Epicor ERP - Review 2022

Epicor ERP (which begins at $175 per user per month) is an enterprise resources planning (ERP) solution most applicative to companies that alive at the higher end of the modest to midsize enterprise (SME) spectrum. It'south bachelor equally an on-premises installation or as a cloud-based, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) awarding—or you lot can dissever the deviation with a hosted implementation of the on-premises version. All are purchased directly from Epicor in the Us or through Epicor's global partner and reseller channel. Only some noticeable complication and a non-intuitive Assistance organization keep it behind Editors' Pick winners Acumatica and NetSuite OneWorld in this roundup.

The version I tested was the hosted edition, which is attainable via ii routes: browser-based or through the use of a PC software customer. Most of my testing was done by using the software client, though I did run through several functions using a web browser (in this example, Google Chrome). Functionally, you'll detect the two user interfaces (UIs) to exist identical. However, there are some corrective differences, particularly around the menus; this is apparent even during coincidental use.

Numerous User Interface Options

In addition to offer both browser and client-based navigation, Epicor ERP also offers two different UIs: Classic and Modern. The Archetype UI looks somewhat similar a Windows Explorer bill of fare, with a vertical panel that takes upward most a tertiary of the left-hand side of the screen and provides the Master menu options. These will represent all of the app modules your implementation of Epicor ERP includes. As with Windows Explorer, clicking on the plus sign next to the folder expands the display to show what tasks are available for each app.

The Modern bill of fare offers similar utility and part but looks very much like the Windows 8 and Windows x Start UIs, with multiple areas of the screen showing recent forms and tasks equally colorful tiles. There's too a vertical panel that has selections for Menu, Settings (for the overall software), and Assistance. Regardless of which approach (browser or client) or card type (Classic or Mod) used, the core app functionality is the aforementioned.

The one feature that's missing when you compare Epicor ERP to other tools such equally NetSuite OneWorld or SAP Concern One Professional person are truthful procedure flowcharts that walk a user through a sequence of tasks; this feature is also something that users coming from smaller systems such as Intuit Quickbooks will expect to encounter. For example, a process flowchart for general ledger might commencement off with journal entry, entering cash receipts (C/R) and greenbacks disbursements (C/D), performing bank reconciliation, and posting or printing trial balance and general ledger reports and financial statements. Of course, it'southward not impossibly difficult to practice these tasks without a procedure flowchart. Epicor does include an area for Favorite As and Recent Tasks in the left-hand corner of the menu screen.

Epicor also states that it is possible to create similar flowcharts through its Dashboard functions, though I found this to exist severely express in my examination system. The dashboards themselves are actually predefined queries, though yous can set them up to allow users to modify certain parameters prior to launch. Dashboards are a good fashion to display key performance indicators (KPI) and you can drill downwardly from them to the original transactions, besides. Nonetheless, initial setup of a dashboard is something best left to your IT section or reseller.

On the mobile UI side, Epicor ERP has a number of apps for both Android and iOS that are available in the App Shop or on Google Play. These include apps for mobile expense tracking and fourth dimension tracking, functions that many businesses with route warrior-style employees will appreciate. Unfortunately, I was unable to exam them because they must exist individually licensed and installed on the server; therefore, they didn't come up with my test organization. I was, however, able to examine the apps in Demo mode. I found them to be similar to the Android and iOS apps available for SAP BusinessOne Professional.

Powerful Financial Accounting

The core of any ERP system is fiscal accounting. Epicor's chart of accounts (COA) supports up to a 32-character account code that can consist of numbers and letters. Since you can dissever these up into an unlimited number of segments, the COA tin accommodate pretty much any combination of companies, divisions, and departments (which is good). Additionally, different companies can have different account structures, fiscal periods, and currencies. Of course, the more complex you get with the COA, the more complex it becomes to actually use the system, or to enter information and generate reports. So, again, working carefully with a reseller that is familiar with both the engineering science and fiscal bookkeeping practices can really aid you gain total benefit from the arrangement. At the same time, Epicor uses a single, unified database, and so a single query can hands span multiple companies or divisions. Overall, I still found the system a flake more than awkward to use than Acumatica or NetSuite OneWorld. Just once your users are fully trained, that shouldn't exist an outcome.

Epicor ERP includes a full range of financial reports, including journal listings (yous can define an unlimited number of specialized journals should your business structure need them), full general ledger and trial balance reports (including a Detail Trial Residuum which serves equally a Working Trial Balance for interim and closing journal entries), and a full fix of detail or summary financial statements. Once again, the filters for using these may be a bit disruptive as they offer a large number of choices. The upside of this is that, once y'all empathise how to effectively use these filters, you can generate most any report you might demand.

