Likelihood to Recommend It addresses well some integration and connectivity issues with other software and adapted technologies: formulation and manufacturing batching software, scanners and bar codes, inventory, financials, emailing of invoices and statement, sales and purchasing... etc. I believe it to be better suited to a medium to large company. Not as simple and seamless as we expected for migrating from another Microsoft Dynamics software product (we moved from GP to NAV). Our staff is going through a tougher time than we thought to learn some procedures. Normal growing pains?!
Read full review The Installation team is amazing. They provide clear guidance at the beginning of the process regarding what is expected and what needs to be done. The implementation manager follows up monthly with you to make sure you are on track and if you need additional help. They are very helpful and responsive in resolving issues.
Read full review Pros Automate the creation of bills of materials for production. We can now generate a BoM from a sales order. Organization of all data pertaining to thousands of parts, assemblies, and finished goods. Engineering and purchasing have a common portal. We can create sales orders from quotations instead of re-entering them (this did require some bolt-on software). Less redundant work with fewer entry errors. Accounting can provide reports based on specific criteria stored in NAV. We can pull better and more detailed intelligence. Read full review Job Costing - Viewpoint Spectrum handles job costing per project, per work order, per site, and gives us an up to date analysis of the project. HR - helps to keep all of the training certifications and HR incidents in a consistent and manageable order for all Managers to use. Read full review Cons The version of software that we currently use isn't compatible with Windows 7, therefore we had to install it using the virtual computer under Windows XP. This created a few additional steps that the users had to go through in order to access the software which generated more calls to our IT Helpdesk. We did research how much it would cost to upgrade the software so that we could get a version compatible with Windows 7, but the cost was way too expensive for our organization. Also, when we need to make updates or changes to the software, there are very few consultants who are familiar with the software so we are limited in who we can use for consulting services. Since we are limited in choosing consultants who can make updates and changes to the software the fees are usually really expensive for their services. There is a .zup file that we constantly have to delete in order for the database to work properly and update. Users get a pop-up about once a week asking if they want to replace the .zup file and if the file is not deleted then the opening page for the software will not show up correctly and the database will not have the most up to date information. Read full review Support isn't readily available. You can submit a ticket and wait days before it's picked up. Even critical issues (system outages) can wait an hour or two before someone responds. Large companies will feel limited. This product wasn't designed to handle large amounts of data, and performance seems to slow when there are more than 80 concurrent users. The new developments are limited. HR Management is less robust than a third-party product specializing in HR Management. Viewpoint Analytics is nowhere near as robust as Power BI or Tableau. Read full review Likelihood to Renew We've already decided to continue using this software. It is too expensive for us to upgrade so we made a workaround by using the virtual computer with Windows XP installed on it. We did research replacing this software, but it was a better financial decision to keep what we had instead
Read full review The product is working for us and the cost to implement a new system does not warrant the expense.
Read full review Usability It has simplified all processes and reduces turnaround time for month end processes. You can easily navigate through the dashboard which is very user friendly and easily guides you to different functionalities. Duplications of Invoices is avoided because NAV rejects posting of an invoice number already in the system so you increase accuracy.
Read full review There's a little bit of a learning curve, but once you've been working in the system for a while, it becomes second nature. I would say that out of all of the other software that I've personally used, Spectrum has been the easiest one to pick up and learn quickly
Read full review Reliability and Availability I've never seen Spectrum down
Read full review Performance For the most part the product is very reliable. Since we are hosted we sometimes have connectivity issues but I would say that is more our ISP than Spectrum.
Read full review Support Rating It provides one to efficiently be able to manage bookkeeping and inventory without much challenges. One can easily navigate through workflow processes while managing usages and budgets. Being able to produce reports in Word, Excel or PDF means one is able to have a working document to produce trends and graphs or produce pivot tables.
Read full review The support has recently changed. Last year, you could call in and get an immediate response. Now that doesn't seem possible unless you have an urgent situation with access to the software, payroll or payables. I have found that using chat or e-mail works nicely for the most part, but sometimes I feel it would be easier if someone from support would jump on our site and take a first-hand look rather than going back and forth
Read full review Online Training Our trainer was excellent and navigated the time zone differences expertly. She gave us test assignments to complete and was available for questions at any time.
Read full review Implementation Rating My only insight would be to take time in your implementation and training process; ours was six weeks from start to finish.
Read full review Alternatives Considered I have personally supported all of the Dynamic family of ERP systems and made the decision to concentrate on NAV as the solution of choice. From a support and development standpoint there are few if any packages that can compare. It is not uncommon for most of the companies that I support to only call me once or twice a month after the first year. This is due to the ease of tracking down problems and errors and the ability for a developer to provide the end-user with routines that automatically correct the most basic kind of error
Read full review I have previously used Sage Masterbuilder, another construction industry software. This has been a number of years ago. The company I am working for already had Spectrum and have been using it for as long as it has been around when it was known as Forefront. Based on conversations I've had with the personnel that were here at the time of purchase, Spectrum clicked off all the boxes they were looking for.
Read full review Scalability You can grant user specific access which is nice. Project managers do not need all the same modules as Accounting. But Accounting does need access to PM modules as well
Read full review Return on Investment Automation processing, including EDI functionality, has increased employee efficiency and prevented the need for adding additional employees. Implementation of the warehouse functionality, including cycle counts, has resulted in better inventory control/less shrinkage. Implementation of e-Ship and e-Receive, has resulted in greater efficiency and order accuracy. Read full review [In my opinion,] it takes at LEAST twice as long to do our jobs now. [I feel like] we are paranoid about something not being printed correctly because of [what I believe are] buggy text fields. [In my experience,] we still have to refer to a physical file cabinet with paper, even though a main point of switching was to go paperless. [In our experience,] screens can now be "locked", so we can't see something if our coworker is also looking at it. [I believe that] the financial hit our company took from this switch was astronomical. [In my opinion:] Beware! Read full review ScreenShots