Clients
Pike: Customers
Carries over: Client name and status from the Clients screen.
You set in Pike: Customer number. Check whether your export includes a client ID you can reuse.
Template columns: customerName, customerNumber
Migration guide
Move from BQE CORE to Pike
Export each BQE CORE screen as CSV, map the files to Pike templates and connect QuickBooks Online or Xero for invoice history. Budget five to six weeks to cutover.
Available now
Every BQE CORE list screen exports through More → Export as CSV, and the file follows the screen filters, so you set each filter before you export.
- Open Time & Expenses → Time Entries, set the Period filter to All, and click More → Export as CSV. CORE exports every available column, including columns hidden in the grid.
- Repeat on the Clients, Projects, Employees, Activity Items and Expense Entries screens. Selecting rows does not narrow the export, so filter each screen to include Inactive and Completed records.
- CORE leaves custom fields out of CSV exports by design. Copy any custom field you use, such as a target budget, into the file by hand.
- Upload customers, projects, phases, members, tasks, then time entries and expenses under Workspace settings → Integrations → CSV, using the BQE CORE column mapping.
Before you cancel, the company owner can request a CSV backup of the whole CORE database from BQE, for a fee. BQE uploads it in 1 to 3 working days and sends a secure download link.
Available now
BQE CORE syncs clients, projects, time, invoices and payments with QuickBooks Online and Xero. Pike connects to both, so the ledger that already stores your CORE invoices supplies invoice history to Pike.
- In Pike, go to Workspace settings → Integrations, add QuickBooks or Xero and run Import data for customers and invoice history before the first CSV upload.
- CORE sends its projects to QuickBooks Online as sub-customers. Review the customers Pike imports and set a customer number on each client your project file references.
- At cutover, stop the batch sync on the CORE Integrations screen, so only Pike sends invoices to the ledger from Monday.
BQE CORE has no built-in HubSpot integration and points customers to its API instead. If your sales team works in HubSpot or Salesforce, connect it to Pike directly.
Entity map
What each BQE CORE record becomes in Pike
Column one uses BQE CORE screen names. CORE is project-centric: every client has at least one project, and phases are child projects up to four levels deep. Pike matches people on the email address on each Employee record.
Projects (Main or Standard)
Pike: Projects
Carries over: Project ID, project name, client, status (Active, Completed, Hold, Draft, Inactive or Canceled), contract type and Contract Amount.
You set in Pike: One billing type per project from the contract type, and a project lead. Check whether your export includes the project manager.
Template columns: projectNumber, title, customerNumber, status, billingType, budgetAmount, leadEmail
Phases (child projects)
Pike: Phases
Carries over: Phase ID and name under the parent project, with its own contract amount.
You set in Pike: A Main project takes no time in CORE, only its phases do. Upload the Main project as the Pike project and its phases as phases.
Template columns: projectNumber, phase
Employees
Pike: Members
Carries over: Display As name, email (a contact method on the record), status, and bill and cost rates on General → Rates & Options.
You set in Pike: Workspace role, team and a cost profile.
Template columns: email, displayName
Activity Items
Pike: Tasks
Carries over: Activity name, bill rate and cost rate. CORE copies the activity memo into new time entries.
You set in Pike: One task per activity on each project that logs time against it.
Template columns: title, projectNumber (Tasks), taskTitle (Time entries)
Fee Schedules
Pike: Project hourly rates
Carries over: Bill and cost rates per employee and activity or per classification, in priority order.
You set in Pike: One `hourlyRate` per project, from the fee schedule rate that covers most of its hours.
Template columns: hourlyRate (Projects)
Time Entries
Pike: Time entries
Carries over: Date, project, employee, activity, Hours, Client Hours, memo, billable flag, billed state and workflow status.
You set in Pike: Map Approved to `approved`, Submitted and Forwarded to `submitted`, and the rest to `draft`.
Template columns: date, hours, email, projectNumber, taskTitle, note, billableStatus, approvalStatus, invoiced
Expense Entries
Pike: Expenses
Carries over: Rows from the Expense Entries screen. Check its header row against the template.
You set in Pike: Nothing.
