Retirement Plans - Narrative (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2023	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2022
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Bonus plan compensation expense	$ 4,146,000	$ (5,138,000)
Deferred Compensation Arrangement with Individual, by Type of Compensation, Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits \| Nonqualified Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Bonus plan compensation expense	4,146,000	(5,138,000)
DCP participant deferrals	1,533,000	669,000
Contributions by employer	$ 0	$ 0
Deferred Compensation Arrangement with Individual, by Type of Compensation, Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits \| Nonqualified Plan \| Class B Common Stock
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Phantom shares issuable (in shares)	20,231,452		21,587,831

Dividends, Common Stock, Stock, Issuable

No definition available.

Name:	bsy_DividendsCommonStockStockIssuable
Namespace Prefix:	bsy_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The compensation expense recognized during the period pertaining to the deferred compensation arrangement.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 718
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=128089324&loc=d3e5047-113901

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 710
-SubTopic 10
-Section 30
-Paragraph 1
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6409875&loc=d3e20015-108363

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DeferredCompensationArrangementWithIndividualCompensationExpense
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of contributions made by employer into fund established for purposes of making future disbursement to individual in accordance with deferred compensation arrangement.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DeferredCompensationArrangementWithIndividualContributionsByEmployer
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of distribution made to individual in accordance with deferred compensation arrangement.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DeferredCompensationArrangementWithIndividualDistributionPaid
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanDisclosureLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DeferredCompensationArrangementWithIndividualPostretirementBenefitsByTypeOfDeferredCompensationAxis=us-gaap_DeferredCompensationArrangementWithIndividualByTypeOfCompensationPensionAndOtherPostretirementBenefitsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RetirementPlanTaxStatusAxis=us-gaap_NonqualifiedPlanMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementClassOfStockAxis=us-gaap_CommonClassBMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: