BigTime Reviews

Pros

The customization and the ability to track just about anything you want for project management, profitability and invoicing. And the integration with Quickbooks.

Cons

I wish more fields were customizable. The handful that they allow you to rename are great, but more would be better! I wish there was a 45 day training session to ask questions that arise after using for a bit.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Teams, Adobe Creative Cloud Express and monday.com

Reasons for Choosing BigTime

Productive was very limited, and the budgeting side was terribly difficult to navigate especially with our high volume of monthly retainers

Switched From

Productive

Reasons for Switching to BigTime

I was not part of the research that was done. I was given the final choice to test and work with the sale rep to ensure that it performed the way we needed it to. If I was not happy we would have gone back to the drawing board. But, I know one of our main objectives is to track project profitability and this is so far doing what we needed it to do.

Pros

BigTime is the program we use for tracking time, managing expenses, and sending out invoices. Using QuickBooks as our primary accounting software has its advantages, and one of those is that BigTime can sync up with QuickBooks during the day to make sure that the two are always up to date.

Cons

The approval screen does not currently allow for invoices to be filtered by Team Lead, so all Team Leads have access to all invoices rather than just their own. It's not easy to modify your own report, therefore we typically have to contact support for assistance.

Pros

BigTime has the potential to be very user friendly, however, there is a learning process. Not everything is the same. For example, when I run one budget report, submitted time is not included, while in another report it is.

Cons

The data does not always auto populate and the software should be able to generate numbers and percents on its own... I should not have to go in and manually input % complete, it should be done on it's on as the team moves forward within the project.

Pros

It's simple to use, and the help desk service is excellent. Brittany U. and I got on a Zoom session to discuss the problem, and we were able to address it quickly. You can count on an immediate response from the support team, or at least a prompt reply.

Cons

Until the features are explained in greater detail, they may be difficult to use. Is there a way to add files or links to external files to a project? Not yet, at least.

Pros

The orientation procedure went really smoothly. We were given excellent assistance; even when we had queries in the period between sessions, the personnel responded quickly. The program is straightforward, and the mobile application is fantastic for our field staff.

Cons

Even though making adjustments to our invoicing system can be challenging at times, we've always received helpful responses from the staff that have allowed us to go forward with our plans.

Pros

ease of use and integration with QBO, invoicing and WIP tracking, easy to train for staff input of TS

Cons

slow to add some features that would be helpful for payments. Adding feature to charge client service fees for ACH and credit card payments, allowing us to edit payment post if entered incorrect or if Client over pays to track credits.

Pros

That it is so customizable from just about every feature it offers.
Easy to use.
Intregrates with QuickBooks.
The white glove service from our customer success manager, [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN].
All of the report options and customizations
Project Management and tracking on all aspects of a project.
The Knowledge based section for finding information on how to use features.

Cons

That you cannot change the Project Fee to say Project Budget. This is just a preferred naming system for our company though, so not the end of the world that we could not change this.

Pros

Easy to use, easy to configure, brandable and great support

Cons

Wish the documentation for the custom invoices was stronger.

Alternatives Considered

SAP Concur and Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Switching to BigTime

Better, faster, more affordable and easier to use and setup.

Pros

Prior to BigTime, my organization used a hodgepodge of systems to track time, track expenses, and invoice. Having all three of those in one spot has saved us 40+ man-hours a month. The customer service is also fantastic. Our implementation specialist, [SENSITIVE CONTENT ] is very easy to work with and really knows his stuff.

Cons

Coming from a mess of different tools and consolidating into one simple, easy to use tool, it is really hard for me to say what can be improved at this point.

Alternatives Considered

NetSuite

Reasons for Switching to BigTime

The cost was a large driving factor, but simplicity was really the reason.

Pros

Tracking time and being able to in real time look at where we stand on each project from a billing standpoint.

Cons

We are in the early implementation stages of BigTime, everything currently is an improvement over how we previously operated. No known "cons" at this time.

Alternatives Considered

BQE CORE Suite, Deltek Ajera, monday.com and Monograph

Reasons for Switching to BigTime

QuickBooks Desktop Integration, cost, features, etc.

