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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    BQE CORE

    Score9.4 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

    PDS Vista

    Score1.2 out of 10
    Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
    Vista® is a human resource, benefits, payroll, recruiting, and self-service software. Functional elements include recruitment, staffing, position and training management, compliance, and performance and compensation.N/A
    Pricing
    BQE COREPDS Vista
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    BQE COREPDS Vista
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsLicense pricing is based on the number of full and part-time active employees within bands (e.g. 751-1,000). SaaS pricing is based on PEPM.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    BQE COREPDS Vista
    Considered Both Products
    BQE Software Inc.
    No answer on this topic
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    94%
    Would buy again
    142 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    104 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    148 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    92%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    68 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    81%
    Implementation went as expected
    79 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    BQE COREPDS Vista
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of BQE CORE and PDS Vista
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    7.6
    73 Ratings
    1% below category average
    PDS Vista
    -
    Ratings
    Task Management9.255 Ratings00 Ratings
    Resource Management8.654 Ratings00 Ratings
    Gantt Charts8.927 Ratings00 Ratings
    Scheduling8.035 Ratings00 Ratings
    Workflow Automation7.138 Ratings00 Ratings
    Team Collaboration5.245 Ratings00 Ratings
    Support for Agile Methodology7.321 Ratings00 Ratings
    Support for Waterfall Methodology4.518 Ratings00 Ratings
    Document Management7.938 Ratings00 Ratings
    Email integration6.433 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Access7.945 Ratings00 Ratings
    Timesheet Tracking9.673 Ratings00 Ratings
    Change request and Case Management7.131 Ratings00 Ratings
    Budget and Expense Management8.857 Ratings00 Ratings
    Professional Services Automation
    Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of BQE CORE and PDS Vista
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    7.5
    54 Ratings
    1% below category average
    PDS Vista
    -
    Ratings
    Quotes/estimates6.228 Ratings00 Ratings
    Invoicing8.147 Ratings00 Ratings
    Project & financial reporting8.453 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with accounting software7.334 Ratings00 Ratings
    Human Resource Management
    Comparison of Human Resource Management features of BQE CORE and PDS Vista
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    PDS Vista
    1.9
    19 Ratings
    122% below category average
    Employee demographic data00 Ratings1.018 Ratings
    Employment history00 Ratings1.019 Ratings
    Job profiles and administration00 Ratings1.015 Ratings
    Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings1.013 Ratings
    Organizational charting00 Ratings3.014 Ratings
    Organization and location management00 Ratings3.017 Ratings
    Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings3.012 Ratings
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of BQE CORE and PDS Vista
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    PDS Vista
    3.2
    19 Ratings
    85% below category average
    Pay calculation00 Ratings3.017 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings1.010 Ratings
    Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings4.01 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration00 Ratings1.017 Ratings
    Direct deposit files00 Ratings4.018 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings1.014 Ratings
    Reimbursement management00 Ratings8.25 Ratings
    Leave and Attendance Management
    Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of BQE CORE and PDS Vista
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    PDS Vista
    1.0
    14 Ratings
    156% below category average
    Approval workflow00 Ratings1.08 Ratings
    Balance details00 Ratings1.014 Ratings
    Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings1.013 Ratings
    Employee Self Service
    Comparison of Employee Self Service features of BQE CORE and PDS Vista
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    PDS Vista
    2.0
    18 Ratings
    121% below category average
    View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings4.017 Ratings
    Update personal information00 Ratings1.015 Ratings
    View company policy documentation00 Ratings3.09 Ratings
    Employee recognition00 Ratings1.06 Ratings
    View job history00 Ratings1.05 Ratings
    Asset Management
    Comparison of Asset Management features of BQE CORE and PDS Vista
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    PDS Vista
    7.3
    7 Ratings
    10% below category average
    Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings7.37 Ratings
    HR Reporting
    Comparison of HR Reporting features of BQE CORE and PDS Vista
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    PDS Vista
    2.0
    17 Ratings
    116% below category average
    Report builder00 Ratings2.015 Ratings
    Pre-built reports00 Ratings2.017 Ratings
    Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings2.014 Ratings
    Onboarding
    Comparison of Onboarding features of BQE CORE and PDS Vista
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    PDS Vista
    1.0
    2 Ratings
