting requirements.

Pros: To get you started, BQE has a uniquely talented team who will introduce you to the program and provide thorough training. Then, once you get started, BQE has an outstanding team of technicians who are just a phone call away and can readily provide assistance when needed.

Comments: A rep was brought in to iron our a long standing issue we had with invoicing using your Online version. It has been reported many times before but the problem was unable to be replicated. The rep took the time to understand the problem and followed it through, successfully identifying the problem lay with the Custom invoice. It was able to be rectified and our next invoice run worked perfectly. Her support was worth a five star, and in the past 70% of the time the support issued have been resolved (although not necessarily in a timely manner) hence the 4 star rating on customer service above.

Pros: Problems are being resolved slowly - we've used the online version for two years now and have worked out way around the quirks to invoice successfully.

Cons: Response times, some functionality, being able to switch between screens quickly (e.g. when editing multiple timeslips), no way to quickly check GST being charged on each item. Invoicing process takes longer than it did pre the Online version, partly due to the process required to download invoices to the correct files (which used to be done automatically) to email through our Outlook for Mac. Often a problem needing support from the US because of the time difference.

Recommendations to other buyers: Online version has its challenges - slow to respond at times, and doesn't talk to outlook so exporting emails to email through our program is a lot more laborious than it used to be. (although, that said one of our staff members now advised there is a server in Sydney which should rectify this¿so we will monitor that in future.

Comments: The BQE company has been very responsive to suggestions and is making steady improvements. It is nice to use software that gets better over time.

Pros: The product is very powerful and provides quick information about how our projects are progressing - it allows us to know precisely how we are doing financially on each project. I like how flexible it is - much more flexible than other similar software I have used over the years. I like the interface and the customer service has been really excellent - they have been very responsive when we get stuck, and there has rarely not been a solution to our problems.

Cons: Sometimes the flexibility of the software makes it a little unwieldy. This software requires you to pay attention to what you are doing - because you can mess things up pretty quickly. There are times when I wish it had the ability to turn off some options - I would give up some power and flexibility to make it easier to work with. Invoice formatting needs some work.

Comments: Customer support is wonderful, much better than it was even three years ago.

Pros: The software can do almost anything that you need it to, you just need to have a lot of time to figure it out. The customer support is wonderful!

Cons: The reports are not very user-friendly, they are very rigid and I can't drill down on the report to see where my number are originating. Also, I don't like to get invoiced in July for an upgraded product that won't come out until the following year. I don't like getting calls to pay the July invoice that is not due until September. I will get a weekly call even though my invoice is not overdue. That is frustrating.

Recommendations to other buyers: This is a great product but it may be more than you need.

Pros: The mobile apps are easy to use... employees submitting time have no trouble doing so. All of the problems happen on the administrative side of things.

Cons: The short answer is: the software is totally unreliable and buggy. I have wasted so much time correcting errors, and making sure the software does it jobs. I have caught many errors where time was not processed correctly from the time entry to the invoice, with no correlation between client, project, or employee. How many errors have I not caught? How much time has gone unbilled? I am truly amazed at how many good reviews this has gotten. My guess is users just haven't found the mistakes yet. Example 1: An employee will submit 3 hours of time. 2 hours will automatically display on the invoice. That last hour will not be included on the invoices or the non billable time report. You must manually correct the number of hours - that is if you notice that it's missing in the first place. Example 2: When invoicing billable time, the total is often calculated incorrectly. For example, 1 hour at $50 an hour should be $50, but sometimes the total will be different - maybe $51.75. I have to manually correct this, and the page must reload after each correction. If you are trying to process (and correct) 100 time entries, it it is going to take you a while.

Recommendations to other buyers: Keep looking. Billquick isn't going to do you any favors.

