Comparison of 3 ERPs: Epicor, Infor and NetSuite

In this edition of the TEC Vendor Showdown, three well-known vendors go head-to-head on the functionality of their small business software. Here we compare Epicor ERP, Infor SyteLine and NetSuite, using TEC's Small Business Software Evaluation Grid.

Welcome to another edition of TEC's exclusive tool that compares the leading vendors in the most popular enterprise software category in straightforward, head-to-head feature duels.

Today, we have a superb showdown as renowned vendors Epicor, Infor and NetSuite battle it out for supremacy in the small business management software category.

Which ERP will emerge victorious? Which will finish first among the leading small business software modules? And which of the three is best suited to your organisation's needs? Read on to find out.

See all software Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Overview of the main ERP vendors

1. Epicor

Epicor Software Corporation is based in Austin, Texas. Its products target the manufacturing, distribution, retail and service sectors. More than 40 years of experience in customers' unique business processes and operational needs are integrated into Epicor's solutions - in the cloud, hosted or on-premise. Epicor solutions help manage complexity and free up resources to drive business growth.

2. Infor

Founded in 2002, New York-based Infor is one of the world's largest commercial software companies. Infor has more than 70,000 customers and implementation and support capabilities in more than 100 countries (in the US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia). The company has 116 offices worldwide.

3. NetSuite

Based in California, NetSuite is the leading provider of SaaS-based business management software. Offering a wide range of applications, including financials/enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), e-commerce, omnichannel commerce and professional services automation (PSA), NetSuite enables companies to manage most of their core business operations within its single integrated suite.

The Infor, EPICOR and NetSuite ERP comparison grid

The rules of the TEC Vendor Showdown for small business software vendors are simple.

We compared Epicor ERP, Infor SyteLine and NetSuite on the basis of the ten main modules, scanning a total of more than 2,500 options and functions (software selection criteria).

To avoid bias and ensure fair treatment, all features and functions are given equal weight and importance. In other words, the rankings in this comparison have been determined by ready-to-use features, with no options or functions deemed more or less important than another.

How does the scoring work? Points for each feature and function are awarded according to the following table:

Please note that all results in this report are based on the most recent Request for Information (RFI) data provided to us by the three vendors, indicating their level of support for each of the more than 2,500 functional criteria in our Small Business Software database. To get an idea of the types of criteria available in our Small Business Software database, get a free sample of our RFP template for Small Business Software. Or, directly compare small business software solutions based on your specific business requirements using appvizer.

Overall results

In terms of overall performance, the small business software solutions came out fairly close in terms of functionality. But that shouldn't come as a surprise. All three vendors are well established, with a strong track record in delivering business solutions for small businesses. But that said, there are still significant differences between the three solutions, which will become apparent as we go through the results.

So, what is the overall ranking of the three solutions? As you can see from the table below, there isn't much of a gap between the first and second place contenders, with Epicor ERP scoring a solid 94.87 and Infor SyteLine finishing a close second at 92.51. NetSuite closed the overall ranking in third place with a score of 89.89 :

Overall performance results

Remember that the overall performance results take into account the more than 2,500 criteria (features and functionalities) in TEC's Small Business Software database, with the same weight and importance. Also bear in mind that a difference of two or three percentage points is very small for overall performance rankings.

But what about individual modules that include a complete software solution for small businesses? How do the three competitors stand out in these key areas? Let's find out by looking at the modules and their component sub-modules one by one.

Results for the main modules

The chart below shows the results for each of the main modules. Epicor wins five of the main modules (General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Receivables, Cost Accounting and Sales Management), Infor wins three (Inventory, Budgeting and Production), and finally NetSuite finishes in last place with just one module (Fixed Assets).

Results for the main modules

We will now look at each individual module and break them down into their respective sub-modules, so that the level of support each software solution provides for specific types of functionality within each module can be compared.

The General Ledger

In the General Ledger module, the overall results are fairly similar. Epicor ERP came out on top with a score of 98.41, followed closely by NetSuite with 95.42 and Infor in third place with 90.16.

As you can see below, Epicor stands out in this module with four sub-modules having perfect scores, while Infor has two. The biggest overall variations were in the Chart of Accounts and Transaction Processing sub-modules, where Epicor came first with a perfect score, ahead of NetSuite and Infor.

Results for the General Ledger module

Accounts Payable

In the Accounts Payable module, once again Epicor finishes first with a score of 94.74. But just ahead of Epicor with 92.29. NetSuite came third with a score of 86.43.

As shown below, the biggest variations in Accounts Payable sub-modules occur in Purchasing Controls, Data Input and Financial Reports. These are the modules in which Epicor excels.

Results for the Accounts Payable module

Accounts Payable

Epicor won this module with a score of 94.00. NetSuite came second with a score of 91.95, and Infor was a close third with a score of 90.34.

