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Vista

Vista

Overview

What is Vista?

Viewpoint’s Vista is a construction accounting software. Vista’s core accounting features include accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, payroll and time management, and cash management. It also provides tools for document management, including document templates and reporting.

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Recent Reviews

User friendly!

6 out of 10
June 29, 2023
Incentivized
I think it is highly customizable and helps gets info in a quick way. There is a steep learning curve... but once you figure it out it's …
Continue reading
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 41 features
  • Direct deposit files (24)
    8.9
    89%
  • Pay calculation (24)
    8.8
    88%
  • Standard reports (29)
    7.9
    79%
  • Custom reports (26)
    7.6
    76%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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Unavailable

What is Vista?

Viewpoint’s Vista is a construction accounting software. Vista’s core accounting features include accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, payroll and time management, and cash management. It also provides tools for document management, including document templates and reporting.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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What is Sage 100cloud?

Sage 100 (or Sage 100cloud is a business management software offering a broad range of modules designed to meet the many needs of virtually any business. It encompasses financial operations and accounting, payroll, business intelligence, CRM, eBusiness, manufacturing and distribution.

What is Odoo?

Odoo, from the Belgium-headquartered multinational company of the same name, is a suite of business applications for managing the sales pipeline. It also comprises a PoS and inventory management modules, scaling to a warehouse or retail management solution.

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Features

Payroll Management

Provides for pay calculation and benefit plan administration, in addition to managing direct deposit, salary revisions and payroll tracking.

8.3
Avg 7.2

Customization

This addresses a company’s ability to configure the software to fit its specific use case and workflow.

7.3
Avg 7.2

Security

This component helps a company minimize the security risks by controlling access to the software and its data, and encouraging best practices among users.

8.2
Avg 8.1

Reporting & Analytics

Users can report on and analyze usage, performance, ROI, and/or other metrics of success.

7.8
Avg 7.0

General Ledger and Configurable Accounting

Financial management solution, including capabilities for general ledger and configurable accounting

8
Avg 7.6

Inventory Management

The ability to track and manage the flow of goods or materials into and out of an inventory.

7.4
Avg 7.9

Order Management

The ability to process orders, and track them from quote to cash.

7.4
Avg 7.8

Subledger and Financial Process

Revenue management solution including capabilities for subledgers and financial processes

7.6
Avg 7.4

Project Financial Management

Project financial management solution including capabilities for project budgeting, cost control, billing and contract management.

8
Avg 7.6

Project Execution Management

Project execution management solution including capabilities for project scheduling, resource management, and team member task management.

6.4
Avg 6.8

Procurement

Procurement management solution with capabilities for sourcing, contracting, procure-to-pay and supplier management

7.2
Avg 7.0

Supply Chain

Supply Chain Planning solution with capabilities for planning, performance monitoring, change responses and execution.

7.5
Avg 7.2
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Product Details

What is Vista?

Vista by Viewpoint is a construction accounting and ERP software that is designed to help contractors manage all areas of their business. According to the vendor, Vista enables the centralization of information with visibility, providing secure, fully-interactive data across the organization. From pre-construction through project closeout, Vista’s project management provides project insight, backed by up-to-date data and workflows. With job costing, service, equipment, HR and Payroll management placed at the user's fingertips, Vista shows whether or not a project is on track or behind, and makes users aware of potential issues as work occurs rather than weeks or even months later. The solution helps manage subcontractors, mitigate risks and complete projects on-time and on-budget.

Vista Features

General Ledger and Configurable Accounting Features

  • Supported: Accounts payable
  • Supported: Accounts receivable
  • Supported: Journals and Reconciliations
  • Supported: Configurable Accounting
  • Supported: Standardized Processes

Subledger and Financial Process Features

  • Supported: Billing Management
  • Supported: Cash and Asset Management
  • Supported: Travel & Expense Management
  • Supported: Budgetary Control & Encumbrance Accounting
  • Supported: Period Close

Inventory Management Features

  • Supported: Inventory tracking
  • Supported: Automatic reordering
  • Supported: Location management

