Viewpoint Vista Erfahrungen

Integration with Ease

Kommentare: We love the change that we made to VISTA. It has allowed our company to streamline, and operate with same personnel - with growing at the same time.

Vorteile:

We were a Maxwell Streetsmarts users for over 10 years, when Viewpoint purchased Maxwell. At that point we began to shop "other" vendors for the best comprehensive solution for our Heavy Excavation company. As it turned out Viewpoint Vista Softwarewon! We preplanned for nearly 15 months before making the transition. We opted to make the transition at the slowest time of year for "our" company. With our initial planning we were able to schedule training that worked in our company's timeframe, we were assigned a Project Manager who kept us on track. Our go live date was Feb 2016 - of which meant - we went live; hiccups and all! To the credit of Viewpoints Vista team the transition was seamless. We had the correct training from the start, correct leadership within our company, and a VISTA TEAM that moved us forward. We started out with the essentials, and have since added a few more modules, document imaging, and Mobile Field Manager. It has taken us awhile to adjust to the reports vrs what we were use to, but have found we can "adjust" reports via the Crystal Report writer ourselves. As software updates are released, they are easily installable from the end users aspect. I highly recommend the software as a whole - many ways to get information out!

Nachteile:

Cons are not negative to us - just ways to improve! After using the software for awhile and you call into support, and you know more than the support person.

Shifting our users to the Web Based Viewpoint options, less in Vista

Kommentare: The web-based integrations like Keystyles, TEAMs, and Analytics have been instrumental in user's mobility

Vorteile:

TEAMs and Analytics have been great additions

Nachteile:

SQL platform is dated and slow. Very few updates to Vista functionality.

Very poor implementation and support

Kommentare: Extremely frustrating -- we had multiple on site consultants during our conversion and go live process. We spent more time re-doing what the previous consultant set-up because each one had a "better solution". Be prepared to have an onsite programmer or hire a consultant to help you with custom features. Viewpoint support is TERRIBLE! They expect you to read through numerous "articles" (if you can get the links to open) to solve your own issues. They're based in Portland, OR; therefore, if you're located on the East coast --- forget any help until after noon. They rarely respond during the same day.

Vorteile:

Has robust capabilities and custom reporting options

Nachteile:

The setup was a nightmare and we still have a few issues that are ongoing after nearly 2 years of using the software.

Vista by Viewpoint - Project Management

Kommentare: I think a great deal of the Cons could be eliminated if the training was better, but the way I understand the roll out training was so expensive and fast that it wasn't that helpful. Plus it happened on the onset before they had any experience with the software. There are video trainings that are good, but some are outdated.

Vorteile:

After you learn the nuances of the software its a good product. It tracks compliance well, subcontract and change order entry is easy. Good reports to obtain information.

Nachteile:

Due to inadequate initial training the previous AP lady thought she could bill an amount on items that were designated as EA (having unit cost and Unit Quantity. As a result, we have had major issues. The support staff said if Viewpoint would fix that issue their support cases would drop exponentially. If they cannot fix it, at least they should not allow the user to be able to perform the function. Although good data on the reports, some are clumsy. At times it is difficult to find exactly what you want to display on a report. Support is great, but when the problem overlaps from one category to another, you can get faulty information. For example...if you have an AP problem, it could be causing a problem in SL but the AP support team won't know to tell you that. We had a major issue that was created as a result of this because it crossed years.

A view from the daily worker

Kommentare: I have been working with Viewpoint for 15 years now and have seen many great improvements. Overall the software is user friendly and covers most all our needs. It has been a great software to use and the staffing at Viewpoint are always friendly. I have really liked the addition of the Employee portal, that has saved my team so much time, while ensuring that the field is using the correct jobs and phases.

Vorteile:

I like the fact that the software is very easy to use. They have many tools to gain more information on how things are set up and processed in the knowledge based articles. Customer service is very supportive and generally able to fix any issues that may arise. The use of the Employee portal is wonderful as well.

Nachteile:

There are defiantly things that can and should be improved. One of those items would be the labor categories and the fact that you can not use the same craft and class code combination in more that one category. This is really inconvenient given our customers want to see time grouped but others want to see them broken out.

Good for multiple companies, updates often break other features

Kommentare: I've used this software for 10 years now, and really have few complaints. The bugs after updates have only impacted report features and printing options, the data has always still be good.

Vorteile:

Really easy to move between companies. It's helpful to be able to pull reports from any company without switching first.

Nachteile:

Pretty stable, but they have regular problems when they do updates. This is our biggest complaint.

Luke warm to warm.

Vorteile:

The software is stable and is relatively easy to customize to our special needs. The job forecasting feature is very strong. Reports are generated quickly. The GL and Cash Management modules are easy to use. Job Cost is good. I really like the User Database program. Custom Fields are easy to add and remove.