As can be seen in the graph below, most of the Accounts Receivable sub-modules show fairly tight scoring results. The exceptions are Cash Receipts and Debt Collection.

Results for the Accounts Receivable module

Payroll management

Here, the overall results are very close. NetSuite won the module with 96.09, just ahead of Epicor with 96.04. Infor came in third, very close to the other two competitors, with 93.88.

As shown in the graph below, the sub-module results are very close, with little difference in functionality support between the three competing solutions.

Results for the Payroll module

Inventory

In this module, Epicor and Infor finished virtually tied, scoring 96.81 for Infor and 95.96 for Epicor. NetSuite came last in this module with a score of 86.07.

When it comes to the various sub-modules, as shown below, the pattern is the same everywhere: Epicor and Infor are very close behind, with NetSuite finishing third in each of the six sub-modules.

Results for the Inventories module

Cost and product costing

In this module, Epicor and Infor are virtually tied, with total scores of 92.98 and 92.90 respectively. NetSuite came last with a score of 89.05.

As far as the sub-modules are concerned, as you can see below, the results are fairly similar, with the sole exception of Job Control, where NetSuite is considerably lower than Epicor ERP and Infor SyteLine.

Results for the costing module

Fixed assets

NetSuite scored highest in this module with an overall score of 88.98. Infor came second with a score of 84.49, while Epicor was a close third with a score of 82.24.

As shown in the graph below, there are significant variations in the Fixed Assets sub-modules: NetSuite's results reflect an excellent performance on Equipment Files, while Infor comes first in the Cost Calculation and Distribution module, as well as in Reports.

Results for the Fixed Assets module

Sales management

In this main module, Epicor came out on top with a score of 94.82. NetSuite came second with 90.13, and Infor came third with 87.94.

As far as the sub-modules are concerned, as the graph below shows, there are significant variations in the scores for each of them - with the exception of the Order Tracking and Shipping sub-modules, where the solutions of the three publishers are very close to each other.

Results for the Sales Management module

Budgeting

Here again, the overall results are very close. Infor finishes in first place with a perfect score of 100, while NetSuite is just one point behind at 99. Epicor finishes in third place with 95.67.

Turning to the sub-modules, the graph below shows just how close the results are. There are a number of perfect scores, including Infor three times, NetSuite twice and Epicor once.

Results for the Budgeting module

Production

In this main module, Infor and Epicor are neck and neck with scores of 95.63 and 95.44 respectively. NetSuite came third with a score of 90.60.

As the graph below shows, Materials Requirements Planning, Capacity Requirements Planning and Shop Floor Control are fairly close, with Epicor winning two out of three modules and Infor taking the third. The Product Costing, Master Production Scheduling and Quality Control modules showed significant differences in results, with Infor winning two of these sub-modules with a perfect score of 100 and NetSuite taking the third.

Results for the Production module

See all software Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Conclusion of the comparison

Looking at the overall results of our TEC Vendor Showdown for small business software, it's clear that Epicor is the best solution overall, followed by Infor and NetSuite in third place. When we look at the results for the individual sub-modules within each of the main modules, we see where the strengths of each solution lie.

But given that we're looking at enterprise software solutions here, it's not so simple or clear-cut after all. Rankings, whether general or by module, don't tell you everything. What they do provide is a simple yet sharp insight into the general strengths and weaknesses of products. However, it is clear that no two companies will ever use the same software solution in exactly the same way. Companies have specific requirements that must be met by the software solution they have chosen to install.

Given that out-of-the-box rankings don't fully reflect the real needs of an organisation, and that the ranking can change depending on the functionality you're looking at, how do you determine which small business software solution is right for your business?

If there's one thing to bear in mind when evaluating small business software solutions, it's that the complexity of your organisation's requirements and your budget are key. For example, while Infor or Epicor products may manage production well, small businesses whose business is not focused on manufacturing products may not require such complexity or functionality. So a product like NetSuite may be more suited to non-manufacturing businesses (although NetSuite is currently developing this functionality).

The quickest and easiest way to compare and assess the functionality of the solution based exclusively on your organisation's needs is to use TEC Advisor to compare software solutions with specific software models. This is how we obtained the results presented in this report in less than 20 minutes, compared with the weeks or months spent struggling with Excel files, which in themselves constitute a software evaluation and comparison project.

TEC Advisor allows you to define priorities that reflect your organisation's business model and specific needs at each level of functionality. At modular and sub-modular levels, and even according to individual criteria, you can tell the system which business processes are essential and important (or not) to your organisation. The system then compares your priorities with the suppliers' responses to generate a shortlist of solutions. The result is a tailor-made comparative study, which ranks suppliers' solutions not by out-of-the-box functionality, but rather by how those functionalities match your organisation's structural requirements.
To our knowledge, this is the best way to evaluate small business software solutions, and we invite you to try them out.