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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    BQE CORE

    Score8.8 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

    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)

    Score4.4 out of 10
    N/AA now discontinued accounting solution, QuickBooks Self-Employed featured tools to help the self-employed drive growth and financial stability. It is replaced by the more advanced QuickBooks Solopreneur.N/A
    Pricing
    BQE COREQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    BQE COREQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    BQE COREQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Considered Both Products
    BQE Software Inc.
    Chose BQE CORE
    The previous version was pretty similar
    Incentivized
    Intuit
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    94%
    Would buy again
    144 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    106 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    150 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    92%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    70 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    82%
    Implementation went as expected
    81 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    BQE COREQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of BQE CORE and QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    7.8
    3 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Pay calculation00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
    Direct deposit files00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Reimbursement management00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of BQE CORE and QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    10.0
    5 Ratings
    28% above category average
    API for custom integration00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Plug-ins00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of BQE CORE and QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    10.0
    8 Ratings
    20% above category average
    Single sign-on capability00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of BQE CORE and QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    10.0
    14 Ratings
    25% above category average
    Dashboards00 Ratings10.012 Ratings
    Standard reports00 Ratings10.014 Ratings
    Custom reports00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of BQE CORE and QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    10.0
    15 Ratings
    27% above category average
    Accounts payable00 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Accounts receivable00 Ratings10.010 Ratings
    Cash management00 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation00 Ratings10.010 Ratings
    Expense management00 Ratings10.014 Ratings
    Time tracking00 Ratings10.07 Ratings
    Fixed asset management00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Multi-currency support00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Multi-division support00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Regulations compliance00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing00 Ratings10.013 Ratings
    Self-service portal00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
    Global Financial Support00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Localizations00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Standardized Processes00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of BQE CORE and QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    10.0
    3 Ratings
    31% above category average
    Inventory tracking00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Automatic reordering00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Location management00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Manufacturing module00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of BQE CORE and QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    10.0
    5 Ratings
    30% above category average
    Pricing00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Order entry00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Credit card processing00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Order Orchestration00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    BQE COREQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Small Businesses
    Autotask PSA
    Score7.7 out of 10
    Zoho Books
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Workday Professional Services Automation
    Score8.2 out of 10
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Planview AdaptiveWork
    Score8.7 out of 10
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.3 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    BQE COREQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.4
    (167 ratings)
    10.0
    (15 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.0
    (8 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    9.6
    (117 ratings)
    9.4
    (2 ratings)
    Availability
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.4
    (90 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Online Training
    6.4
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    2.3
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    4.5
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    BQE COREQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    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
    Intuit
    QuickBooks is a great tool for new SoleTraders that need basic accounting software and require digital invoicing for their clients to send via email and access key features via a mobile app on the go. QuickBooks is a straightforward tool to use with a simple design and learning curve for business owners that are not very tech-savvy. For businesses that operate on a larger scale and need to provide access to other users on their team, QuickBooks is limited. This type of business may also require more insights into the business outside of accounting, and QuickBooks won't be able to supply insights outside of that.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    • QuickBooks Self-Employed does keep a running total of your income and estimated taxes. Of course, this requires that your entries are accurate.
    • The mileage feature is particularly helpful. One just needs to either use the phone app in conjunction with QuickBooks Self-Employed, or keep a log of all mileage.
    • When tax time comes around, it's easy to use TurboTax software and import your data from QuickBooks.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    • Doesn't integrate with Mint, which I use for my home expenses. I think this would be a nice addition to the program, so I could keep track of my whole financial situation.
    • A Windows 10 app would be a nice addition to the program, so I could access it securely from my desktop.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    No answers on this topic
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    I have been using this software for several years now and it has always put out my data in beautiful generated reports that I can use for verification purposes with my financial institute and the IRS. It has all the tools I need to run my business without loosing track of anything
    Incentivized
    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
    Intuit
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Intuit
    No answers on this topic
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    I have never faced any difficulties that required me to contact QuickBooks customer service. QuickBooks has plenty of online tutorials, blog posts, and helpful tips and advice for almost any issues you may face using the desktop or app version of the software. Even if you can not find the right answer on the QuickBooks webpages, there are loads of YouTube videos from experts.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    BQE Software Inc.
    Make sure you have someone training you that fits your style of learning.
    Read full review
    Intuit
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    BQE Software Inc.
    It does take some time to understand the options and to find the best invoice template.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    No answers on this topic
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    FreshBooks limited my ability to categorize transactions, specifically removing duplicates or excluding them. I selected QuickBooks Self-Employed because it allowed me to be in control of items. Sometimes accounting is just making sure things are organized the way YOU think, and FreshBooks wasn't doing that for me.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    BQE Software Inc.
    This software works on a small and large scale.
    Read full review
    Intuit
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Intuit
    • Overall, tagging expenses and mileage has saved me thousands in taxes, for a relatively low cost of around $8/mo.
    • QuickBooks allows me to get invoices to clients quickly and accept online payments, which helps with cashflow.
    • The app has stopped tracking mileage automatically on my device, so I worry that sometimes I am not tracking business miles effectively, which could end up costing me at the EOY.
    Incentivized
    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