Template columns: date, amount, projectNumber, email, category, description, billableStatus
Budgets
Pike: Project budgets
Carries over: Hours and amounts per phase line item. CORE stores the not-to-exceed figure in Contract Amount.
You set in Pike: Use Contract Amount as `budgetAmount`. Check whether your budget export includes hours for `budgetHours`.
Template columns: budgetAmount, budgetHours (Projects)
Invoices
Pike: Invoice history (from your ledger)
Carries over: Pike has no CSV template for invoices. Export CORE invoices to Excel or PDF for your archive.
You set in Pike: Connect QuickBooks or Xero and run Import data. New invoices go out from Pike from cutover.
Estimates
Pike: Deals
Carries over: CORE uses estimates for jobs you are bidding on. Check whether your export includes client and status.
You set in Pike: Probability and expected close date.
Template columns: title, customerNumber, status, value, probability, closeDate
CORE takes a time entry’s rate from the project fee schedule first, then falls back to activity and employee rates. Pike reads one `hourlyRate` per project, so use the fee schedule rate that covers most of the hours on each open project.
Every CORE time entry records a bill rate and a cost rate. Set each Pike cost profile from the cost rate on the employee’s Rates & Options tab, and compare older months with CORE where a rate changed.
CORE groups contract types into four sets. Map Fixed, Hourly Not to Exceed, Percentage and Recurring With Cap to `fixedFee`; Hourly, Cost + Percentage and Cost + Fixed Fee to `timeAndMaterials`; Marketing and Overhead to `nonBillable`. Rebuild Recurring contracts as Pike retainers.
The plan
Seven steps out of BQE CORE
The same steps as the main migration guide, with this tool's screens and settings.
Week 1
Migration owner, finance
Week 1 · Migration owner, finance
Freeze scope and export
The CSV files you export in week one are what Pike imports. Freeze edits in CORE before you export.
- Export Clients, Projects, Employees, Activity Items and Expense Entries with More → Export as CSV, each filtered to include inactive and completed records.
- Export Time Entries with the Period filter set to All, and write down the date of the export.
- Copy the custom field values you need into the files by hand, since the CSV export excludes them.
Done when: Six CSV files in one folder, the export date written down, and a cutover Friday on the calendar.
Week 1 to 2
Operations lead
Week 1 to 2 · Operations lead
Clean the exported files
Work in copies of the CORE files and keep the raw folder untouched. Rename CORE columns to Pike template columns as you go.
- Build one customer row per client with a `customerNumber`, and add that number to every project row.
- Set `billingType` from each project’s contract type and copy Contract Amount to `budgetAmount`.
- Check every employee email against the address they will sign in to Pike with. Pike matches members, time and expenses on `email`.
Done when: Every project row has a project number, a customer number, a billing type and a budget amount.
Week 2
Workspace admin
Week 2 · Workspace admin
Build the workspace shell
Admins set up Pike before the first upload, so imported projects have a lead and imported members have a team.
- Create teams and positions that match your CORE classifications. Invite admins and project leads only.
- Connect QuickBooks Online or Xero and run Import data, so finance sees ledger customers and invoice history in Pike.
- Set a cost profile for each member from the cost rate on their CORE Rates & Options tab.
Done when: Admins and leads are in Pike. Finance sees the same customer list as the ledger.
Week 2 to 3
Workspace admin
Week 2 to 3 · Workspace admin
Upload in dependency order
Upload under Workspace settings → Integrations → CSV. Pike reports a missing customer number, project number or email with its line number.
- Upload customers, projects, phases, members and tasks, then time entries and expenses.
- Fix rejected rows and upload them again. Pike matches each row on its project number or email and updates the record.
- Open one Fixed project and one Hourly project and compare contract amount, rate and last month’s hours with CORE.
Done when: Client, project, employee and last-month hour counts match CORE.
Week 3 to 5
Delivery lead, finance
Week 3 to 5 · Delivery lead, finance
One team in Pike, the rest in CORE
The CSV route has no ongoing sync. The pilot team logs time in Pike only, and everyone else logs in CORE until cutover.
