# BQE Core Review: Pricing, Features, Alternatives BQE Core: Project accounting and time and billing platform sold to architecture and engineering firms. Pricing from On request, SOC 2 unconfirmed, and how it compares to the alternatives, for US accounting and bookkeeping firms. Source: https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/practice-management/bqe-core/ --- [Accounting Tools](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/) · [Practice Management](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/practice-management/) # BQE Core Dated · BQE Software Project accounting and time and billing platform sold to architecture and engineering firms [Visit BQE Core](https://www.bqe.com/) [All 49 practice management tools](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/practice-management/) Best for Firms billing project work by phase or percentage complete, mostly outside public accounting Starting price On request SOC 2 Unconfirmed Multi-factor auth Unconfirmed Ownership growth investment from Serent Capital (2021); founded by an architect and an engineer over 30 years ago Integrates with Microsoft Outlook add-in, open API, SPRCHRGR implementation partner The read ## What BQE Core does BQE Core sells to architects and engineers. That is not a criticism, it is the single most useful fact about it for anyone reading this directory. The company's own who-we-serve pages list three verticals, architecture, engineering and consulting, and the marketing copy is explicit that the founders built the platform to run their own architecture and engineering practices. Accounting firms appear only in older blog posts, not as a served market. A CPA practice evaluating Core is evaluating a product whose roadmap is set by somebody else's problems. The product itself is solid at what it does. Foundations is the base module covering time and expense capture, billing, project management and reporting, with accounting, CRM, HR and embedded payroll sold as add-ons. Project accounting works at phase level with percentage-complete billing and proper WIP treatment, resource planning forecasts staffing against project schedules, and the analytics cover realization, billing multiples and margin per project. For a firm that bills long design engagements against fixed budgets, that is exactly the right shape. For a firm whose year is a wave of 1040s in March and a second wave in September, it is the wrong shape entirely: no client tax record, no return workflow, no organizer, no 8879 handling, no tax software integration, and no ledger integration to QuickBooks Online or Xero. Buying it is also opaque. Pricing is described as per user with modules on top but no figure is published anywhere, and the only route is a quote request or a phone call. Security documentation is limited: the security and privacy page states GDPR and CCPA compliance and general adherence to industry standards, but names no SOC 2 report, no MFA or SSO capability and no data centre locations. A Vanta-hosted trust centre exists at trust.bqe.com but its contents are not readable without going through the vendor. The public press page has not been updated since a partnership announcement in September 2024. Accelo is the closest comparison and the better answer for an accounting firm wanting project economics, because it at least integrates with QuickBooks Online, Xero and Sage Intacct and still markets to accounting practices. Mango covers time and billing for accounting firms specifically at a published price. Karbon or Practice CS are what a firm actually cross-shops if the requirement is practice management for compliance work. Dated is the right call for this directory and the tier stands, though the reasoning is worth being precise about. BQE is not a neglected product: it took growth investment from Serent Capital in 2021, changed CEO in 2023 and shipped a new Project Center in 2024. What has gone stale is its relevance to accounting firms, which have been quietly dropped from the verticals it sells to. Firms already running Core can stay on it. Firms shopping now should read the absence of accounting from BQE's own positioning as the answer. Capabilities ## What you get Project accounting with phase-level budgets, percentage-complete billing and WIP Time and expense capture with approval routing and utilization reporting Resource planning and forecasting against project schedules Optional add-on modules for accounting, CRM, HR and embedded payroll Reports and analytics covering realization, billing multiples and project margin Pricing, security, integrations ## What it costs and what it connects to BQE Software does not publish a price for BQE Core; it is quoted per firm, usually on firm size or entity count. We could not confirm a SOC 2 report for BQE Core from public sources. Ask the vendor directly before it touches client data — an absence here means unverified, not absent. BQE Core does not integrate directly with a general ledger. Beyond that: Microsoft Outlook add-in, open API and SPRCHRGR implementation partner. [Vendor pricing page](https://www.bqe.com/pricing) · [Vendor security page](https://www.bqe.com/company/security-and-privacy) Our rating ## Why we rate BQE Core a Dated BQE Core is rated Dated: it is one of 18 of the 49 practice management tools here that still works but is no longer keeping pace. Still sold and still working, but no longer keeping pace — thin investment, an aging interface, or a roadmap that has visibly stalled. Fine to stay on, hard to recommend adopting. [How these ratings are decided](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/methodology/). Alternatives ## BQE Core alternatives ### [Accelo](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/practice-management/accelo/) Professional services automation for firms that bill advisory work by project or retainer Strong Option ### [Mango Practice Management](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/practice-management/mango/) Time, billing and document workflow for CPA firms that still bill by the hour Strong Option ### [Karbon](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/practice-management/karbon/) Practice management built around shared email, with workflow, portal and billing attached Top Pick ### [Practice CS](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/practice-management/practice-cs/) Desktop time, billing and firm management for CS Professional Suite firms Dated ### [Xero Practice Manager](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/practice-management/xero-practice-manager/) Job, time and billing management for firms inside the Xero partner program Dated ### [ZentroBiz](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/practice-management/zentrobiz/) All-in-one practice platform for US tax firms, with IRS transcript and TIN matching add-ons One to Watch [Compare all 49 practice management tools](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/practice-management/) Sources ## Where these facts came from Researched from public sources. Pricing and security claims change without notice, so check the vendor before you buy. Last reviewed September 8, 2026. ### [BQE who we serve](https://www.bqe.com/who-we-serve/professional-services) Retrieved 2026-09-08 ### [BQE pricing](https://www.bqe.com/pricing) Retrieved 2026-09-08 ### [BQE security and privacy](https://www.bqe.com/company/security-and-privacy) Retrieved 2026-09-08 ### [BQE press releases](https://www.bqe.com/company/press) Retrieved 2026-09-08 Keep browsing ## Other categories [General Ledger & Bookkeeping (26)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/general-ledger/)[Tax Workflow & Document Automation (26)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/tax-workflow/)[Payroll & PEO (19)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/payroll/)[Tax Preparation (18)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/tax-preparation/)[Tax Planning & Advisory (13)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/tax-planning/)[Tax Research (13)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/tax-research/)[Month-End Close Automation (11)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/close-automation/)[Proposals & Engagement Letters (9)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/proposals-engagement/)[Spreadsheet Reporting & Ledger Sync (6)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/spreadsheet-reporting/)[Tax Resolution & IRS Representation (6)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/tax-resolution/)[AI Meeting Assistants (5)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/meeting-assistants/) ## Got the stack, still doing the work by hand? 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