Deltek Costpoint vs. Deltek Ajera

Deltek Costpoint is the most frustrating and clunkiest software I've ever used, and I've been using software for 30 years. The interface appears to have been developed before the internet and HTML and does not appear to use any modern widgets made for HTML. Every button click or menu selection requires a pause while something else loads. Our employees waste much time trying to figure out (what should be) simple tasks, and I've spoken with nobody in our company that likes the software. We've had trainings on Costpoint, but people still have issues constantly.

For small to medium engineering and architecture firms, Ajera appears to be the right size. Beyond the engineering software, Deltek Ajera has all the features a small to medium firm will need for smooth operation. AR, AP, Payroll, reporting, project management are all in one package. We chose to self-host because the licensing was more cost effective for us, but cloud hosting is also available.

Incentivized

• I love how you can cut a check and it opens a PDF version so it can be saved for retention at a later date if needed.
• I love how you can research vendor history different ways. It allows you to input a range or just enter one at a time.
• I also love that there are tons of reports that can be run to help with any projects.

Incentivized

• Widgets are the best feature of Ajera. Designers can make tiny reports for the entire company, or for one or two individuals. These little reports are the first things that the employee sees when they log in. Viewers of the reports are able to filter, sort, group, print or export the widget without impacting the other users. Deltek has been releasing new features that allow the editing of data in widgets. You can now create new projects or edit timesheets from the widgets.
• Credit card importing and credit card reconciliation in Ajera has greatly decreased time spent by administration. You can import credit card transactions from your credit cards. It saves on data entry, and it is easy to see what receipts you are missing when you get the statement.
• Mobile timesheets and expense reports help engineers or other users enter their time and expenses as they are on the go. They can take pictures or receipts or submit their timesheet from home.
• The Project Command Center is a one stop fountain of information. Everything the project manager wants to know about a project can be found here. You can also add custom fields that allow you to tract addition information.

• Customer Care - this is probably the one area that needs the most work.
• Quality Control Testing - if this area had a higher level of detail prior to releasing updates, it might mitigate the number of patches required for customers.
• Cloud Based Product doesn't work for every customer. Get multiple references before considering moving to the cloud offering.

Incentivized

• Would be nice if the reports would have more creativity with the ability to add more charts and graphics.
• The user interface for time sheets could be more user-friendly.
• The user interface for expense sheets could be more user-friendly.

Incentivized

It is the most unintuitive system I have ever used. No one understands it right off the bat and the documentation doesn't help much.

The software is so huge and clunky that I wouldn't know how to ask for support. Here is my example of support needed: "Hello, I'm filling out my timesheet like I have been doing every day for years, and suddenly this error message came up that says "Error: 6HX7: PLC not available". I just made that up as an example of the cryptic error messages, but what is that telling me?

• Deltek Costpoint was able to provide a few more dimensions than ADP and is better prepared for larger international integration.
• DATABASICS can meet our dimension needs and provide the same services as Deltek Costpoint at a much lower cost.

Incentivized

The previous systems were essentially timesheet systems only with very basic accounting. It's mostly the accounting subsystem that made us select Ajera.

Incentivized

• Costpoint has made it possible for our business to get our invoices paid quickly and on time
• Costpoint has made it possible for our business to get a ISO audits cleared every year
• Costpoint has made it possible for our business to always setup projects in a standardized manner that either meets or goes beyond the industry standards.

Incentivized

• Made accounting and payroll's jobs harder.
• Improved visibility on project cost management and profit.

Incentivized