Order Management Features

  • Supported: Pricing
  • Supported: Order entry
  • Supported: Cost of goods sold
  • Supported: Order Orchestration

Payroll Management Features

  • Supported: Pay calculation
  • Supported: Benefit plan administration
  • Supported: Direct deposit files

Reporting & Analytics Features

  • Supported: Dashboards
  • Supported: Standard reports
  • Supported: Custom reports

Customization Features

  • Supported: API for custom integration
  • Supported: Plug-ins

Security Features

  • Supported: Role-based user permissions
  • Supported: Single sign-on capability
  • Supported: User-level audit trail

Project Financial Management Features

  • Supported: Budgeting and Forecasting
  • Supported: Project Costing
  • Supported: Cost Capture
  • Supported: Capital Project Management
  • Supported: Customer Contract Compliance
  • Supported: Project Revenue Recognition

Project Execution Management Features

  • Supported: Task Insight for Project Managers
  • Supported: Project Mobile Functionality

Procurement Features

  • Supported: Contract Authoring
  • Supported: Contract Repository
  • Supported: Requisitions-to-Purchase Orders Integrated
  • Supported: Supplier Management

Supply Chain Features

  • Supported: Inventory Planning

Additional Features

  • Supported: Takeoff Tools
  • Supported: Cost databases
  • Supported: Bid Creation
  • Supported: Job Costing
  • Supported: Cost Calculator
  • Supported: Plan distribution & viewing
  • Supported: Issue tracking & Punchlists
  • Supported: Jobsite Reporting
  • Supported: RFI Tools
  • Supported: As-Built Drawings
  • Supported: Submittal Design and Management
  • Supported: Specifications
  • Supported: Plan Markups and Sharing
  • Supported: Photo Documentation
  • Supported: Document Sharing
  • Supported: Collaboration & Approvals
  • Supported: Mobile App
  • Supported: Meeting Minutes
  • Supported: Change Orders
  • Supported: Support for External Payroll Vendors
  • Supported: Compliance Data

Vista Screenshots

Screenshot of Job Cost AccountingScreenshot of Equipment ManagementScreenshot of Service ManagementScreenshot of Service Management Dispatch Board

Vista Video

Viewpoint for Estimating.

Vista Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile Application,

Frequently Asked Questions

Viewpoint’s Vista is a construction accounting software. Vista’s core accounting features include accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, payroll and time management, and cash management. It also provides tools for document management, including document templates and reporting.

Procore, Sage 300, and Acumatica are common alternatives for Vista.

Reviewers rate Direct deposit files highest, with a score of 8.9.

The most common users of Vista are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(137)

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-21 of 21)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
Andy Gagliardi | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Vista by Viewpoint is being used across our entire company. Our accounting department uses it for accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, financials. Our contracts department uses it for vendor master records and audits of master file agreements and individual contracts. Our purchasing department uses it for the purchase orders. Our human resource department uses it for safety training tracking, onboarding, employment history, salary history, employee turnover analytics, benefit selection history, vacation scheduling and tracking (in conjunction with our payroll department) and general record keeping. Maintenace uses it for master equipment file, equipment maintenance history, preventative maintenance scheduling, parts and component orders, and work orders. Fleet operations use it for milage tracking, fleet management and asset tracking. Equipment services use if for fleet maintenance management and general maintenance tracking. Operations use it for job costing, project management, and projections.
  • Lots of useful reports out of the box.
  • Ease of use and navigation.
  • Ease to modify existing reports to fit your needs.
  • Very easy to customize
  • Support can take some time to get back with you, but they are currently working on that.
  • The knowledge base is a real mess, unorganized, and it's sometimes hard to find the answers you are looking for.
Vista by Viewpoint is well suited for companies that are looking to be able to drill down and run reports right out of the box. There are hundreds of standard reports that allow you to drill down into pretty much anything you want to query. The ability to easily modify these reports also helps to get a custom feel that we have grown to like.
February 27, 2024

Vista Is Great!

