ComputerEase (Deltek) is the long-time construction-vertical standard for AIA billing, certified payroll, retainage, and submittals. It's quote-only, perpetual-license, and built for $5M-$100M contractors. BDFIQ is the cloud-native alternative for SMB contractors who need real 3-track job costing but aren't yet in ComputerEase's price-and-complexity band.
If you're a $5M-$100M construction shop with certified payroll, AIA G702/G703 billing, retainage, and submittals/RFIs in your daily workflow, ComputerEase is probably the right answer. It's a deep, construction-specific platform built for that work. The trade-offs are real (perpetual-license cost, ~20%/yr maintenance, implementation gauntlet, desktop-heritage UX in places), but the construction workflows are first-class.
If you're a $200K-$5M contractor who needs 3-track job costing (Materials / Labor / Subcontractors), side-by-side segment P&L, multi-entity consolidation, and a closed-loop field-ops pair — and you don't need AIA billing or certified payroll today — BDFIQ + BDB Project Tools is the more honest fit. Cloud-native, published pricing, no perpetual license, no annual maintenance dance, no implementation fee.
ComputerEase: quote-only, ~$5K+ perpetual + ~20%/yr maintenance. BDFIQ: published Founder's rate.
ComputerEase: desktop / client-server / hosted cloud. BDFIQ: browser-native cloud only.
ComputerEase: deep, with cost codes. BDFIQ: native Materials / Labor / Subs at every tier.
ComputerEase: first-class. BDFIQ: on roadmap, not in v1.
ComputerEase: first-class. BDFIQ: payroll via integration, certified payroll not in v1.
ComputerEase: $5M-$100M contractors. BDFIQ + PT: $200K-$5M contractors.
Verified May 2026 against published Deltek/ComputerEase materials and partner descriptions. Pricing is widely reported but not officially published.
| Feature | ComputerEase (Deltek) | BD Financial IQ + Project Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparencyPublished on website | Quote-only (~$5K+ perpetual + ~20%/yr maintenance reported) | Founder's rate published at launch |
| Deployment modelWhere it runs | Desktop / client-server / Enterprise Cloud (hosted) | Browser-native cloud (no install) |
| Implementation costOnboarding fees | Typically includes training/consulting fees | Self-serve, no implementation fee |
| Real double-entry accountingP&L, BS, GL | Yes | All tiers |
| 3-track job costingMaterials / Labor / Subs | Yes (deep, with cost codes) | Native 3-track, all tiers |
| Cost codes / hierarchyDetailed code structure | Industry-standard depth | Cost categories with subcategories; not full code-set |
| AIA G702/G703 billingConstruction billing forms | First-class | On roadmap, not in v1 |
| Unit / time-and-material billingStandard bill types | Yes | Yes |
| Retainage trackingHeld-back receivables/payables | First-class | On roadmap |
| Change ordersJob-cost changes | First-class | Via PT estimates & revisions |
| Submittals / RFIsProject document workflow | Yes | Not in BDFIQ scope (PT-side workflow only) |
| WIP reportingWork-in-progress schedules | First-class | On roadmap; basic WIP via job-margin reports today |
| Certified payroll / prevailing wageGovernment job compliance | First-class | Not in v1 (payroll via integration on roadmap) |
| Side-by-side segment P&LLocations / divisions | Via departmentalization | Built-in screen, all tiers |
| Multi-entity consolidationMultiple legal entities | Yes (Enterprise Cloud) | All tiers |
| Field-service / job-management pairCrew, dispatch, time, receipts, photos | FieldEase add-on (separate) | Native (BDB Project Tools) |
| Bank feedsDirect from bank | Limited | CSV import at launch; direct on roadmap |
| Modern cloud UIBrowser-first design | Cloud edition exists; UX has desktop heritage | Built browser-first |
| Target customer revenue bandWhere it fits best | $5M-$100M contractors | $200K-$5M contractors |
This isn't a hit piece on ComputerEase — it's a long-standing, deep platform that earns its construction reputation. The honest read is about price, complexity, and revenue band. Here's where the lines are.
If your week includes running certified payroll for prevailing-wage jobs, sending out AIA G702/G703 progress bills, tracking retainage held back per contract, and managing submittals/RFIs with your project team — ComputerEase has all of that as first-class workflows. They've been refined over decades of construction-vertical use.
BDFIQ doesn't try to be ComputerEase. AIA billing, certified payroll, and retainage are roadmap items, not v1. If those are non-negotiable today, ComputerEase (or another construction-specific platform) is the honest answer.
ComputerEase is widely reported to start around $5,000+ per perpetual license, plus ~20% of license per year for maintenance and support, plus hosting fees for the cloud-hosted edition, plus implementation and training. For a contractor doing $3M/yr with 6 office users, that's a meaningful five-figure first-year commitment before the platform has saved a single hour.
For contractors doing $50M, that math is rounding error against the work the platform unlocks. For contractors doing $1M-$5M, it can be the difference between investing in a platform and investing in another truck.
Deltek offers ComputerEase Enterprise Cloud, which is real hosted cloud. The platform itself, though, has deep desktop heritage — many workflows were built for a thick-client interface and ported to web. For an office team that grew up on desktop accounting, that's fine and even comfortable. For a remote-first or hybrid team that does most of its work from a laptop or phone, the heritage shows.
BDFIQ was built browser-first from the start. PT runs the same way. If your project managers work from job sites, your bookkeeper works from home, and your owner checks dashboards from a phone, that design intent matters.
ComputerEase has deep cost-code structures that handle subs well. So does BDFIQ — just with a simpler model that's faster to set up and runs everywhere. Materials, Labor, and Subcontractors are three distinct cost categories on every estimate, invoice, job-margin report, and variance tab. No cost-code training required to get a clean sub-margin number.
Where ComputerEase's cost-code depth pays off is large GCs with dozens of trades per job and detailed sub-trade reporting needs. Where BDFIQ's simpler 3-track structure pays off is contractors running 5-30 active jobs at a time who need clean margin by job and clean sub-cost separation, without the overhead of a code-set rollout.
ComputerEase has FieldEase as a field-service add-on. It's real and works. It's also a separate license with its own pricing and its own sync surface area.
BDB Project Tools (live, in production today) and BDFIQ are built by the same engineers, on the same infrastructure, with native bi-directional sync. Jobs created in PT flow into BDFIQ. Receipts photographed in PT post against the right cost track in BDFIQ. Labor hours from PT's Timekeeper land in BDFIQ job costing. No middleware. No QBO middleman. No sync bugs from a third-party connector.
If you're a $5M-$100M construction shop running certified payroll on prevailing-wage jobs, billing AIA progress draws weekly, tracking retainage held back by 50 owners, and managing submittals across an active project portfolio — ComputerEase is likely the right answer, and BDFIQ would be honest enough to say so.
If you're a $200K-$5M contractor who needs to know the margin on every job, has 3 to 30 active jobs at any time, runs subs as a regular cost track, and wants modern cloud workflows that work on a phone at a job site — BDFIQ + Project Tools is the more honest fit. Same vendor, integrated pair, published pricing, no implementation gauntlet.
Get on the waitlist. 3-track job costing, segment P&L, multi-entity, and the BDB Project Tools pair — cloud-native, published pricing, locked at the Founder's rate.
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