I use the accounting and purchasing portions of Viewpoint Spectrum. For my purpose, it makes entering/finding invoices and purchase orders very easy. The project managers are able to find what they need easily once a purchase order/invoice is entered. This saves time when they can find things needed to update their customers.
Pros
Easy to use
User-friendly
The software is laid out well
Cons
Customer Service
I would like to be able to see an image of a check once it has been printed
Imaging - issues with timing out are ongoing
Reporting a problem or issue could be streamlined
Likelihood to Recommend
The software is well suited for our needs as an electrical contractor. The accounting portion, which I use, works pretty seamlessly with the other parts of Viewpoint Spectrum that the warehouse and project managers use. If a project manager needs to see what the job cost is on a certain job, Viewpoint Spectrum pulls it all together so they can see what items have been ordered, and what has already been paid for.
VU
Verified User
Employee in Finance and Accounting (51-200 employees)
Our organization uses Spectrum for accounting, material POs, and inventory, labor, customer info, work orders, etc. Multiple departments use it, and several users are in different roles.
Pros
You can make different note sections.
You can rearrange columns to show the data you want.
Cons
Inefficient (think multiple things have to be clicked to view/edit).
In my opinion little to no automation or notification capacity.
The search function rarely yields the results you want.
Likelihood to Recommend
I tihnk Spectrum isn't terribly dynamic or adaptable. It's more of a record software than anything else, and it necessitates other product integrations to be able to conduct business in 2023. From its interface to its useability, it's not intuitive or user-friendly. No one I know likes using it. In my opinion, if you just need records that don't require frequent updating or collaboration, it might work for you.
Viewpoint Spectrum is our primary ERP system; we use it for both accounting and project management. We're a larger company than most of Viewpoint Spectrum's customers, and as such, we've noticed greater impacts when running reports or processing data. We also have had to integrate other products in order to get all of the features we were looking for. Thankfully, Spectrum's API is fairly well documented and makes it easier to import data into the Spectrum system from other products.
Pros
Security is well thought out, users can be extremely locked down or have very specific access down to a certain job or department.
They're trying to expand so that users don't need to integrate other products
Cons
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.
Likelihood to Recommend
Viewpoint Spectrum would be fine for small to medium-sized companies. It would be great for transitioning from an in-house paper-based process, especially since it's designed with small construction companies in mind. They're making it even easier for smaller companies by offering additional features that you'd normally have to find in other products. However, companies can easily outgrow this system. We have about 15 years of data in the system, over 300 active jobs, and nearly 1,500 employees. In the past 3 years we've noticed slower performance and frequent locks in the system that require intervention from a system administrator. We moved to the cloud about 2 years ago and this has made troubleshooting even more difficult as we don't have the same access that we did before to resolve performance issues.
VU
Verified User
Employee in Information Technology (1001-5000 employees)
Our whole company switched to [Viewpoint] Spectrum last November. It is used for construction service, sales, part sales, receiving, everything. We realized, unanimously, that getting [Viewpoint] Spectrum was the absolute worst decision our company has EVER made [in our opinion]. None of us know how this decision got approved. [In our experience,] this software does absolutely nothing to help us do our jobs; it only adds work. The whole point of switching was to automate things and take some of the work away. BEWARE: [in our opinion,] this software WILL NOT help you calculate anything; [in our experience,] all sell and unit prices must be entered manually. [In our opinion,] everything is MUCH more manual than it was with our "ancient" system. Also, [in my opinion,] this program is bugged to hell. When you enter a contact name on an order, it NEVER sticks [in my experience], so now we have to print every order and write the names in. Another point of getting [Viewpoint] Spectrum was so that we [could] scan images into orders, so we don't have to print anything. However, unsurprisingly, [in our experience,] this doesn't work either. So now, we have to keep hard copies in a filing cabinet as well. When I have customers in front of me, I [feel I] look stupid because a lot of times the screen bugs out, the loading circle spins indefinitely, or records are "locked" and I can't access anything [in my experience using it]. I [feel like I] can't even put into words how inconvenient this is. [I believe that] [Viewpoint] Spectrum has known about these issues, and despite how easy of a fix it is, [I feel that] they simply do not care that they are burning businesses to the ground. [In my opinion,] not a day goes by where someone doesn't cuss out the system. [I believe] everyone [at my organization] absolutely hates it, and [I think] the CEO doesn't use it and doesn't know how bad we or the company is failing because of this. I [believe and] predict that if we don't change systems soon, we are going to suffer. [Personally,] I don't understand how there are ANY good reviews of this system... [I believe] they must have been written by CEOs who don't use the system at all. [In my opinion,] STEER CLEAR, or [I believe] you will regret getting this system!!!!!!!!!!! [In my experience,] it's not easy to make the switch twice...