Comments: We are a structural engineering consulting firm with many types and scales of building design and specialty design projects. We also perform commercial and residential inspections. Our client base often has differing preferences on how we present invoices. Our old system was difficult to use, and we struggled to produce and track our invoices in the way our clients wanted. We switched to this system due to the ease of use and regularity of generating meaningful reports for the principals in charge. Using BillQuick, we were able to quickly present the health of the company's projects, proving the value our clients and employees provided the company as a whole. An added factor influencing our decision was the reports that project managers can generate with a few clicks of a button. This helped us with budget control and billing maintenance, leading to better project information easily accessible to everyone when the data is most needed. We are currently using BillQuick version 11. We bought the software in March of 2011 (then version 10). Version 11 came out prior to full implementation. Our company was able to easily adapt to the change in timesheet software entry with very little direction, with the exception of the non-billable hours not being set to 0 hrs in the B-Hours. This is now done manually for billing purposes, but has been requested to be an option for the automatic 0 hours for a future release. The customer support line is a little difficult to get on the line sometimes, but the people I have spoken with are always friendly and helpful. We will benefit from the new system because everyone will now have access to information at the project level now, instead of just at the business management level. We also boost productivity by having our own standard invoice templates incorporated into the BillQuick system, adding a level of communication for both the project managers and the clients involved on any given project.

Pros: Intuitive design, easy to set up and easy to enter timesheets. In some cases there are some good instant data available

Cons: This is still in the Beta. When we originally got it there were Gannt charts. These have since been removed with no explanation. Various functions are still unavailable such as the ability to divide report into departments and offices. Most of the functions don't work. The live cost tracking does not work. There is inconstant use of terminology. Functions such a contract cost tracking on the structure does not work. The formulas for Spent are incorrect in some functions but correct in others. Customer service is the worst. When you call up generally you get told there is nothing they can do for a few months. Even had a customer service rep yell down the phone at me telling that Spent, represents hours invoiced, and Invoiced represents what was invoiced. When I pointed out it made no sense I was yelled at. However later I pointed out that the Project Status widget has SPent calculated at WIP+Invoiced which makes sense, I was told he has no more time and will look into it. Consistently I am promised calls back and don't get them. THis product has potential but I would advise right now not to use it.

Overall: As close to nothing as you can get. Do not use it!

Pros: Henderson Architectural started using BillQuick in 1999, while I began using this system in mid-2002. With the assistance of BillQuick's customer support and specialized tech support, we were able to run BillQuick more efficiently and to its full capabilities for what our firm needs. In the 9 years that I have been working with BillQuick, I have established an outstanding relationship with them to the point where they know what my needs and expectations are without me having to re-state them. The software has many capabilities, along with Crystal Reports, that allows you to design or edit existing reports/invoices to your needs. I have created special invoices for specific clients, and I am able to tie these invoices to specific projects without having to worry about them printing on the wrong template. The capabilities to tie expenses, activities, employees, etc to specific projects is endless.

Cons: I truly do not have any cons for this product only because if you are in need of something special, feel there should be something brought to their attention or any issues that need to be resolved, you may email them and most likely your suggestion/issue could end up in the next upgrade.

Overall: Even though we do not integrate BillQuick with QuickBooks, this is an option that does sync with ease. What is nice is that you can have endless users working in this software system, independently entering their time and expenses without having issues. I have used many different software systems, and this one is quite easy to use and well worth the price.

Comments: BillQuick is the best software for multiple types of businesses. I have used this software at radio stations, architectural firms, civil engineering firms, CPA Firms, and law firms. Once installed it is easy for employees to learn how to use the software. The desktop version also syncs with QuickBooks. The syncing with QuickBooks takes a little more training of an employee but works wonderfully and seemless. I have personally worked with BIllQuick for about 10 years. It is very flexible for multiple types of businesses.

Pros: Flexiblility, ease of use, and the ease of learning how to use the multiple facets of the software. The technical support is responsive. When using the technical support they are not condescending or dismissive when simple solutions are asked. Both the technical staff and the sales staff are attentive to the needs of the customers.

Cons: it has got to be the integration to QuickBooks. It is easy once you learn how integration works. I'd also say that the inability to integrate the online version with QuickBooks desktop version is also a disappointment.

Recommendations to other buyers: Find someone who has used the product in the past to help set up and install. Or get the training and installation service from BillQuick. It is an easy software to learn but there's a lot of bells and whistles that will be useful to your company. Thus, without some sort of training you'll not understand the full value of the product.

Pros: ArchiOffice is an easy way to track time both billable and non-billable and to generate client invoices. In addition, ArchiOffice is able to run specific reports to help track phases and time by individual employees.