    155% below category average
    New hire portal00 Ratings1.02 Ratings
    Manager tracking tools00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
    Performance and Goals
    Comparison of Performance and Goals features of BQE CORE and PDS Vista
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    PDS Vista
    2.8
    3 Ratings
    95% below category average
    Corporate goal setting00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
    Individual goal setting00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
    Performance tracking00 Ratings6.42 Ratings
    Performance Management
    Comparison of Performance Management features of BQE CORE and PDS Vista
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    PDS Vista
    1.0
    5 Ratings
    155% below category average
    Performance plans00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
    Performance improvement plans00 Ratings1.02 Ratings
    Review status tracking00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
    Review reminders00 Ratings1.04 Ratings
    Multiple review frequency00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
    Succession Planning
    Comparison of Succession Planning features of BQE CORE and PDS Vista
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    PDS Vista
    2.3
    2 Ratings
    109% below category average
    Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings3.61 Ratings
    Candidate ranking00 Ratings1.02 Ratings
    Candidate search00 Ratings1.02 Ratings
    Candidate development00 Ratings3.61 Ratings
    Recruiting / ATS
    Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of BQE CORE and PDS Vista
    Feature
    BQE CORE
    -
    Ratings
    PDS Vista
    1.4
    4 Ratings
    139% below category average
    Job Requisition Management00 Ratings1.04 Ratings
    Company Website Posting00 Ratings1.04 Ratings
    Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings1.92 Ratings
    Applicant Tracking00 Ratings1.04 Ratings
    Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings2.02 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    BQE COREPDS Vista
    Small Businesses
    Any.do
    Score8 out of 10
    Zoho People
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    KanbanFlow
    Score7.3 out of 10
    Zoho People
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft To Do
    Score9.6 out of 10
    PeopleStrong
    Score10 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    BQE COREPDS Vista
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.4
    (165 ratings)
    1.0
    (24 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.0
    (8 ratings)
    9.1
    (7 ratings)
    Usability
    9.3
    (115 ratings)
    2.0
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.4
    (90 ratings)
    8.2
    (3 ratings)
    Online Training
    6.4
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    2.3
    (6 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 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 COREPDS Vista
    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
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    As Vista HRMS is fully customizable to suit your needs, a company should determine if they have a current employee who can do the work themselves otherwise they will need to consider the additional cost of asking PDS to do the customizations for them. There are additional modules that we aren't currently making use of, but each company should learn about the functionality of each of them as some may be more beneficial than others. When gathering your questions, ask all potential users of the system what they would want to see in an HRMS. We did so before selecting Vista HRMS and we got pages and pages of questions and comments and made sure that each item was addressed beforehand and was something that we would be able to incorporate into the system. You have the option of taking the system in house or being a hosted client. Make sure you figure out what resources your IT department has available. If you have a dedicated administrator who will do all the upgrades and enhancements great, otherwise you may need PDS to help out and having PDS host may be a better option
    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
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    • Vista HRMS is very flexible, it does everything we need for HR, benefits and payroll. It’s user-friendly and intuitive to use, when we roll out new self-service items our employees have no problems and require minimal training or documentation.
    • PDS has excellent customer service and support. We get answers to the majority of our questions and problems quickly, within the day that we call. More complex issues that may require PDS’ technical support are usually addressed within a few days. We were upgrading our production servers to Windows 2012 over a weekend and a key person in our organization was on leave. When we checked with PDS to see what cost would be involved if we needed their help, they said it was included in our regular maintenance, no extra cost.
    • The PDS User’s Conference is an excellent learning opportunity for training on everything Vista does, including using Crystal Reports for custom reporting. You also get to meet and talk to the executive and development staff and have direct input into the future product development.
    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
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    • Typical of any system built for the unknown requirements of hundreds or thousands of customers with varying needs, PDS sometimes doesn't fit our processes precisely out of the box. However, this con is far outweighed by the ability to configure and customize the system.