Pros
[In my opinion,] nothing.
Cons
[I believe it could improve] viewing records.
[I believe it could improve] calculating.
[I believe it could improve via] retaining the information I type in, instead of me having to print it and write on the paper.
[I believe] UI Improvements [are] needed [as I feel it is] hard to navigate.
[I believe it] needs a SERIOUS debugging.
Likelihood to Recommend
[Personally,] I can't imagine a company where [Viewpoint] Spectrum would work well. [In my opinion,] it does nothing to benefit anybody. [I feel that] we took a major downgrade going with this software.
We use it across all departments so things are seamlessly integrated. It gives a one-stop, all-encompassing environment to manage jobs and the company. We can move a project through its life cycle integrating the various modules. They are all still linked to a spiderweb-like view of the project that can be seen and managed.
Pros
Very customizable.
The support system is very helpful.
Cons
Some reporting is too limited. Having to go to crystal reports to get common information.
In the payroll module, there is no way to generate a report of only vacation/sick time allotted and used. You have to download all the time card history, then sort out what you are looking for.
Likelihood to Recommend
It's well suited for multiple users to work from various locations at the same time on the same things.
VU
Verified User
Executive in Finance and Accounting (11-50 employees)
We use Viewpoint Spectrum across the entire company. It's a great way to store and track virtually everything that goes into a construction job. We are using it for the financial side, and use Procore for the construction side. We also use it extensively at our service company. Without Spectrum, I'm guessing we would have a mountain of paper and never be able to find the information we need. There are also some useful reports.
Pros
Keeps information digital.
Organizes information and runs reports.
Helps communicate efficiently between departments.
Cons
The reporting is kinda clunky.
On-site support is very very expensive (but a lot of mistakes occurred on initial setup, and fixing them is difficult).
The imaging is quirky and often slow.
Likelihood to Recommend
Trying to change a report or combine information from a report is impossible. Detailed help is very difficult to get. Other than that, Viewpoint is good. It helps organize payroll and stores nearly all the company information in an organized and accessible fashion.
Viewpoint Spectrum is used across the entire organization. It links cost management through payroll and accounts payable modules to job cost seamlessly. The reporting capabilities and parameters are useful to project managers and support staff.
Pros
Records a single transaction and is linked through many modules so that once an invoice is input for payment, a user can view the invoices, determine when we will be paid, see if it is assigned to the correct job, and see the expenses in job cost reports in the applicable general ledger expense account.
The cash management module provides the ability to reconcile the cash/operating account balance to the bank balance on a daily basis and reconciles/researches any discrepancies without generating tons of paper or waiting until month-end.
The multitude of job cost and history reports along with scanned documents to substantiate costs is a valuable resource to project managers for managing a large job, determining profit margins, and managing manpower.
Cons
The general ledger module, specifically cash account, has eliminated the ability to post cash receipts and cash payments (A/P) in a lump sum. Therefore, reconciliations and cash-flow reporting and accumulation of valuable data are extremely unproductive and inefficient.
The inflexibility of voiding transaction in A/P after entered. You must create credit, then match the original input to credit in order to eliminate it outstanding and all reports.
Likelihood to Recommend
It is well suited for job cost and project management. It needs improvement in accounting and reporting. It would be nice to have the use of simple downloads in order to produce financial statements without requiring a degree in IT.!
VU
Verified User
Professional in Finance and Accounting (51-200 employees)
We use Spectrum for our whole organization and are looking at implementing Viewpoint Service Tech and their project management tool.
Pros
Purchasing management is one of the things we love most about Spectrum. It's easy for our admins to create purchase orders and track their progress, and for the PM team to approve/deny costs.
Love how easy it is to generate reports from Spectrum directly into Excel.
Cons
Ease of use and tutorials. I understand that it's all custom to your company, but basic tutorials accessible through Spectrum itself would be great. Many of our employees are unaware of the Viewpoint network website as a resource for Spectrum tips and tutorials.
Likelihood to Recommend
I think Spectrum is well suited to many businesses in the industry. We're primarily a distributor of HVAC equipment, but we also do some construction and service work. Spectrum and its counterparts (Service Tech and PM Tool) are all useful tools.