Cons: Some aspects are not intuitive. Running specific detailed reports can be a troubleshooting process until you happen to check and uncheck the correct check box. There is no user "How To" manual for reference or short video clips to view. It would be nice to see a page of every report that ArchiOffice can generate, use a dummy project and print out what is possible. I am sure that there are so many other features that our company could benefit from if we only knew the capabilities of ArchiOffice (without joining a training session that cost money)

Recommendations to other buyers: I would recommend that others figure out exactly what you are looking for in a software program like this and ask specific questions of the company of whether this software program can produce the reports and/or calculates you are seeking?

Comments: I signed up for the subscription after seeing the demo at the AIA Convention. I liked what I saw as it appeared to provide the reporting and project tracking I was looking for. I asked the product developer specifically about the product's interface with quickbooks and was told there would be no issue with the version I had and that is was a simple interface. Expensive mistake. After taking 6 hours over 2 days to install, they told me it requires a static IP address. I'm on Comcast and that runs on a huge amount. The next issue is the interface with Quickbooks. I've been on Quickbooks for 20 years and just stopping and shifting would create an issue for my accountant. There is no setup wizard, only an 84 page instruction book written by techies for techies. After spending about 5 hours on a Sunday to get the system up and running, I called to request assistance and they responded with an offer of giving me 2 sessions of training. I have 2 seats and this was more than I paid for both those seats. Finally 6 months after installing the program, I had a sales call from the company trying to get me to purchase additional capability. I let the rep know what I thought about the entire process and the cost for getting the system set up. I also let him know how frustrated I was at not being able to use the program I had purchased. He listened and told me he would get back to me. I have since waited 3 weeks with no response. It may work great as a stand alone product, but I have been unable to use it personally.

Pros: BQE Core's insightful dashboards and business intelligence tells us exactly how our projects are performing. The fact that I can review this important data from anywhere anytime is a huge benefit. We love the easy of use and the flow of the software.The important KPI's in Core for our projects, clients and staff help us run our business efficiently. Love the mobile phone app!

Cons: We track mileage extensively for our project visits. Mileage tracking on the mobile phone app will complete the app

Comments: I was on the phone with the representative (BQE) and QuickBooks Tech Support for several hours today. I was extremely frustrated as we weren't finding a solution to my syncing my invoices to QuickBooks. After much frustration, we let QuickBooks hang up from the GoTo Meeting as well as the conference call with BQE and myself. The representative assured me he would help me and he did. While I had to put him on hold for a moment, he was able to find the problem and resolve it! I am so happy and now I don't have to go the weekend worrying about how my invoices next week are going to sync. Thank you so much for hanging in and helping resolve the problem!

Cons: What I used to like the least was the difference in time zone. BillQuick is on the West Coast while we are located on the East Coast. I previously had to wait until close to noon to call Tech Support. However, they resolved this issue a few years by expanding hours to start at 6:00 a.m. PST which means I can now call for support at 9:00 a.m. No more delay! Emailing your questions is also an available option.

Overall: There are many facets that I love about BillQuick, it's hard to pick one. Its ease of use is high on my list along with price. We have been using BQ for almost 14 years, and I have seen great leaps and bounds since December 2002. An upgrade is released every year in which BQ tries to stuff as many improvements as they can, many requested by their customers. BQ is always looking for ways to improve, this software never remains static.

Recommendations to other buyers: Compare the ease of setting up clients and projects, adding budgets, and creating invoices in BillQuick, as well as the lower cost, and you will see BQ is the way to go!

Cons: We work on the east coast and from time to time we have needed morning support and had to wait until support staff arrived at BQE who works in the pacific time zone. Not a major issue by any means, but still resulted is some downtime that otherwise could have been eliminated.

Overall: We switched to Bill Quick at just the right time! It allowed us to respond to client demanded invoice templates and enabled us to continue to grow without adding additional back office support staff. The mobile app is also great for time and expense entry and so is web suite for all our remote offices and mobile staff. Billing can be accomplished quickly with this product!

Recommendations to other buyers: I highly recommend this product. We only used QuickBooks before and needed a product that would integrate and provide enhanced project management tools and project structure with multiple phases. I highly recommend the initial support and training services offered that helped us get up and running faster and with less stress.