- Pick one team with a live client project and an invoice due. From Monday its members log time in Pike only.
- Finance approves the pilot team’s time in Time admin and sends one invoice from Pike in place of CORE.
- Compare the pilot project’s margin in Pike with CORE. A gap means a fee schedule rate or cost rate needs a fix in Pike.
Done when: One invoice sent from Pike. The pilot lead signs off.
Week 5 to 6
Migration owner
Week 5 to 6 · Migration owner
Cutover weekend
Close CORE on Friday evening and upload every hour logged there since your first export.
- Friday: everyone submits and managers approve the week in CORE. Approval blocks edits by users with limited permissions, so managers reject any entry that still needs a change.
- Export Time Entries from your first export date to Friday, map it to the time entries template and upload it. Leave out the pilot team, whose time is already in Pike.
- Set every employee who now logs time in Pike to Inactive in CORE. CORE stores their history and drops them from drop-down lists.
Done when: Time admin shows every active member by Monday afternoon. CORE shows no time after Friday.
Week 6 to 9
Finance
Week 6 to 9 · Finance
First month-end in Pike
Done when finance closes a month without opening CORE.
- Approve all time, invoice every billable project from Pike and send the invoices to accounting.
- The company owner requests the CSV backup of the CORE database from BQE and stores it with the raw exports.
- Once the first Pike invoices are paid, the owner cancels under Settings → Company → Manage Subscriptions.
Done when: Month closed in Pike. CORE backup saved with two owners. CORE subscription cancelled.
Rebuild
Set these up in Pike by hand
- Retainers and recurring contractsSet up each recurring CORE project as a Pike retainer.Pike docs
- Fee schedulesSet the hourly rate on each project from its fee schedule.Pike docs
- Employee cost ratesEnter each member’s cost in their cost profile.Pike docs
- Overhead and Marketing projectsRecord internal cost in Pike overhead costs.Pike docs
- Invoice layout and payment termsSet numbering, terms and layout in invoice settings.Pike docs
Questions
Moving from BQE CORE: common questions
Why does our export include rows we did not select?
CORE ignores row selection when you click More → Export as CSV and exports every row in the list. Apply the screen filters first, and CORE exports only the rows the filtered view shows.
Why are our custom fields missing from the CSV?
BQE excludes custom fields from CSV exports by design. Copy the values you need from CORE into the exported file before you map it to a Pike template.
Can we get all our CORE data in one file?
The company owner can ask BQE for a CSV backup of the database before cancelling, for a fee. BQE uploads it in 1 to 3 working days and sends a secure link, and the owner downloads and stores it.
What happens to our CORE data after we cancel?
BQE retains the data for 60 days after cancellation, and no one in your company can access it during that time. Request the backup and finish your exports before you cancel.
Should we upload Hours or Client Hours?
CORE copies Hours into Client Hours by default, and you can change the client figure. Pike has one `hours` column, so upload Hours for cost and utilization, and compare billed amounts with CORE where client hours differ.
Does Pike import CORE invoices?
Pike has no CSV template for invoices. CORE syncs invoices to QuickBooks Online or Xero, so connect that system to Pike and Pike imports customers and invoice history from the ledger.
BQE CORE documentation used for this guide
- BQE CORE: Can I export data from BQE CORE?
- BQE CORE: Exporting selected items and viewing reports on them
- BQE CORE: Custom fields are not exporting to CSV
- BQE CORE: Time Entries
- BQE CORE: Projects
- BQE CORE: Project Center: Settings - Details
- BQE CORE: Rates in BQE CORE
- BQE CORE: Where do I set employee bill and cost rates?
- BQE CORE: Tracking project budgets
- BQE CORE: Finding inactive records
- BQE CORE: What happens to my data if I cancel my subscription?
- BQE CORE: How do I delete my BQE CORE account?
- BQE CORE: BQE CORE-Xero Integration
- BQE CORE: Do BQE CORE projects sync to QuickBooks Online projects?
- BQE CORE: Can I integrate BQE CORE with HubSpot?
Your business runs better on Pike.
ISO 27001
GDPR
SOC 2 Type II
Built to keep sensitive client data secure and private.