Nachteile:

Certain features do not function properly. Changing non-GL related coding can be difficult. Payroll setup is too complex and not logical. The implementation was rigorous and the consultant was inexperienced. The software does not remove/exclude the setup requirements for modules that are not purchased. Project Management is not user friendly, especially Document Management. Support can be very good or not so good. Wait times can be excessive. Payroll daily time entry is not adequate for our needs and does meet the requirements of CA employment law. PR and PM are the reasons I rate the ease of use at 6. The other modules would receive 7 to 9's. BTW, the renaming to Vista was a bad choice. MS Vista was the biggest operating system failure in history. IT people laugh at the name.

Viewpoint Vista is a cost effective and powerful ERP for contractors

Vorteile:

Effective tool for project managers and accounting personnel to track job costs.

Nachteile:

Backend modifications require input from consultants and costly customizations.

Efficient for skilled users.

Kommentare: Once you learn how to use it, it is great software. The program works efficiently, and though there have been bugs, they get them fixed in a timely manner.

Vorteile:

Quick sort and navigation through the information. Good function for maintaining equipment, managing parts, and tracking maintenance history. Great integration with Excel through MS Query.

Nachteile:

Not good for planning and scheduling equipment maintenance tasks. The function is there, but it is not integrated with the equipment management module.

Vista is ok

Vorteile:

I like the ease of it syncing with other software's.

Nachteile:

There are so many steps to get to where you need to be. The invoices freeze for over 24 hours if you open them twice.

Great for Large Scale Asphalt Construction Companies!

Kommentare: We weren't sure what the best course of action was but ultimately decided to move forward with Vista, instead. After seeing a demo of the product, the decision was a no-brainer. This is a great piece of software, and Vista overall has exceeded our expectations. We have multiple asphalt plants, a concrete plant, trucking company, and asphalt installation crews, so Vista has been a perfect fit. As for the technology, most people are used to the style of windows, which makes for a pretty easy learning curve with Vista. The grid functionality is top-notch as well, being able to switch from an informational view of one item to a list of all items. Viewpoint also offers a cloud environment to host your enterprise system. It's a small fee to pay for peace of mind, and limited IT management on our part. We haven't even taken advantage of everything that it offers yet, and we are STILL thrilled. We can't wait to implement more in 2017, and see what else Vista can do for us.

Vorteile:

The integration across accounts, companies, departments, etc. We've only scratched the surface and been incredibly impressed. Really, I cant say enough good about this product. We love using the cloud environment as well - access Vista from anywhere via browser, if necessary. Makes it easy to work from home on a snowy day!

Nachteile:

Nothing in particular about the product, but we've had responsiveness issues with the billing department - some people are great others, not so much. The tech support department could be more knowledgeable about technology, and IT management in general. Fortunately, we don't need them very often. The cloud environment is clunky with printing in different browsers - always a mixed bag. Checks don't always line up right but using the actual cloud app, no problems what so ever.

Consider other options until this product matures

Vorteile:

I like the fact that Project Management and Accounting are tied together ins the same product. This allows for real time financials without duplicate entry of data.

Nachteile:

Change Orders in the Project Management module are difficult and frustrate users. This problem alone has lead us to start exploring other options for our PMs. While Viewpoint has a plan to modify this, it is unknown if we can wait until the solution is finally rolled out before needing to implement another option. Also, a simple dumbed down module for Field staff is not available to meet our needs, We bought the product with the intent to implement the Connects product from Viewpoint, but this product has gone away. We tried to implement it initially, but it was far too cumbersome. Viewpoint needs to be more aggressive in its rollout of a web based Project Management module for the PMs and Field staff that aligns with the needs of Project Management of a General Contractor. That would include a more robust option to manage drawings during the course of the job (4 Projects is not it today and not sure if it will be it in the future when it is integrated with Viewpoint.

Small Business Heavy Contractor

Kommentare: We have used Viewpoint Vista since it became Viewpoint Vista. It has served us well. I have noticed through the years, that our software has been in the forefront in evolving to meet the needs of the changing landscape of construction. This also includes the changing landscape of regulations and paperwork needed to operate a construction business.

Vorteile:

The product is multifaceted with so many options to use for your construction business. As you grow, it grows with you.

Nachteile:

Because of the many varied options, sometimes it is hard to navigate all of those options to optimize the use of this software.

Have been using live on Vista by Viewpoint since Sept 2012

Vorteile:

The best part is the amount of customization that can be done. You are not limited to the fields "out of the box". It was the only software that we tested that allowed us to do that. Also, in accounting I like that you can bring a transaction back into a batch to be able to "fix" it if necessary. The amount of information at your fingertips is also great. What we needed was something that brought Accounting and Project Management together - and Viewpoint does an excellent job of that for us. Also, we have always had excellent support when needed. Now that we have worked with Viewpoint for almost 3 years - I can't imagine what I would do without it.

Nachteile:

The initial set-up was time-consuming and somewhat daunting, but that would probably true whenever changing software from 1 vendor to another. I honestly can't think of anything I like least. The amount of customization available means that I can change things if necessary to suit how I would like to use the product.

Viewpoint Vista - A good product but some work to do

Kommentare: Good integration for a multi-faceted business. Cloud based product with good security and single sign on.