Pros: The product is excellent and easy to understand. The support is truly the best I have ever encountered for a software vendor. The support staff has extended hours by phone, and frequently participates in the user's forum so you may have a question answered in the very late or wee hours of the morning. They are responsive and supportive in our efforts to make this program work for our company. We use Quickbooks accounting and Intuit payroll. The integration between Quickbooks and BillQuick has worked well thanks to the excellent help we received in the program setup from our assigned trainer.

Cons: Would very much like to have more sorting capabilities in filtered reports. Other than that, I have nothing negative to say about this vendor.

Recommendations to other buyers: We have been using Quickbooks Accounting since our company's inception in 1996, but as we grew, it became more and more cumbersome to provide our engineering Project Managers with project time and expense data coupled with costs. We could easily do one or the other, but not the two together. BillQuick expertly filled this need. I would recommend that companies spend dollars for the BQE training and support options. The investment we made in training and support has been and continues to be invaluable in time and dollar savings.

Pros: The product: affordable, flexible, and user friendly. Please take their free webinars to have a general idea first. it's worth to get their Implementation and Training Services. When you have issues, call them immediately. We process monthly invoices within three days, so we have the rest of month to manage project budgets, employee performances, schedule project meetings, etc. The vendor: They have the BEST support team. They are always there to help me, I especially thank their assistant floor manager, Ricardo Andrade. He is always patient, friendly and supportive.

Cons: None. I like them very much and have recommended them to my important customer.

Recommendations to other buyers: The PRICE and the SERVICES. I did go online to search several engineering project management software products and called one of the company. The sales was not friendly and expressed that my company was too small for them.

Pros: We needed an integrated billing software that would incorporate our employee daily time accounts into a singular data base that would produce customized invoices to our clients. BillQuick meets this need and has many useful extensions to provide extended data requested by our clients regarding our services and costs.

Cons: We have a long term relationship with BillQuick and would not have done so if we had negative issues with the company support or product. Like any new highly functional software, there is a learning curve to effective use, so be prepared to invest some time and learn your way around in BillQuick. The support has been superior in helping us and we now seldomly need to request assistance.

Recommendations to other buyers: If you bill by the hour with multiple and varied employees, and have clients that require exacting invoicing and backup information, BillQuick is an excellent choice for time management and client billing.

Cons: As you can tell, I like the product. BillQuick offers service/application discounts, usually for a very limited time period. Possibly these marketing efforts can be extended of existing and tech agreements users for a longer time period. It is usually easier and less expensive to sell more to an existing customer base.

Overall: The product is extremely user friendly. Employees, young and senior age, have no problem using the product to accomplish their daily activities. BillQuick conducts, at no cost, frequent training sessions where participants are encouraged to learn time saving ways to use applications. Employees in their tech department have a deep knowledge of the software. Their goal is to assist in what you want the application do. Tell the tech people what you want and they will get it done. "No problem" is their attitude. BillQuick has the best product at an economical price that I have found.

Recommendations to other buyers: Try it, you will like the results. Try other high price software and you will realize the solutions found in BillQuick.

Comments: We have been utilizing Engineer Office since 2011 for a Civil Engineering and Survey firm. We have been happy with the refinements that BQE has put into place throughout the years to make it functional. We utilize it mostly as a timekeeping and billing complement to Quickbooks. In the last few years, we have successfully cut our time for billing down by implementing best management practices on entering data. Billing used to take a week from the closing date and now it only takes a day or two at the most. Overall the project management when it comes to billing is what we need to operate our business efficiently.

Pros: The billing functions on this product are very efficient when setting up correctly. The ability to have multiple fixed fee and time and expense items on an invoice is very useful.

Cons: The connection to QuickBooks can be somewhat difficult and inconsistent at times. It is best when you start fresh and have someone that understands the system. Beginners can make a mess of things if they don't understand the system.

Recommendations to other buyers: Take your time setting up billing practices with your business managers and your employees. If you follow a strict pattern of input, it will save you time in the end. Make sure all your projects are set up with correct billing addresses and contact information up front for proper connection to Quickbooks.

Comments: I highly recommend it

Pros: I would definitely say BillQuick has made our life easier. It is very easy to use and handles our time and expense tracking on projects. Integration with QuickBooks works really well and it saves double data entry. Whenever we need any help their customer service has been outstanding.