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Vista mainly for accounting, our whole organization inputs data but the accounting department are the #1 users in our company. It keeps our project managers on-time and on-budget for our projects by displaying any issues before they become huge problems. Reports and dashboards keep us office folks up-to-date on what's happening in the field.
  • Fully customizable, it can do anything you want and be tailored to your business.
  • Real-time data.
  • Detailed data, you can see where every penny is going.
  • Takes a lot of time and effort to set up to get running.
  • Online answers can be a little difficult to find for the average user.
  • The non-computer person will need a LOT of training to use Vista.
  • There are quite a few bugs we run into but they are generally fixed on following releases.
Vista is not appropriate for field crew, they will not be able to input their own timecards but if you have a payroll person it's great! It's difficult to use in the field with poor internet connections but our office uses it every day all-day. This is THE accounting solution for your construction business, there really are no other comparisons, just don't expect anyone to be able to jump in and work right away.
August 01, 2023

Viewpoint Vista

Carlin Lakey | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We are a civil contractor doing asphalt paving, concreate paving, excavation & grading and bridge construction. Viewpoint Vista is our ERP where we process payroll, code and pay AP invoices, track project contracts and budgets and more. We also have rock quarries and asphalt plants and use Viewpoint Vista's inventory and material sales modules to track inventory and sales.
  • I love how Viewpoint Vista is easily customizable for our business needs.
  • Viewpoint Vista has a great online help and knowledge base that makes learning the system a breeze.
  • Viewpoint Vista integrates project management and accounting extremely well.
  • When updates are pushed out, it usually breaks things. I feel like updates need more testing before being implemented.
We are a civil contractor preforming asphalt paving, concrete paving, excavation & grading and bridge construction. We also do manufacturing of asphalt and rock crushing. We have found that Viewpoint Vista handles our contracting and manufacturing very well. We also have multiple companies within the same Vista ERP and have found the intercompany accounting works well.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Viewpoint for all reporting for financials, labor, invoices, etc.
  • Job forecasting
  • Job Costing
  • Performance analysis
  • Project Site is a mess, it does not work nearly as well as Procore
  • It isn't easy to find exactly what report you are looking for, the module based system appears outdate.
Best for job forecasting and project analysis. Being able to export into excel is a great feature. Logging in to Viewpoint is slow and burdensome, if there was a way to speed up this process that would be preferrable. The invoice review system works adequately as well, but I feel like the interface could be more user friendly. Viewpoint is not intuitive so any way to make it more like using an iPhone or another device we use daily would help new users become more proficient.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
As a company we use Vista for all aspects of accounting and project management. This of course includes tracking of all project related costs like subcontracts, purchase orders, change orders, etc. We also utilize many custom reports to sort through our vast amounts of data over the past many years.
  • Document management
  • Data management with custom forms.
  • User interface upgrade. It has gotten much better but could still use some updating.
Document and data management will help you maintain your projects in a timely and professional manner.
February 07, 2023

Software you can rely on

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use the Vista software and the Viewpoint HR Management to support other user users mostly. When in need I seem to be the one everyone comes to for problem solving whether it's how the software is performing or something doesn't look right and needs fixed. Once we went to the cloud my involvement with taking care of the database was moved to Viewpoint's responsibility and left me to concentrate more on reporting and problem solving.
  • The ability to create your own user defined tables to collect data that is not already collected within the software
  • The ability for employees to manage and view their employee records and data through the Vista HR Management module along with the timekeeping piece
  • To help users manage resources and better plan equipment maintenance and purchases in the future based on past data collected
  • Figure out a way to improve the cloud speed experience for data entry users
  • More hands on and real life examples training videos not just videos of what the software can do and not give examples. I realize all companies are different but more examples for setup in both Vista and HR Management would be beneficial
  • Support not to be so vague in their email answers when a support ticket is put in.
The company has made a commitment to the use of the Vista products and continue to move forward trying to implement more with the Vista HR Management. From timekeeping to onboarding in the near future we strive to look for better ways to utilize the products for our accounting and payroll purposes.
February 07, 2023

Vista is Awesome!