Vorteile:

Viewpoint One web-based project management and financial controls, solid payroll, general ledger and accounts payable package.

Nachteile:

Analytics Reporting on Viewpoint One is very clunky, BI is very limited. Dispatch board from the Service Management module needs more flexibility to prioritize calls and tag/flag calls on the board. Projection tools within Project Management module don't provide real time functionality and are not easy to use.

I have used Viewpoint software since 1995

Vorteile:

I like the fact that with the exception of our bidding software and blacktop plant tickets software, everything is integrated so information entered hits every required module without duplicate entry. The information from our blacktop plant and bidding software can easily be imported into Vista.

Nachteile:

Viewpoint is sometimes, in my opinion, slow to add processes being used by many of our customers and vendors. For instance, we cannot bill our vendors electronically or add attachments to employee payroll checks sent by email. They sometimes have steps that seem to be unnecessary. For example, when entering cash receipts, if you wish to record a discount taken you must go to a second screen (Payment detail) to enter the discount. You must then check a box that says "remove input restriction". It should not be necessary to go into another screen to make changes and you should not then have to do an additional step of checking a box to record discount.

VISTA Fits How We Do Construction

Kommentare: Like a good marriage - there have been some ups and downs, but mostly ups.

Vorteile:

Field can easily do what they need to do and also manage their jobs from anywhere Fully integrated with accounting functions - PR, AP, AR, GL Easy customization Viewpoint listens to us - their customers Aggressively pursues solutions to keep us competitive On the leading edge of technology

Nachteile:

Customer service can be slow sometimes, but have come up with alternative self-serve solutions through "Clearview" - I love the "Knowledge Base" solution

Viewpoint Vista Review

Vorteile:

Vista is so customizable so the software can work they way you run your business. Each module is fully integrated and the ability to import anything you can get into Excel saves time and money.

Nachteile:

A few kinks here and there but customers suggestions are listened to and implemented.

Longtime Viewpoint Vista Users

Vorteile:

Software is really easy to use. There are a get number of reports out of the box. Reports are really easy to create and manipulate to get you the information that you want.

Nachteile:

Software error popups are really vague and do not describe what is wrong which can make hunting down the issue very difficult at times.

As stated- ease of use- if you can operate a personal computer- you can use this software.

Kommentare: If you are in the construction business and looking for a software that will cover all areas of accounting- then this is the software that you need.

Vorteile:

The programs have been designed for construction business operations and making accounting faster and accurate without a lot of input.

Nachteile:

I guess this would fall under pros- but updates- just like your personal computer- the software comes with updates that must be loaded- they are needed- just another function.

So easy to learn

Vorteile:

This program was easy to learn and flows seamlessly once it's set up. I have been able to cut my process time by a third since switching to this software. When I have questions I can usually find the answer to a problem in the Viewpoint Knowledge Base under the Help menu.

Nachteile:

Some updates change different modules so occasionally I'll have to adjust to a new way of entering information or retrieving information.

Weak on the HR Side

Kommentare: Overall, it isn't a bad system, especially for payroll, tracking of costs and equipment. It just isn't tops on the HR side.

Vorteile:

Entry of data is easy (Microsoft Access style of entry). Canned reporting features are okay with several exporting options.

Nachteile:

The HR side isn't the most spectacular piece of software. There's no easy way to create your own custom reports. Some access issues exist; such as if you have access to HR but not payroll and there are reports HR needs that are tied to payroll, you're out of luck. One such report is the EEO-1 Report which HR typically handles but it's tied to payroll reporting.

Easy to work with.

Kommentare: We have been very pleased with the ease of use with Vista. It is a huge upgrade from our old software system.

Vorteile:

We really love the reports you are able to pull in this software. The functions are pretty easy to figure out and understand. The Clearview resource that comes with Viewpoint is an amazing source of information regarding functionality and capabilities.

Nachteile:

There is no option to file payroll and other taxes through Viewpoint like there is with some other software. Some functions require an import from spreadsheets which seems to lend itself to extra errors.

The Positive Review are Not Possibly Legitimate

Nachteile:

This software is a joke. It is so extremely limited in what it can do. In the case that you can actually get someone on the phone from Vista to discuss your concerns or suggestions, you will always find yourself hearing the words "this is a known issue", resulting in a "case closed" mentality. I'm convinced there are less than 3 people on their entire support/customer service team. We routinely won't hear back for 3+ weeks on urgent issues, even if we call to "escalate" our case and despite paying per month for support. I wouldn't wish this software on my worst enemy. Don't buy their lies about the exciting features and flashy demos: the software does not do what they claim it can do.

Robust but Very Difficult

Vorteile:

Very robust software that can do just about anything from finances (contracts, purchasing, forecasting, billings, etc), project management (RFIs, submittals, drawing tracker, etc.) to HR (timecards, training, etc.)

Nachteile:

VERY difficult to learn and get used to the dynamics. It takes a lot of stick time to understand how things work and the best way of doing them.