Cons: Cannot think of anything. We have been using BillQuick for 7 years and whenever there has been an issue with the software BQE has been there to support us

Pros: The ability to track hours easily and to do invoices easily. The options for how to handle a project a great too - hourly and stipulated sum with budget %. CUSTOMER SUPPORT is absolutely FABULOUS. Have never worked with a software vendor that gives this level of customer support; I've always had every question answered and any problems fixed right away. And when you send an e-mail asking for help, it is followed up in a timely manner.

Cons: The time clock on the hours can't be adjusted to fit the situation. But, there are other free software programs that will track this and then the data can be dropped into ArchiOffice.

Recommendations to other buyers: Remember it is NOT a bookkeeping/accounting system. But what if you want to making invoicing to your clients easier and faster, this is an excellent option. We went from the desktop version to the online version. It took a bit of getting used to, and now would never go back.

Comments: Highly recommended product.

Pros: As a structural engineering consulting practice with numerous projects and clients, the software answers our needs with wonderful organization and flexibility in setting up projects and invoicing. Numerous invoicing templates allow us to satisfy our clients billing requirements to a "T". Technical support is responsive and knowledgeable on all facets of the program.

Cons: The biggest asset, deep flexibility and customization, can take some real time to master. Fortunately, though, technical support is there to take you by the hand and show you how to accomplish what you need to do.

Pros: I like the ease of use, i am an architect, not a financial type, i understand this product and am able to use it effectively. It has helped us control our billings and receiveables. I also really like the customer support, Alan Schlieper, is very good at working with me in any issues that come up. I tried to mark a 10 in the ratings below, but the survey would not allow. He is that good!

Cons: I wish i could better utilize all of the services the product offers, but we are a bit entrenched in our own processes.

Recommendations to other buyers: I think that evaluating software has to come from experiencing working with the software. I know that for software to be effective, it has to meet it users at their ability level. ArchiOffice is organized to work well with the way architects work. We used to have Deltek, for 25 years, i had very little understanding of how to use that software, i was therefore reliant on our office financial manager to run the analytics.

Pros: I have had to contact customer service - technical support at certain times, and each time I have happened to have Diego Carrillo assist me with my questions. His professionalism and expertise has always been above and beyond. He has always been so accommodating to assist my concern or questions. I always leave with more knowledge regarding Bill Quick. He displays excellence in his field and the vendor/software is superb.

Cons: I am simply very happy with Bill Quick. I really have not had an issues with the product. It has suited our needs for our office. I enjoy working with this program/software and continue to learn each day. Simply the best product for our office.

Recommendations to other buyers: It is very beneficial for time keeping, expenses and so much more. It an excellent program/software. The most important aspect, is that there is always professional and intelligent technical support when required.

Comments: The invoice templates need more features that will separate expenses from Vendor (Consultant). It's impossible to have a true billed-to-date for expenses and consultants because they are lumped together as an expense. I have been told that I can purchase a template just for our company that will do this but I think it should come as a feature already. Other than that, I think the BQuick is a very good program for the Architect industry.

Pros: Timesheet entry is very easy and only as accurate as your data entry. Project setup and Client setup is very user-friendly.

Cons: Would like to see more variations of invoice templates.

Recommendations to other buyers: Take one of their classes to get started, other wise you will be lost at what the program can do for you.

Comments: We've been using BillQuick for about 20 years. Great software and easy to use. Got the software to manage our time tracking and invoicing for our engineering office. BQ allows us to track our time on projects so we can bill out against the right project, as well as track hours against budget and fee. It's easy to capture the extra time on projects, and helps us detect when scope creep happens on our projects. Converting the time spent on projects to invoicing the clients is quick, and we can easily capture those "extras" that can slip through the cracks if you don't pay attention to it.

Pros: Staff can enter hours directly into BQ - no chasing the employees to have them fill out time sheets, or remember the projects they worked on during the month. Hours are captured daily, so we can see at any point where we are on the project budget. We can also bill out projects as soon as they are complete. No need to wait until month-end to Invoice clients.

Recommendations to other buyers: If you are tracking your time manually, or relying on your memory for how much time you worked on a project for your client, you are losing money. I've talked with several of our clients and found that those who don't use some type of tracking software can't tell if they are making money on projects. If that's you, you need to look into BillQuick.

