BQE CORE vs Costlocker
BQE CORE
bqe.com
Costlocker
costlocker.comSide by side
| Figure | BQE CORE | Costlocker |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $12/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 5 |
| Spec score · Project Accounting Software | 8.8 (#2) | 9.2 (#1) |
| Integrations | Supported integrations listed by BQE include QuickBooks Online and Desktop, Xero, MYOB AccountRight, DocuSign, Microsoft 365, Power BI, Google and Zapier. | Costlocker advertises Make.com integration and API connectivity, with the help center saying Make reaches more than 1,000 applications. |
| Licence | The SaaS agreement grants a non-exclusive, non-perpetual, non-transferable licence for internal use; the service is proprietary rather than open source. | Costlocker is proprietary online software; its terms assign copyrights to the provider and prohibit copying, decompiling, modification or source-code analysis. |
| Limit: learning curve | Reviewers report that the breadth of features creates a significant onboarding and training learning curve. | Another G2 reviewer said navigation and learning take time before the product becomes useful. |
| Purpose | BQE CORE combines project management, time and expense tracking, billing, accounting, HR, and business intelligence in a cloud-based platform for professional services firms. | Costlocker tracks agency time and costs and provides insights into project, client, and team profitability. |
| Rating on Capterra | 4.5 out of 5 from 796 reviews | 0.0 out of 5 from 0 reviews |
| Rating on G2 | 4.3 out of 5 from 453 reviews | 4.5 out of 5 from 2 reviews |
| Rating on Software Advice | 4.5 out of 5 from 793 reviews | No rating out of 5 from 0 reviews |
| Security | CORE supports two-factor authentication, with text, voice call, or authenticator app as options. | The privacy policy states that login and registration use HTTPS with 128-bit or 256-bit encryption and Let’s Encrypt SSL. |
| Support | BQE advertises 24/7/365 support and complimentary public group training for CORE customers. | The pricing page lists chat and email support, and the site links to a help center, quick-start guide, system-status page and developer API documentation. |
| Trial | BQE’s pricing FAQ says customers can receive support during a CORE trial, but does not state its duration on that page. | The 30-day free trial requires no credit card or payment details. |
| What it does | BQE CORE is a cloud SaaS business-management platform for professional-services firms covering time and expenses, projects, billing, accounting and reporting. | Costlocker combines time tracking with project profitability analysis for agencies and other service businesses. |
Plans
BQE CORE
- AccountingPriced on request
- CRMPriced on request
- FoundationsPriced on request
- FoundationsPriced on request
- HRPriced on request
Costlocker
- All-Inclusive (annual billing)$12 a month
- All-Inclusive Plan$12 a month
- Annual$12 a month
- 6-monthly$16 a month
- Monthly$20 a month
In their own words
BQE CORE
BQE CORE is a cloud-based platform for managing projects, time and expenses, billing, accounting, HR, and business intelligence at professional services firms. It is designed for architecture and engineering businesses and also serves other professional services firms. Project tools show progress and budgets, support task allocation and forecasting, and include interactive Gantt charts. Time and expense features include pre-populated timesheets, receipt capture, and overtime calculation. Billing supports manual, batch, and recurring invoices, flexible schedules, and online payments. Reporting includes real-time KPIs, customizable dashboards, and scheduled reports. Integrations include QuickBooks Online and Desktop, Xero, MYOB AccountRight, DocuSign, Microsoft Office 365, Power BI, Google, and Zapier; public APIs can be used to build custom integrations. iOS and Android apps are available. The Android app supports project and expense work, invoicing, and reports, but adding, editing, or deleting records requires an internet connection. Pricing is on request; there is no free plan, but a free trial is offered.
Costlocker
Costlocker tracks agency time and costs to show profitability across projects, clients and employees. It records billable and non-billable hours and links them to salaries, roles and billable rates. Teams can set project budgets, compare estimates with actual costs and follow budget use while work progresses. Reports cover profitability by project, client and employee, and revenue forecasts can draw on budget expectations and planned workloads. Costlocker is available on the web, iOS, macOS and Windows, with REST and GraphQL APIs. Its Make integration is available by invitation through support. Desktop time-tracking apps are offered for macOS and Windows, while the iOS/iPadOS app works on phones and tablets. The All-Inclusive Plan is listed at $12 a month, billed monthly; its features include unlimited projects and clients, desktop apps, API integration, and chat and email support. The yearly plan is described as 40% off, but its price is not shown. Charges apply only to active users. A 30-day free trial requires no credit card or payment details. Costlocker is intended for business use, not consumers.