Deltek Ajera vs. Synoptix

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

It is excellent if set up well, and users are well trained on how to use it as it is not very user-friendly. But to achieve that, you have to go through the hell of a setup. Support is not knowledgeable in some areas of the software, it is tough to set up and install, and when presented by salespeople, it is all great, but you need to invest a lot to pay it off.

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.

• Easy report building interface with an query interface that allows financial users the ability to conduct complex queries without difficulty.
• The ability to create reporting that allows us to review in-depth financial review by drilling down into accounts to find transnational data easily.
• Easily maintained and monitored with simple upgrade installations and end point installation.
• Great knowledge base for review and trouble-shooting.
• Highly knowledgeable and easy to work with staff.

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 has a poor install procedure which is not standard. It almost requires copying folders from an existing computer to the new install.
• The update process is less than desirable. It seems like Compusoft needs to do a better job of testing before releasing updates.
• The interface is a bit archaic. It looks more like a program from 20 years ago than one used today.

Incentivized

Support does not know much about software solutions. As an example, I have struggled for weeks just to set up LDAP that should be fairly simple.

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

Prior to Synoptix we were using the reporting tool that comes with our ERP system. It lacked the drilldown and comparability functions that make Synoptix the top pick. Further, designing reports and maintaining reports was very labor intensive

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

• As a reporting tool it has allowed us to make fact based decisions. We have a significant annual cost with relation to our legacy system and Synoptix provides us with the best tool to mine the data that resides in our legacy system.

Incentivized