Pros

BigTime is incredibly inexpensive and easy to get into compared to competing software. If you have a dedicated team, you could be implemented in as little as a month. The customer support has also been superb. I have really enjoyed working with the sales and implementation mangers. We decided on BigTime because we needed a Project Management software, and ended up with a slew of other features that has allowed us to cut out some other software subscriptions such as time tracking software.

Cons

The only thing I can say we really dislike about BigTime is not having a "clock-in, clock-out" function. Meaning the software does not record the time of day you start and end. Overall, the time tracking portion does not seem as detailed as Tsheets, our previous time tracking software.

Alternatives Considered

SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Deltek Ajera, Dynamics 365, NetSuite and Deskera ERP

Reasons for Switching to BigTime

Mostly the cost and implementation timeline (and it had all of the features we were looking for of course). We knew if this was a product we weren't happy with, we could just switch after a year and not lose out on too much money spent on implementation. You can even pay month to month so there is essentially no commitment.

Pros

Ease of timekeeping and expense module.

Cons

There are lots of different options to set things up and you need to fine tune what works best for your organization and the other softwares you implement into. Still fine tuning 2 years later to find the best ways to set up projects and tasks for quality reporting. Would like to see white labeling and SSO integrations in the future.

Pros

Our small business needed a platform to help us accurately track the financial health of our projects. We moved to BigTime from QuickBooks Online because we needed deeper control of our time entries and fee tracking. The Report Center really leverages the data entered into the system so that at a push of a button your data is organized and presented in an easy to understand report. Custom reports are a great feature, and with the help of the support team you can create whatever report your company needs. Thanks to BigTime we've been able to track the health of our projects with precision, and the overall health of our company has BigTime to thank.

Everyone we've worked with at BigTime ([SENSITIVE CONTENT]) have been extremely friendly and helpful whenever we've come to them with a problem or request.

Cons

As BigTime has grown over the years they've taken their users suggestions to heart. If a feature isn't currently active on BigTime it most likely is in the pipeline for future integration. We've seen our suggestions turn into real features throughout the duration of our use of the platform which is always great to see when companies listen to their customers.

Sometimes the reporting center isn't as intuitive as you'd like it to be, but with a little help from their support team they can help custom build your reports with you.

Pros

BigTime time and expense entry for specific job/tasks is easy for users. Invoice creation using the time and expenses entered is seamless, yet flexible. Once invoices have been emailed to my clients I can easily track my client's activity to ensure that the invoice has been viewed. If my email transmission has failed I get a notification.There are plenty of webinars available to use for self-guided learning. Also, there are live webinars for new users to gain knowledge about BigTime. Reading the blog posts is helpful too.BigTime support has been very helpful if I reach out with any issues. I recently worked with [sensitive content hidden] for over an hour to solve an issue. He was very patient and was determined to solve my problem during our call.

Cons

There are a few hiccups with taxation for Canadian users. BigTime has been working on improving these features.I would like to see more options for invoice PDF templates so that the invoices are better looking.I really struggle with customizing BigTime reports when any of the standard reports don't meet my needs.There are a few issues with syncing to QBO, but BigTime support staff have been helpful in trying to resolve these issues.

Pros

We support many different kinds of projects and contracts. We have T&M, Fixed Fee, Recurring and some Fixed Fee with a T&M Element. We like BigTime because it is easy to set up a project with tasks (line items) that match our contracting terms. Also, it is possible to set Cost and Bill rates at the Company, Project or even Task Level. This kind of flexibility makes it easy for us to produce invoices that match our contract setup. We also needed something with fairly tight QuickBooks Online integration. BigTime deliveres here also. Lastly, the reporting facility in BigTime is very usuable.

Cons

There is not really anything that I find I don't like. From time to time, I have a feature request for the BigTime team. They communicate very well regarding their roadmap.

Pros

The ability to pull out job lists with titles is very convenient for having team review meetings. You are able to pull out most reports into excel and filter and sort from there. Having the task status is very useful for those who utilize that feature. My office does not take full advantage of the capabilities this system offers but does work for us when being used.

