About Epicor
Expert Review
Pros
Cons
Plans And Pricing:
Epicor offers two POS options: There’s Epicor Eagle, which is an on-premise solution requiring an on-site infrastructure, and Epicor Retail Cloud, which is cloud-based.
Epicor doesn’t publish pricing information online. Solutions are bespoke based on exactly what you need, and you have to consult the sales team to obtain a quote. Epicor’s pricing is above average, making it most suitable for medium or large businesses. The starting price is reportedly around $349 per month.
Customer Support
As you would expect from a large and established company, Epicor offers a comprehensive range of support. It’s all handled from a central hub called the EpicCare portal. Epicor has over 600 support staff spread across a number of countries, and support is available in multiple languages.
Exactly what support you qualify for depends on what you choose and what you pay. “Essential Support” is available to all customers, with priority access and access to 24/7 help for those who subscribe to a “Pro” or “Gold” support plan.
Additional customer support:
Community Forums
Community forums are available within the support portal.
Blog
Epicor has a blog section on its website but it’s not updated particularly frequently.
Features & Functionality
Best For
General Features
Epicor Mobile POS
Epicor Mobile POS is an additional feature available exclusively with Epicor Eagle. It allows you to process customer orders, enquiries and payments from a mobile device, specifically a tablet running Windows.
Epicor Mobile POS lets you move the POS where it’s needed, and is ideal for outside sales areas such as those at garden centres and home improvement stores.
Offline Mode
If you choose the cloud-based solution, Epicor Retail Cloud, the system has an offline mode so that you can continue to access the POS system in the absence of an internet connection. This feature, which is notably absent from some cloud-based systems, means an internet outage is not a disaster for business continuity.
Extensive Customer Loyalty and Promotion Features
Epicor offers a rich set of features to grow customer loyalty. It’s possible to create tailored promotions and loyalty programs to keep customers coming back. Staff can also view customer records at the point of sale to provide a personalized greeting to returning shoppers.
Dashboard-Based Analytics
Epicor is particularly strong on data analytics. There’s a highly customizable dashboard system to help you spot sales trends and track levels of inventory. Key analytics reports are also accessible from mobile devices.
Employee Management Features
Dependent on the add-ons you choose for your bespoke Epicor package, you can gain access to a range of tools to assist with managing employees. The system handles shift scheduling and accounting, and you can even predict the staffing levels you will require based on historical POS sales data.
Integrations & Add-Ons
While some POS companies take an off-the-shelf “app store” approach to integrations, Epicor does things in a more customized way. There are even third-party companies that specialize in integration solutions to make other systems work seamlessly with Epicor. Some available integrations include those for the likes of Salesforce, QuickBooks, SAP and Magento. You may well notice some of these are big name companies, which is indicative of Epicor’s “enterprise-level” approach (and pricing).
Hardware & Software
Epicor’s on-premise Eagle system is Windows-based. Epicor Retail Cloud is more flexible and accessible from any device.
Epicor’s “bespoke” approach spreads into hardware too. If you already an established business, you may be able to use existing hardware such as receipt printers and cash drawers. Alternatively, Epicor can provide all the hardware you need as part of your solution.
The company maintains a list of “Epicor Certified Hardware,” where compatibility is guaranteed. This includes devices such as printers from Zebra and Epson, and barcode scanners and pin pads from Ingenico.
Pricing Options
Ease Of Use:
Epicor can be made extremely easy to use for your team. It’s highly customizable, so you can create a POS system that’s easy to learn.
That said, the initial setup isn’t nearly as “Do It Yourself” as less complex POS systems. You will likely need some help from the sales and support teams to define what you need and assist with the initial roll-out or migration process.
It’s worth noting that Epicor Retail Cloud is designed for quick deployment. Unsurprisingly, implementing this is less involved than putting an on-premise system in place.
Verdict:
Epicor is a big company, and its solutions are best suited to larger retail firms. You will certainly need some guidance from the sales team to ascertain which elements of the solution you will need, and what they will cost.
However, as with so many things in life, you get what you pay for. Retail businesses with complex requirements will find solutions here that go beyond what you can be expected from a cheaper, “off-the-shelf” solution. The ability to integrate with enterprise systems is particularly notable.
Wholesale retail firms, garden centers, and builder’s yards will definitely want to take a look, as Epicor caters to these environments while many other POS systems do not.
User Review
Write a Review- Customer support goes above and beyond for you!
- I personally prefer the older layout ever since they made upgrades.
- Inventory control has been a gamechanger for my business. The quick checkout process is another favored advantage found with Epicor. Last but not least, remote access has proved immensely helpful.
- Can take some considerable time to set up especially is you work with numerous vendors that don't provide ERP.
- Great record keeping of our customers and vendors. Everything is also kept in order by time/date so it is easy to review, verify, and check back to sales and credit card user requests.
- Customization on invoices seems slightly limited for my business's needs.