Miranda Wiechmann | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Personally I use Vista daily, I do Human Resources and Payroll so a lot of my job functions out of Vista. Vista has come a long way with their updates and functionality. One of the best parts of Vista is the Knowledge Base, typically I can find answers to the issues I run into with the knowledge base and not have to create a case. The knowledge bases' are in depth and provide step by step with screen shots on how to correct an issue. Even when a case is created, I have never ran into a specialist who is not friendly and helpful!
  • Knowledge Base
  • Reporting Functionality
  • Staying Current with Todays times (payroll and HR)
  • Filtering Down on the grids, giving more options
It is well suited on the Human Resources aspects - being able to keep everything one one employee in one spot. Such as, salary histories, training histories, discipline, the capability to be paperless by having attachment lister. It eliminates having to have multiple places for HR Documents, you can also secure attachments where certain people only have access.
February 03, 2023

Good systems to use

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Track cost - accounting - payables purchase orders - projections
  • Payroll system is outstanding. Easy to enter time and send out paycheck stubs.
  • Issuing purchase orders. Track budgets for individual jobs.
  • WIP reports, timely financial data.
  • Areas of improvement: equipment program use and trying to find solution through learning.
  • Imports: not as easy as the knowledge based leads on.
  • Crystal Reports is confusing even after completing the training on the subject.
The real-time data and the ease of use. Cost are post once invoices have been approved.
The excellent customer service - fast turnover with issues -
Viewpoint Knowledge Base - wide range of answers
Viewpoint Academy to review programs you haven't used in awhile ( this is really good for small business who have multiple task)
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Vista is currently being used by our Accounting, Admin, and Division team leaders. Division leaders use the Job Cost and PM modules for project accounting. The implementation of Keystyles has allowed us to provide all of our employees access to information inside Vista such as earnings, W2, personal information changes, timecard entry.
  • Job cost accounting.
  • Payroll.
  • Project Management.
  • Web-based platform.
  • Mobile applications.
  • Document management.
Vista is a very robust accounting package and job cost modules. Definitely well suited for large contractors, specifically heaving highway customers. Vista is less appropriate for smaller companies and subcontractors.
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Vista by Viewpoint is our main accounting and project management software through our finance, preconstruction, and operations departments. We utilize it to create and issue purchase orders, change orders, subcontracts, billings, and use it for reporting on the overall health of our projects in the system. This system is used daily to monitor job costs as well.
  • Unlimited Capabilities
  • Robust Program
  • Reports for everything
  • The training needed is extensive to utilize all aspects of the program.
  • The portal itself is very Windows 2000
  • The help offered when encountering a problem is not always quick
Vista by Viewpoint is surely a accounting-based program. It is more aimed at the financial health and wellness reporting on a project rather than a day-to-day operations system. This is great for internal office employees that understand the accounting behind a construction project and how it affects the success of the build. This is not a program used for field employees to know where the project stands.
Scot Strickland | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Vista by Viewpoint is the accounting, project management, equipment management and human resources management system in use by our family of companies. The various components of the Vista system provide a fully integrated system for keeping all of our operating companies and support departments up to date with the current information on our projects and people. The integration between Vista and the other Viewpoint One components we utilize provide a touch point into the system for nearly 100% of our employees in areas ranging from managing project data and finance to employees managing their own time entry and personal information updates. Vista has allowed us to fully integrate almost all areas of our data, finance and personnel management and remove more than 75% of the external processes that have been used in the past.
  • New employee on-boarding and personnel management
  • Full spectrum accounting management (AP/AR/Payroll)
  • Project management from contract award through project close-out
  • Data security management, reporting and anlysis
  • Equipment full lifespan management for costs, revenue and location tracking
  • User Database allows for built-in customization capabilities to fit the most unique business requirements
  • Additional web based functionality is needed in some areas to better support remote operations and low bandwitch sites
  • Improved analytics capabilities to preclude the need for using 3rd party solutions for analytics