    • The most significant pet peeve of our users is the necessity for so many clicks to navigate between different areas or the system or to review applicants. These items are being addressed based on feedback from the user community in an upcoming release.
    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
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    I feel so invested in Vista HRMS that I don't really want to try other options. I know we as an organization are not using this product to it's full potential and that is just due to us lacking the resources to be able to invest the time into breaking it apart and making it work to the best ability for us. The system works great as is, but there are a lot of implementations we can put into place to help us out even more. For example, we would love to start using Workflow to create more efficiencies. I personally have a very good relationship with our hosted vendor who supports Vista HRMS and can help me with any issues and concerns, this is a big part of the reason that I would renew with this product and continue to be an advocate for Vista HRMS.
    Read full review
    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
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    In my line of work, PDS Vista doesn't fit. I recruit and manager talent pipelines, as well as all onboarding aspects of 11 companies. I spend more hours getting data configured and searching for information within this software than I spend with my candidates. Theres an abundance duplication, and there isn't a single stream of information shared across screens. I have to input the SAME details into several screens for them to match up. Nothing is intuitive, and its certainly not end user friendly
    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
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    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
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    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
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    PDS has excellent customer service and support. We get answers to the
    majority of our questions and problems quickly, within the day that we
    call. More complex issues that may require PDS’ technical support are
    usually addressed within a few days
    Read full review
    Online Training
    BQE Software Inc.
    Make sure you have someone training you that fits your style of learning.
    Read full review
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    The resources and online tools that PDS provide are extremely thorough and helpful in our training and learning.
    Read full review
    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
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    Ask lots of questions, ensure you fully understand the functionality (particularly history records) and train, train, train the users for correct and complete utilization of the system.
    Read full review
    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
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    I've used Peoplesoft HCM in the past. The products have some similarities, but they are marketed to different sized companies, so it's a bit of apples to oranges. Peoplesoft was very complex and challenging to manage and support. Vista HRMS should require fewer technical resources and still provide robust features for HR and Payroll. We selected Vista HRMS because it met the majority of our requirements and was priced to enable us to purchase and implement it within our budget. Also, it's an integrated system (although not truly one system when you count Vista Time) which is an improvement over our current state.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    BQE Software Inc.
    This software works on a small and large scale.
    Read full review
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    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
    Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
    • Positive impact would definitely be self-service for both employees and managers to view and update selected data.
    • Through some analytics our managers are able to track turnover for their site/department by many criteria (length of service, reason, etc) and can view a number of other analytical reports such as headcount and demographics which help them to make informed decisions about their department.
    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

    PDS Vista Screenshots

    Screenshot of employee data, which is the heart of a corporate knowledge base. Within Vista, an organized database of employees, applicants, jobs, and positions can be created and maintained. The product’s flexibility allows users to structure corporate data as simply or as complicated as business needs require.Screenshot of Vista Payroll, which is designed to strike the perfect balance between power and simplicity. It is designed to process large volumes of data within tight time constraints, whether U.S., Canadian, or Caribbean.

Vista Payroll is focused on its main tasks of calculating pay, creating paychecks, producing payroll registers, and federal, state, local, and provincial tax reports.Screenshot of the included Vista Benefits features, which can include unlimited plans and coverage levels, automated benefits eligibility, auto-housekeeping of valuations and premiums.Screenshot of Vista Recruiting, which presents critical applicant information in an efficient manner for both human resources professionals and hiring managers, alike.

Vista Recruiting gives HR departments command over the entire hiring process for each department in every location while more easily tracking and controlling costs, improving applicant management, strengthening relationships with applicants, and reducing paperwork for the HR team.