BQE CORE vs. Paychex

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BQE CORE
Score 8.7 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
BQE CORE is a business management solution built specifically for professional service firms. BQE CORE is a combination of a billing assistant, project management, and accounting solution. CORE is designed to do the hard work of delivering actionable insights directly to the user's dashboards or inbox. BQE CORE replaces the products Engineeroffice, Archioffice, and BillQuick; the functionality of these applications is now found in BQE CORE.N/A
Paychex
Score 6.5 out of 10
N/A
Paychex Flex, of Paychex' Online Payroll Services, is a cloud-based human resource management and payroll platform. Paychex offers core and specialized services, and scales to meet the needs of small businesses, SMBs, and large enterprises.
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Pricing
BQE COREPaychex
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Paychex Go
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Paychex Flex Service
Contact sales team
Paychex Flex Enterprise
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BQE COREPaychex
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BQE COREPaychex
Features
BQE COREPaychex
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
BQE CORE
7.8
74 Ratings
1% above category average
Paychex
-
Ratings
Task Management8.756 Ratings00 Ratings
Resource Management8.755 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts8.628 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling8.636 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation7.539 Ratings00 Ratings
Team Collaboration6.546 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology7.921 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology5.918 Ratings00 Ratings
Document Management8.339 Ratings00 Ratings
Email integration6.133 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access7.445 Ratings00 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking9.474 Ratings00 Ratings
Change request and Case Management7.932 Ratings00 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management8.158 Ratings00 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
BQE CORE
8.3
56 Ratings
7% above category average
Paychex
-
Ratings
Quotes/estimates8.029 Ratings00 Ratings
Invoicing8.949 Ratings00 Ratings
Project & financial reporting8.554 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with accounting software8.035 Ratings00 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
BQE CORE
-
Ratings
Paychex
6.5
268 Ratings
22% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings7.7215 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings8.1239 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings7.5173 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings7.4168 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings7.4155 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings6.6144 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
BQE CORE
-
Ratings
Paychex
7.6
310 Ratings
7% below category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings8.1292 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings6.7150 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings6.8171 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings8.3291 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings7.8207 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings7.6116 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
BQE CORE
-
Ratings
Paychex
7.1
158 Ratings
14% below category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings7.0112 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings7.4150 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings7.0119 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
BQE CORE
-
Ratings
Paychex
7.7
267 Ratings
6% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings7.7245 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings7.9257 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings7.5119 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings7.7181 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
BQE CORE
-
Ratings
Paychex
5.4
43 Ratings
38% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings5.443 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
BQE CORE
-
Ratings
Paychex
6.0
175 Ratings
23% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings6.4145 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings6.4164 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings5.291 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
BQE CORE
-
Ratings
Paychex
6.2
171 Ratings
25% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings6.8164 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings5.6106 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
BQE CORE
-
Ratings
Paychex
5.3
68 Ratings
37% below category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings5.736 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings5.534 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings4.928 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings5.335 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings5.034 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings5.139 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings5.362 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BQE COREPaychex
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
InEight
InEight
Score 9.5 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
InEight
InEight
Score 9.5 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BQE COREPaychex
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(167 ratings)
6.7
(323 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.0
(8 ratings)
1.6
(44 ratings)
Usability
8.8
(117 ratings)
7.0
(264 ratings)
Availability
8.2
(1 ratings)
6.0
(12 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(1 ratings)
7.2
(12 ratings)
Support Rating
7.3
(90 ratings)
6.6
(265 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
4.5
(1 ratings)
Online Training
6.4
(1 ratings)
8.2
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
2.3
(6 ratings)
5.7
(13 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
5.2
(9 ratings)
Ease of integration
4.5
(1 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.2
(1 ratings)
6.7
(12 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.2
(1 ratings)
2.8
(33 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.2
(1 ratings)
3.8
(34 ratings)
User Testimonials
BQE COREPaychex
Likelihood to Recommend
BQE Software Inc.
I would recommend this for our industry: architecture, engineering, or construction. I would recommend this for any larger firm with many employees or high number of projects. I would particularly recommend this for a company with projects that have budget constraints and where time tracking and expense tracking is very important. I would not recommend this complicated software for a small firm with a small amount of income or number of projects.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
For the most part, Paychex Flex is a very good payroll system and is well suited for a small business. Most basic features are simple and user friendly. For businesses that have hourly employees, its timeclock system is a good feature. For businesses that have a large number of employees and more complicated rules and policies, it might not be as appropriate because of the difficulty to set up for these rules and policies
Read full review
Pros
BQE Software Inc.
  • Invoice Collections within Billing is a great tool because of the ability to take notes and track contact.
  • Invoices are professional looking and easy for our clients to understand the overall progress within each phase of their project.
  • Dashboards are the best tool EVER!
  • The Contact List feature within Clients setup is the perfect way to track multiple project managers within a large company that also has multiple contracts with us.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
  • It provides a well account of Retirement Plan Account Information.
  • Alerts are sent to email when there is new information to access.
  • Employee access both online and thru app.
  • Paperless options.