  • Improved support for SSRS reporting capabilities in the Viewpoint Cloud environment
We have utilized the full extent of Vista system capabilities through every iteration of its evolution since 1986.
Over the years we have reviewed other systems to see if there is a better fit out there to support our various areas of operation in vertical construction, heavy civil construction, construction management, mosular fabrication and specialty subcontracting, and to date we have not found a better fit for our business.
The system is not perfect but it is constantly evolving and being enhanced to meet customer requests and remain in alignment with the current technologies available.
The areas where Vista is lacking are very limited; estimate imports for new projects and financial analytics are two areas which are currently being developed and we look forward to seeing what Viewpoint will bring forward in these areas.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
It is our main enterprise system used across all departments. We use it for payroll, HR, accounting, project management, and billing. It handles numerous HR functions from on boarding to employee benefit enrollment. Project based analytics are reported using Vista as well as expense reporting, timesheet and time off requests. Invoice a/p approval and performance reviews are also handled using Vista.
  • Project Job Cost Reporting
  • Contract Progress Billing
  • Integration of project management functions with the back office.
  • Functional reporting within the software uses Crystal Reports. This requires a special expertise for customization and limits reporting flexibility
  • Lack of single sign on for some of Viewpoints most recent web-based tools/functionality
  • Implementation and customization of the product is challenging and requires some work.
Great HR Management functionality via the Viewpoint One product! Analytics reporting is new but is adding functionality all the time. Integration of all the Viewpoint tools and functionality is a big plus between the project field management and the back office. Help tools and easy to understand and very intuitive. Customer support however is not the speediest.
Grant Mongin | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Vista to track job costs, billings, productivity and other user-defined data points. We use something called regions at our company that drives a lot of JC reporting for us. That is defined by a user-defined table and user-defined fields. This ability of Viewpoint to allow major customization to their product to allow us to run our business how we want to is very helpful to us.
  • Customization is as easy or as complicated as you like. You can get to the SQL tables/views if you want or go through Viewpoint to create customization in their software.
  • It's faster than competing products.
  • Their support team is fantastic. I use live chat and knowledge base daily and I always get answers.
  • Sometimes Vista has some bugs that should be worked out before general release so be careful when upgrading
  • Their TEAM platform is confusing
  • The interface for their product feels outdated
Vista by Viewpoint is made for construction companies of all sizes from what I've seen. It does not make sense for companies that don't do construction. Since it does construction so well though it's a selling point with clients who need help organizing things like PO's, cost tracking and billings. We have potential customer that wants to see all those things but doesn't have the software to do it.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We use Vista by Viewpoint (VP) across all departments. It has created a lot of efficiencies and collaboration. We came from a 2 system environment which created a lot of duplicate work. We also use VP Team.
  • Collaboration
  • Staying Current
  • Single Source
  • Maybe more resources to Microsoft Azure
It is a great Accounting and tracking system. Viewpoint Vista reduces redundancy between departments. You don't have to enter data/information in multiple systems.
Jon Glenn | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Vista is currently being used mainly by our office staff, but as we implement Keystyle and Viewpoint Team, it's moving across the entire company. Viewpoint itself is very customizable. We've added plenty of additional fields and some tables. Keystyle is amazing. Keystyle is allowing us to go more and more paperless, while also pushing documents directly into Vista. Team we've just purchased, so I can't go into that much, but it should be extremely helpful for our field.
  • Customizable -- endless user defined fields and tables can be added, among other things.
  • Paperless -- eventually, but it's definitely helping!
  • Expense and invoice review process can be done from anywhere, anytime (formerly Keystyle)
  • Speed of major updates and fixes could be faster. Every 6-9 months for major updates is longer than I'd prefer.
  • Clearview, aka their knowledgebase, doesn't search very easily.
  • Crystal hasn't been updated in eons, which clashes with one of our other programs (FAS Asset Accounting).
  • Expensive! Great software, but it's expensive.
It's a great software that's developed very well. It's very customizable, especially if you have someone in house that's able to do a bit of coding. For anyone doing their own payroll, which we do, it can do anything we've needed it to do.
December 30, 2020

Vista by Viewpoint Review

Score 4 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Vista is being used as our Construction Management Software across the entire company. Last June we also purchased Keystyle which was then purchased by Viewpoint. We use all Modules except for the Service Modules and the Resouce Modules. We use Viewpoint to address the majority of our business problems, we have put a lot of customization into Viewpoint. We have 500+ Custom reports along with many user-defined modules/tables.
  • Track Jobs - the PM Module allows tracking of a job.
  • User Defined Database - My sell on Viewpoint was how easy it was to add custom fields/tables and even create custom procedures for areas where Viewpoint did not have a module for that.
  • Equipment Tracking - Equipment Tracking is done very easily in Viewpoint.
  • Safety Training - Viewpoint tracks/compiles training however the reports are basic. We need to be able to see training by looking at a job and the employees on the job for certain training classes and seeing if the class is expired, missing or current. The entire safety training could use an overhaul.
  • PM PO Change Orders - this needs to be added into the PO Work Flow for the PM Side. There is not a way to do a change order and keep it in the PM PO Workflow.
  • Employee Info - A picture on the HR Resource Master would be great, then allow to print badges from there and also assign each employee a QR Code so the QR Code can be scanned for training or to get a list of the person's training.
Viewpoint Support - The support side for Vista is lacking in the amount of time it takes for a response and then also the time it takes to get the issue resolved.
Recently, I've had a ticket open for 2 weeks with no response, I had to go to the support manager to get a response. The longest ticket I had open with no response was 13 weeks, which is not acceptable. Also, Support needs to pay attention to time zone's and not call, leave a message and then send an email about how they can't get a hold of you and will close the ticket if they do not hear from you the next day. Viewpoint support is also very poor at keeping issues/cases updated on their side. It would be nice if I could go in and look at the issues/cases and see what Viewpoint is doing so I do not have to ask for a status update all the time. Support also does not read the information that is sent in on a ticket, they will send me links to articles in Clearview that are not even related to the problem submitted. Also if I add screen prints or attachments when I do get a follow up from support they always ask for me to submit screenshots because they cannot see them, even though I have submitted them with the initial ticket.
Jessica Rondash | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Viewpoint is used by our operations and accounting departments. We use it for most project management functions such as all subcontractor invoicing and client billings. Viewpoint has allowed the company to all use a common system.
  • There are a lot of customization options, especially in the reporting function.
  • It links different modules together, I.E you can only write change orders to subcontractors that have subcontracts on your job.
  • It allows us to collect data and report on it, for example, we can see invoicing by business unit or by project executive, etc.
  • Some parts of Viewpoint are not the most user-friendly and it takes time to get used to the program in order to use it fully.
  • There are error loops you can get stuck in when making an accidental error.
  • Viewpoint works well for lump projects but the billing and invoicing does not lend itself to CM jobs.
I think Viewpoint is good for general contractors. It is not the perfect software, but all software has drawbacks. The fact that you can add so much customization and create new reports is very valuable. It's less appropriate for a company that does primarily CM work.
December 31, 2019

Vista is very beneficial

Kiersten Adams | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Vista is a great software that allows users to easily enter and access information pertinent to their roles. Vista also has a great tool that allows users to search a database of information and see tutorials based on what they are searching for. The customer service is not the best at times, so this database of information is very helpful.
  • Time entry.
  • Benefits management.
  • Customer service - Timeliness.
  • Better support for 401(k) Roth plans.
Vista is well suited for data entry and retrieval in specific areas, but it could improve the individual customization for each user. It would be nice if it was easier for individuals to make specific fields and queries based on the information they need.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Vista by Viewpoint is used across the company. This includes core accounting functions such as AP, AR, Payroll, GL. It is used by Operations for project cost controls and purchasing, field time collection, and progress tracking. Our service department uses the Service module for dispatching, work order logging, contract management and customer billing. An extensive Safety program has been built on the software, which allows full integration with project and employee info.
  • Being on a Microsoft SQL platform enables easier development and integration with 3rd party software.
  • It has a very flexible User Defined fields and tables system to allow customizing to the user's needs without breaking standard features.
  • Security management is very granular.
  • Its history is that most entries are transaction-based, requiring batch processing. Some of these could be moved to background batch processing so the batching would be more transparent to the user.
  • More data needs to be available on mobile devices. They are making a move in this direction, which is good.
  • Some screens allow flexibility of viewing data in grid views, but the export of this data to Excel could be improved. This is mostly seen in Workcenters.
Probably not cost-effective for very small companies. It seems to fit mid-market very well. We have 3 companies with very different needs, and it was flexible enough to work well for us in each scenario. This included a company with 20 different unions and a non-union company. Payroll supported both. Consolidation of multiple companies was easily done as the data all resided in the same database.
Darrell Robinson | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Vista by Viewpoint company-wide, for Accounting, Project Management, and Service Management functions. It is the primary software for Payroll, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable and general ledger accounting processes. Additionally, jobs costs and project management are ably handled by Vista by Viewpoint.