Cons

For the new Gantt chart feature I have not been able to use very much but am disappointed it is not able to be exported into excel like the other reports. The difficulty with this system is that it is only as good as your weakest link. For my office enforcing full participation is difficult and that prevents us from taking full advantage. I do not work in accounting but apparently it does not sync as well as it used to for quick books and other software. This makes work duplicated on that end which is really inconvenient. Another item that is irritating is when pulling complete job list you have to do it a certain way or else it will not pull old jobs that you were not listed as team member for. That caused some confusion/concern during review meetings.

Pros

BigTime saved us from doing biologs, logging out and also the need of us to keep track by ourselves the time we spent for a single project. It is an online application where you can input how many hours did you consume just to create or to lead a single project versus the other projects that you are doing.

BigTime saved me more time in logging in and logging out, and also keeping track with how many hours of work I did for the day.

Cons

What I don't like about BigTime is that sometimes when you submit your timesheet, it creates duplicates times. So instead of just sending 40 hours of work in a week sometimes it gets doubled or tripled.

Pros

I think the software is very user friendly, however, there are parts of it that I have never used and not sure how to use it.

Cons

I think the software is very easy to use, but I would like to know more about how to use the features I don't use.

Pros

One of the things I liked most about BigTime was its comprehensive project management features. It offered a wide range of tools and functionalities that allowed me to effectively plan, track, and manage my projects. The ability to set up project timelines, allocate resources, track time and expenses, and generate detailed reports all in one platform was incredibly convenient and efficient. It helped streamline my project workflows and improve overall productivity.

Cons

While I found BigTime to be a powerful project management solution, one thing I liked least was the learning curve associated with its advanced features. Some of the more complex functionalities required a bit of time and effort to fully grasp and utilize effectively. Although the platform provided helpful documentation and support resources, I felt that a more intuitive and user-friendly interface could have made the initial learning process smoother.

Pros

This product is easy to track time with. When features work, the dashboards and reports are helpful for analysis.

Cons

It is difficult to use reporting because it breaks frequently. This seems to have occurred more often over the last several months than earlier in our time using the product. Customer support acknowledges bugs, but development is slow to correct key features, such as the loss of the ability to export simple reports to Excel. The product seems to over promise and underdeliver a lot of the time. We recently upgraded one of the modules based on meetings with the sales team. Shortly after purchasing, key dashboards suddenly stopped working. Communication could be improved. Customer service has acknowledged being aware of a bug before we reported it, but never let us know. I would value communication regarding the health of the product to help with our planning, rather than the frequent marketing notices.

Pros

Bigtime gives us the ability to manage our projects time and expenses more efficiently and work together cohesively as a team.

Cons

Although I love the ease of reporting, it is a little messy. Granted I have too many... but I would love to see them identified better somehow in the list. bullet points maybe?

Pros

Easy to understand for the end user and easy to administer. Sync function works as designed and interface has improved with phone app and new version.

Cons

Missing one feature - Let the admins setup and apply Holiday defaults to employee timesheets. This would eliminate a lot of issues that come up every pay period that includes a Holiday .
For example, employees inadvertantly use a regular work code for a Holiday or they manage to use the Holiday code for the entire work week. If it defaulted on the sheets that would eliminate most of this distraction.

Pros

that it keeps the entries from last week so that we don't have to completely start over each week. It is easy to login to system.

Cons

That there are no short cuts for the comments. You can't create custom reports unless you are an administrator - it is hard to find stuff that you entered months ago

Pros

Well, it's the next evolution of something we've been using for a long time. Love all the new features, the new, easier to manipulate, analytical tools are great.
We are hoping that making this level of control available to project managers will alleviate the manual paperwork workload they currently shoulder given our antiquated invoicing practices.

Cons

It doesn't have the ability to export and sync invoice data to QB as a percentage of phase fee. This makes it difficult to integrate BT invoicing directly into QB data. A problem made even more difficult given that all of our projects to date have been invoiced from QB

Pros

The web interface works well and is very intuitive to use. Since it is cloud based you can aceess it from any web browser.

Cons

I would like to be able to have more than one timer running concurrently, but I understand wht this is not allowed.