Comments: My background in finance has availed the opportunity to work with Sage ERP300, Great Plains, QuickBooks, Peachtree, Design Manager and now BillQuick. I am very fond of BillQuick and its customization features. Very well thought of software. I look forward to BillQuick providing better accounting functions than QuickBooks down the road. The support team is extremely knowledgeable and pleasant to work with. Over these years several BillQuick support engineers have assisted me as well and provided shortcut solutions that in essence create bigger issues.

Pros: In 1999, when we bought BillQuick it was a small company but with a bunch of hardworking and dedicated people behind it. I had no doubt in my mind back then this company will have nothing but the success. 17 years today we are still using BillQuick and all these years BQE has worked on perfecting this software to give its users easy to use time and expense tracking and billing. Love their customer service team and I still remember some of the support engineers by name because they are still with the company.

Cons: My issue was with the licensing and recently they fixed that as well. Now you do not need to buy licenses in packs of 5.

Recommendations to other buyers: Before writing this review I was curious to know what others have written. This is a good place to start to know the company and ask for the references in your field and join their weekly demos.

Pros: It is colorful, and can be easy to move around in as long as you are not going too fast.

Cons: Retro numbers (closed periods) changing with approvals on expenses or an updated salary rate changing retroactively. Having to figure out if the way a report generated is actually giving the correct information. The "Red "X" of Death" when it is overloaded and shuts you out of the software. Not being able to changing the check box from billable to unbillable or reimbursable to not reimbursable even when there is nothing wrong with the entry.

Recommendations to other buyers: Make sure the conversion is exactly right. Do not do any journal entries or fast fixes when doing this step. Check all reports. Do test runs, many test runs to make sure you are getting out of the software what you are putting in it. If you have to have several personal modifications to the software, the software probably isn't the correct one.

Pros: Good response to issues and extensive bugs with commitment to resolve over time. Tools for logging on and/or providing work around has been helpful (necessary).

Ability to add modules as required will provide a cost effective tools once the platform is stable.

Cons: BQE CORE has great potential, however as at 17th October 2017 it is still in beta format with lots of unresolved bugs and serious usability issues. Whilst BQE have been very responsive to our reports of software bugs and usability issues it is user beware and use at your own risk. I suggest you wait until mid next year before investing in this product.

The reviews for this product have been misrepresented and relate to the broader BQE software suite NOT BQE-Core. So don't be fooled (as I was).

There seems to be ZERO software quality assurance with this product, evidenced by software revisions with new bugs and half resolved issues. I think it is being developed in India not the USA but I am not sure what the exact arrangements are.

Overall: Project integrated with time and expense management once stable

Comments: Love it and definitely worth a try!

Pros: We love BQE and cannot imagine running our business without BillQuick. Last year we switched to subscription and it's great to see new features that are getting added. We enjoy unlimited support.

Cons: We have been using BQE product for 10 years and it definitely is improving every year and we cannot think of anything that it does not do for us

Comments: Have been using archioffice fairly frequently for the past five years. I work for two companies - an architecture firm and an owner's representative. The program makes more sense for architecture firm - as it has trouble with the fee structure that we use for the owner's representative. Customer support is great - there are a lot on online tutorials, but we pay for the Gold support package - so we have a dedicated support representative who is familiar with our programming. Since our company is small - I don't have familiarity with the batch invoicing, but on an individual input - it works great. I find it pretty intuitive to pick and start using.

Pros: Access - app syncs nicely with the main project - for timesheet entry Online/web access - makes it platform independent - so you can access program on Mac or PC Duplicate projects - you don't need to start from scratch to create a project Invoice/Transaction Entry - easy to enter and track

Cons: Timesheets are not as easy as they could be - other programs allow you to enter time by the week - this is an individual entry per project, per day NTX is for the project or phase - can't be coded as monthly - tried many work arounds - nothing worked Back function doesn't work - if you are looking at a timesheet entry in a specific project - you will back out to the home page of the project - not the timesheet screen

Recommendations to other buyers: If you want to sync to QB (for expense and revenue tracking) - you need to set up the phases and job codes properly and do not veer from the templates set up - otherwise the synching will not work well

Comments: My company has been using BillQuick Pro since 2008. It is an amazing product. What is extraordinary is the service from the customer & tech support teams who have helped us throughout the years to adapt and customize the product to our particular needs.