ERP: Simple or Circuitous

Whether or not a vendor defines their production as an ERP system, if the software doesn't offer the features your business needs, it won't work. Fortunately, Epicor ERP'due south modular architecture makes it easy to build a system that can be hands customized to your exact requirements. That tin bridge the gamut from a basic fiscal accounting system that'due south paired with some core modules such every bit client relationship management (CRM) and homo resources (HR) features, all the way up to complex management systems with modules to automate sales and marketing, handle payroll, and even command inventory and warehouse management, equally well as supply chain. However, no SME volition need all of these different modules; that's why it's important to sit downwardly with someone knowledgeable about the system and advisedly go over your business requirements then you merely purchase the modules y'all demand. I couldn't test all of the additional modules, only I did look at 2 core ERP feature sets: CRM and Hour (which Epicor calls "Human Upper-case letter Management").

Man Upper-case letter offers a very workable payroll system every bit part of its feature set, simply goes beyond that besides to provide a true HR system, including things such equally performance management and benefits assistants. While the size and composition of your staff may non crave it, y'all can track employee status from recruitment onward, including training and development. Compensation, including bacon planning and administration, is piece of cake to use, and the payroll organization gives yous the power (with optionally licensed apps) to enter time and expenses from a mobile device. Employee benefit condition is bachelor to employees on a cocky-service ground, and reports are generated with Microsoft Study Builder, which replaces Microsoft FRx.

Epicor ERP'south CRM module is also robust and links to its sales direction module, so you tin construct complex sales campaigns and accurately runway the operation of your sales staff. Tools are available to construct websites and microsites as well every bit manage aspects of social media to improve client contact, lead generation, and follow-up. As with the CRM offerings from most other ERP vendors, you can create estimates and quotations and catechumen these into orders. As with the HR module, yous can also license a mobile CRM app, though this wasn't included in my test system. Epicor CRM tin can also be linked to Salesforce should you lot wish to utilise (or be already using) that app for CRM and sales automation.

A Worthy Competitor

At $175 per user per month, Epicor ERP is priced in the same range (for a base organisation) as the other ERP platforms in this comparison. But its target audience tends to be more upscale than most other vendors' offerings. The issue is that, while Epicor is very capable, it'due south also a bit more than complex than near, which is reflected in the number of entries in the diverse filter screens (or its ability to construct a very circuitous nautical chart of accounts structure, for example). Epicor also has a panoply of add together-on modules available that let yous construct the exact system your visitor needs--but only later on a lengthy requirements-to-feature mapping procedure that'due south made more complex because some modules overlap features. Aside from this complexity, all of this feature robustness will besides impact your cost. Chances are, when y'all add in the cost of additional modules and consultant or partner fees, you're going to see a tab considerably higher than the base number quoted earlier.

To be sure, complexity isn't necessarily a bad thing; at that place are enough of businesses that fall into the top cease of the SME spectrum that will view "complexity" as flexibility. And Epicor has one of the all-time systems of documentation and grooming I've seen, with scores of mini-lessons and preparation videos for specific tasks. These lessons can be parsed through or printed off to serve as desk side documentation, though you'll probably wind upwards with several binders worth of newspaper.

Unfortunately, these lessons and documents aren't linked to be available from a specific task screen where they could help a user who is floundering at a specific point in the task stream. Instead, they crave users to dorsum out to the Master carte and access the Teaching menu; this is cumbersome and fifty-fifty annoying depending on the job you're doing. Epicor ERP does have a Global Search part but I found it to be much less useful for providing answers to operational questions.

The lesser line is, Epicor ERP can handle very circuitous businesses with multiple languages, multiple currency, and multi-company requirements. But and then practice other vendors, including Editors' Pick winners Acumatica and Netsuite OneWorld every bit well equally SAP Business One (which besides provide the capabilities required for a sophisticated entity). Plus, all of them practice information technology in a more approachable way than Epicor ERP does.

Epicor ERP's real benefit is that it'due south available and ready for a wide swath of vertical businesses, especially those specializing in distribution, manufacturing, retail, professional services, automotive aftermarket, or lumber and building. These are areas in wihch Epicor has pregnant market place penetration and experience. Another benefit is that the ERP system is highly scalable to suit rapid growth and new functionality requirements over time. In one case you lot have Epicor ERP configured and upwards and running, it's unlikely that y'all'll need another upgrade for some fourth dimension, unless your core business changes radically.

Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/onlinecloud-backup-services/16561/epicor-erp

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