  • Easy and quick access to paystubs and tax forms.
  • Easy employee retirement management.
Read full review
Cons
BQE Software Inc.
  • Customizable Reporting
  • Linking Project to Payment all together
  • Assigning contacts to particular roles - such as Invoicing, Contracts, etc.
  • Accounting Functionality - they are basically a project management accounting software, so in my opinion, they could learn some things from other accounting software such as QuickBooks etc.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
  • When it comes to audit reports, Paychex Flex could improve on helping clients locate the correct reports for audit purposes more easily
  • When a client receives a discount, it would be helpful if the discount were automatically provided each year, or if the Paychex rep proactively reached out to the client first, versus the client having to call and request that the discount continue.
  • It would be helpful if the invoice was emailed to the client versus the client logging in to access invoices.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
BQE Software Inc.
We have been using Core for a few years now, and honestly started to look at other software systems to see what was out there. What we chose was a nightmare for migration so we never left Core. Now we have added invoicing and payments from Core instead of double entry with QBO. Still only a few cycles in but looks like it will be up to speed soon and working smoothly.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
Overall I like the features that Paychex Flex offers. I am sure that there are other features that I am unaware of, so I am excited to see if there is more that Flex is capable of to make my job easier. The basic features are really user friendly and easy to access. If there ever is an issue customer service is great
Read full review
Usability
BQE Software Inc.
The foundation is awesome, like I have said before, however the house being built on it, the educational resources being provided to us (more of sales pitches that don't work), and flexible workflow opportunities, is making us look elsewhere for how much we will be spending on per user. It's crazy to think how flexible they are not when it comes to user settings. Lack of integration with other sources is awful.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
Some things could be streamlined. For example, we could do custom options for the "add items" tab which has so many options that we never use. "Medical Pay" could be something that the system remembers for the applicable employees. Salaried employees' salaries should definitely be auto-filled. Overall the system works well but I think it could be improved to be easier to use and read.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
BQE Software Inc.
I can only remember a couple of times in 4 years that Core has been unavailable.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
We have not experienced any difficulties with unplanned outages. Notifications are always made for outages, and they do not effect normal business operations.
Read full review
Performance
BQE Software Inc.
This is one area that does need some improvement. It can be slow at time, so we had our IT look at it from our side and we had no issues, so it has to be some slowness on their side.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
Unless there is lag time within the internet, the Paychex Flex website loads exceptional fast, pages load quickly and reports that I need to print or download load quickly. If I need to create a specialized report, once I complete it I receive an e-mail telling me my report is ready to be downloaded. Changing between web pages is fast as well.
Read full review
Support Rating
BQE Software Inc.
As a new employee and CORE user, I talk to support on a weekly basis. I have never had to wait for more than 3 min to get connect with a support rep, and all my questions have been answered. The support representatives are polite and eager to help no matter how simple your question is.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
Our dedicated representative is one of the main reasons we are sticking with Paychex Flex. If it were not for this person, other platforms could provide the same/similar functionality. It is the ability to speak with someone that understands our business and is willing to get questions answered in a timely fashion that keeps us with Paychex Flex.
Read full review
In-Person Training
BQE Software Inc.
No answers on this topic
Paychex Inc.
We did online training only
Read full review
Online Training
BQE Software Inc.
Make sure you have someone training you that fits your style of learning.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
It was easy to understand and follow along. I do like the informational videos that we can utilize before we opt to call in for customer service support. It has made a difference since sometimes that resolves the issue I may have had and saved myself a phone call to Paychex support.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
BQE Software Inc.
It does take some time to understand the options and to find the best invoice template.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
Implementation was very smooth. The most cumbersome task was entering the current employees into the system during initial set up, but Paychex staff handled most of that and verified against prior system reports as well as internal reports provided to ensure 100% accuracy.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
BQE Software Inc.
Deltek Vision is far more advanced, more encompassing and offers more flexibility with what you want to do. However, it's also quite difficult to use, whereas BQE CORE is intuitive and user friendly. The trade off is worth it in some arenas but overall it's not suited for a larger fast paced company. Great for smaller companies.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
We still use QB Desktop Pro to maintain a Check Register / Overall Balance for the company, but once having tried QB Payroll Online for about 3 months prior to finding Paychex Flex I can tell you that there's just no comparison. QB online is VERY EXPENSIVE and not so user-friendly. I hated every minute of those 6 payrolls we ran through QB online.
Read full review
Scalability
BQE Software Inc.
This software works on a small and large scale.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
I generally do payroll at the office, however I have had to go remote due to internet issues and also had to take payroll on vacation with me. Very easy to log in wherever you are and manage your TAA and payroll
Read full review
Return on Investment
BQE Software Inc.
  • Quick setup of new tasks under a parent project, with immediate hourly billing to it.
  • Monitoring of details of non-chargeable efforts in appropriate detail
  • Validation of hourly cost, billing cost, benefit cost, profitability by person and role
  • Company tracking of write-off's included in corporate and project reporting, no data is "lost"
  • Can track excessive work time as +PTO in lieu of pay for use as future vacation
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
  • I do not believe we have saved anything additionally. The time we've had to spend to get things to hopefully work is sad. This is the reason we've had to turn off all extra "products" of Paychex Flex. Time and Attendance is horrible. Benefits management is horrible. The user experience is horrible.
  • One thing I do not understand is why are updates for states, cities, counties, school districts, etc. not automatically updated? Should we not get a big red flag if we have an employee living/working, being paid in CA, but they aren't set up for CA sick time? If it is required to be on the paycheck stub to show the balance of the sick time, why would we not be notified that we are out of compliance?
Read full review
ScreenShots

BQE CORE Screenshots

Screenshot of Core powered by BQE SoftwareScreenshot of BQE CORE Project Dashboard ViewScreenshot of BQE CORE 360* Firm Performance ViewScreenshot of BQE CORE Reporting & AnalyticsScreenshot of BQE CORE Project Time EntryScreenshot of BQE CORE Project Expense Tracking

Paychex Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of