Clearview InFocus ERP Software

I am extremely happy with Clearview Infocus. They have been amazing in their customer service department and help when I need it with trouble shooting. They have gotten better about adding tutorials and training modules, and even adding in person workshops to help expand my knowledge and learn more about the software. They are always listening to their customers and adding updates to include features their clients want to see.

Pros

I like that the software is able to integrate all aspects of our business, from timesheets to expense reports, invoicing, and bill payment, etc. It is a one stop shop kind of software.

Cons

The hardest part of the software is getting it to generate the reports you want if they are not already built into the system, if you want a custom report do you do need to know some sequel background to run a report. I have also found that it is an extremely powerful tool but I am only scrapping the surface, and if I knew more information it could be even more useful. Adding custom boxes to applets to make it more specific to our business.

Pros

Fairly easy for end users to navigate and accomplish what is needed, once accimated. Straightforward back end management.

Cons

Bit of a learning curve to get going. After that it feels more intuitive.

Pros

Gets the job done, simple enough table input method for users. Simple layout

Cons

Difficult to search and identify clients and codes. From a user (non-administrative) perspective, it can be difficult to create a summary or identify things over time without scrolling back through dates and submissions

Pros

A product focused on the continuous improvement of organizations, software development allows you better control and integration of all resources.

Cons

I feel very happy when using clearview in focus, I do not have any negative comments at this time. Congratulations to the software

All accounting software and data is offsite, no servers or data to worry about locally! :)

Pros

* No need to keep software on servers on site. Everything is in the cloud.
* Local client install.
* Easy to use trouble ticket system when there is an issue.
* Since it is cloud based, it is always up to date.

Cons

* Occasional data slow downs which we have no control over because the software is running on Clearview's servers.
* The Microsoft ClickOnce technology used for the local client requires web browser ClickOnce integration which is built into Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers, but doesn't always work well with edge. You can get a ClickOnce plugin for Google Chrome, but it's not a transparent "click the icon on the desktop" scenario there either.
* No hosted SMTP server. If you want to send email, you'll have to utilize your own SMTP server, at an additional cost and there is also a charge if you want Clearview to help you set it up. This is my only real "gripe" about the service. It should come with it's own email capability for the cost and to truly be a service.
* I think it is a great Software As A Service overall, but you should know about the weaknesses going in.

Pros

The ability to make changes easily. Because of our terrible experience I do not have a lot of "Pro" comments to provide.

Cons

Dealing with customer service and conversion teams. It was a terrible experience. When we purchased this software we were told many things that were not true and did not happen as promised and because of that it took over a year for the conversion to be complete. This ended up costing us much more than proposed and the conversion was still not what we had initially asked for. I would not recommend working with this company.

Pros

I loved that we were able to transfer roughly 18 years of data over to this software. That was one of the main reasons we switched to this software.

Cons

There are a lot of functions that we do not use in the software, but I understand how important they would be for larger firms. It would be nice to have a scaled down version of this software for smaller firms.

Pros

I like that each PM has the means to review and prepare their own invoice. I would like to know more on how to set up a template style that can be imported for each project and then alter from there.

Cons

I wish it were easier to move time tickets around. It takes many clicks to get to move a time ticket to where it needs to be when entered in the wrong location. I wish uploading documents was easier and that I did not have to put on my desk top to move. To edit fees you need to be in one place, to add tasks you need to be in another. The program is not intuitive.

Pros

This program is only beneficial to our bookkeeper. People actually imputing there time find it difficult to use and time consuming.

Cons

This software is very difficult to navigate. It is not easy to use or understand. You need to complete multiple steps in order to get the result needed.

Pros

Organization is pretty good. Interface is fairly straight forward. Design of programming works well and is easy to follow.

Cons

Features of input seems to change at times. Seems to be other characteristics of the software that are unknown to me.

Pros

Very easy to do an expense report, and once you get used to the program it's fine to use and you can enter your time quickly.

Cons

You have to use internet explorer to use the program, and there are a lot of strange keyboard commands that are not intuitive. If you don't know the quick key commands, there end up being more steps than necessary to log your time.

Pros

The ability to document as much as possible...adding documents..no character limit for comments. also the ability to copy and paste existing information

Cons

Sometimes information is lost if more than one person accesses the time sheet. Also the ability to have more than one time sheet open at the same time and different information showing up on each.

Pros

The layout is nice. I like the list format. The overall calculation of time works well. It is nice that you can copy recent items to a new time sheet.

Cons

It is not very user friendly. If you don't know the "shortcut" commands, it can be very time consuming to do anything. Scrolling through long drop down menus is annoying.

Pros

Online, web based in the cloud. Dashboard is pretty easy to use, very visual. Need a better way to customize dashboard.

Cons

Need mac version. Need a better way to customize dashboard. Would like to be able to send help tickets direct from software.

Pros

Comment section under time tracking provides us the ability to accurately account for the time we spend for each client project.

Cons

I find the interface of typing in job codes to record time user UN-friendly. It is difficult to type in a job code without getting some type of error- especially if you are unsure of how many tiers or sub-categories there are.

The system was a step up from our previous software (Wind-2). However, it was not as user friendly as I would have liked and it lacked the ability to completely customize and build reports and client invoices. It was a good value for money in the sense that it did offer a great deal but it left me wanting more.

When entering data into fields, the system doesn't always accept partial entry and autofill the choice(s) of module, i.e. Vendor name, if you don't use full name in search box, it generates an error "Vendor Not Found" and clears the entry box vs. leaving it as you entered and allowing you to edit to save time

Even though, Stillwater Energy is a small company, we are an energy consulting firm, InFocus provides us a very good tool to keep track timesheet by projects, for managers to do project planning. Even better is whenever encounter a problem using the program, either get on the Help Center to browse articles or videos or open a ticket , we can always get our problems resolved almost instantly.

InFocus is simple to use while compiling and organizing complex data. Constantly improving on an already comprehensive and component program.

Being a newer accountant in the engineering industry, I had a bit to learn about how jobs are billed, tracked, etc. It is definitely a different process than accounting for goods being sold! I came into my job as the implementer of InFocus and learned A LOT simply by learning the system. InFocus is so easy to use and straight forward. If there is something that I don't catch onto right away, the Clearview support team is always ready to help and quickly help resolve the issue.

As the years have gone on they have updated the system based on feedback from their clients, which is amazing! The changes they have made make things run more smoothly and it is great to know that they are listening to the needs and desires of their clients. InFocus also has a built-in reports, but also its own report builder tool if the report you need isn't automatically there you can create it yourself!

Overall, I would definitely recommend InFocus to anyone looking for new engineering software. The program is easy to learn, easy to maneuver in and provides everything you would need. Even your specific need isn't met you can simply reach out to their support staff and be taken care of. It is a great software, but even better customer service - thank you Clearview team!

Pros

Ease of use, availability of support staff, resolution of issues, suggestion forum Clearview provides

Cons

Export to excel needs manipulated often, if modified the journals will show both versions