Pros: Most important to us is the ease and functionality of the product. This product is uncomplicated for our staff to use for time entry, yet it is full of all the processes and reports needed to evaluate the many aspects of our business. We appreciate the Custom Reports Department very much - we have been able to modify billing reports, invoice templates, and reports templates that allow us to get information quickly. A major Pro is the integration with QuickBooks - a major feature of BillQuick.

Recommendations to other buyers: If you need integration with QuickBooks, BillQuick is what you are looking for. Plus the extensive report center is vital to staying on top of your business bottom line. Customer service and tech support is the best we have ever seen in a business software. The software is easy to use, which is essential when you analyze your business. Your staff will also appreciate the ease of time and expense entry.

Cons: I wish i could better utilize all of the services the product offers, but we are a bit entrenched in our own processes.

Overall: I like the ease of use, i am an architect, not a financial type, i understand this product and am able to use it effectively.
It has helped us control our billings and receiveables.
I also really like the customer support, Alan Schlieper, is very good at working with me in any issues that come up.
I tried to mark a 10 in the ratings below, but the survey would not allow. He is that good!

Recommendations to other buyers: I think that evaluating software has to come from experiencing working with the software. I know that for software to be effective, it has to meet it users at their ability level. ArchiOffice is organized to work well with the way architects work. We used to have Deltek, for 25 years, i had very little understanding of how to use that software, i was therefore reliant on our office financial manager to run the analytics.

Comments: We became a BillQuick Enterprise user in March 2011. From the start, we were impressed by the software and the BillQuick Team. Their assistance in the integration of the product was handled professionally. We were walked through every step and an explanation of the "why" was given to us by our Implementation Manager we had - Irfan Qazi. The program is intuitive and easy to use. To date, we have had our support requests handled by friendly, knowledgeable representatives. I learn every day there is more to the software than I knew of the day before. The software's time and expense is easy to use and all of our employees use it to report their time and expenses. The software makes preparation of monthly invoices to our clients easy and efficient.

Pros: Invoicing, time keeping, expense reporting, and job costing are areas that are extremely useful for our business.

Cons: I wish there were more training videos for each of BillQuick's areas that were available to show new employees that could train them to use the areas needed. Also advance training on the more complex areas of BillQuick. We need to be able to customize screens (labels) more.

Recommendations to other buyers: Try this product for 30 days. You will be glad you did!

Cons: Future projections are difficult. Being able to share budget v actual additional services is a bit complicated. I wish we could track benefit time separately from typical work hours so properly calculate efficiency.

Overall: The product, when used efficiently by all staff is very useful for tracking projects, future work, time and keeping contacts and those involved in projects clear cut. - If staff is not using the software as trained it can be a bit of a hassle.

Recommendations to other buyers: Through all of the versions we have used. Software based (on the server) to the current SQL version the senior support staff have been extremely helpful. They communicate what we need to complete and when we are in a bind they are always there to help. Without their support and knowledge of the product line as a whole I'm sure we would not be as efficient in trouble shooting when necessary.

Comments: The BillQuick support department is one of the better customer support groups of all the software people we deal with. And we are spread all over with apps. Keep it up.

Pros: We have been using BillQuick for 3 years now. Software is packed with features and the customer service is best out there..

Cons: Cannot think of anything

Pros: BQE is awesome it makes things so easy when entering time and billing clients. Before we got BQE we would do everything by hand, when switching over it made thing go 10 times faster. Its a great software.

Cons: little glitches here and there but the customer support is so fast and responsive and the are willing to fix the software glitches.

Pros: BillQuick is a powerful timekeeping and invoicing program. We chose it as our preferred invoicing software as it provides the ability to customize client and project details.

Cons: The amount of options and customizations possible can also make the program difficult to navigate and master. I recommend utilizing customer support when needed.

Comments: Give it a try and you won't be disappointed. We once had a confusion about the upgrade and it was amicably settled by the customer service manager.

Pros: We have been using BQE products for 12 years now. Its ease of use has really helped us manage time and send invoices to our clients on time. Customer service is great too. Overall we are happy with the product and services