We do a considerable amount of business serving commercial customers throughout the Front Range metro area via our Plumbing and HVAC Service departments. Vista by Viewpoint includes a robust Service Management module that is an integral part of that successful business enterprise.
  • Vista by Viewpoint provides a large capacity for flexibility in job/phase coding and associated costs, by individual cost types. For example, if phases are set up based upon the 16 divisions of the CSI MasterFormat, sub and sub-sub phases can be added for individual jobs on an as-needed basis. Each phase can be further defined by which cost types are available on that phase. Lastly, billings can be done by contract item, which can include several different phases, from various divisions, without limits.
  • Vista by Viewpoint's payroll system allows for many different earnings codes, to define any type of pay imaginable. For example, my company uses 20 different earnings codes on a regular basis. These can be grouped into different earnings types, which then can be coded to different GL accounts as needed.
  • Payroll costs can be differentiated between job costs and non-job costs. Payroll burden can be added to job costs via several different methods, depending upon the company's needs. More or less detail can be available for viewing in the job cost system when T&M backup is needed. All of these are examples of the flexibility available with Vista by Viewpoint.
  • In the payroll arena, occasionally some combination of actions will cause a Payroll Timecard Entry batch to become stuck in a Status 4 - Posting in Progress. Vista by Viewpoint requires that Customer Support be contacted whenever a batch is stuck in Status 4, as it is unclear what parts of the batch have posted to the other modules, especially General Ledger. Support is a whiz at untangling these situations.
  • However, a Payroll Timecard Entry batch does not post anywhere except its' own table - Payroll only posts to GL and other modules when the PR Ledger Update process is run. Support could conceivably allow customers to change the Status of only these batches, as no other modules would be affected. Then the customer could fix their problem and move on without further delaying the payroll process.
  • The User Interface in the Payroll and Accounts Payable modules have traditionally been clunky for non-accounting personnel to use. The increase in non-accounting people using some aspects of the system - for instance, remote payroll entry or project staff reviewing AP invoices - used to cause some angst. This has been greatly alleviated by the advent of the KeyStyle modifications in these two areas.
  • The functionality of the Service Management module continues to be added with each new update. It would be even better if Service could function more like Job Cost in the way of tracking costs. There seems to be a lack of commonality between the two modules - though it is getting better.
Vista by Viewpoint works well for a company that has professional project staff, that is experienced with a robust phase code matrix, where job cost can be tracked by division, and billings are completed by contract item. Accounting staff should be knowledgeable about using jobs and phases to denote payable and payroll costs.

Vista by Viewpoint can be a challenge for smaller companies that may only have experience with a QuickBooks-style of accounting. It is likely that the learning curve may be too steep, especially in the accounting areas. Vista by Viewpoint forces discipline in accounting. This is good, but it can be exacting.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is being used by our Project Management team and our Accounting team. It addresses cost accounting, project management, job cost, accounting, and contract management.
  • Accounts Payable: the review process is the best.
  • Cost Accounting: being able to cost to projects and forecast projects.
  • Job Billing: able to do time and material and progress billings.
  • RFI's and Submittals: hard to communicate with outside sources.
  • Service Management: I feel they are improving.
  • Overall: not a web-based software.
Vista by Viewpoint is great for cost accounting as the database system is complex and flows from one module to another. You can write subcontracts, track them, cost them, pay them, and forecast them all within one software.
Submittals and RFIs are a big turn off for Vista, the ability to communicate with outside sources is not possible. In a tech world, Vista not being web-based is an issue for younger generations.
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