Business Central vs Epicor: a manufacturer's comparison
Business Central vs Epicor comes up mostly in manufacturing and distribution, where both names land on the same shortlist. Epicor makes industry-focused ERP products. Kinetic targets makers, and Prophet 21 targets distributors. Business Central is Microsoft's wider system for small and midsize firms. The choice turns on how special your plant is and how much you value the Microsoft platform.
Last updated
Business Central vs Epicor: two kinds of vendor
Epicor is a software firm that focuses on a few industries. They are manufacturing, distribution, building supply, automotive and retail. It designs its products around those sectors. Kinetic is its manufacturing system. Discrete makers use it widely. So do shops that make or engineer to order.
Microsoft takes a horizontal view. Business Central gives every customer the same core of finance, supply chain and projects. With Premium, it adds manufacturing and service management. Sector depth comes from extensions. Specialist publishers and partners write them. So BC is a general system, and we shape it to your firm during setup.
Discuss your production →
- ✓Vendor focus
- ✓Manufacturing depth
- ✓Shop floor tools
- ✓Platform and integrations
- ✓Deployment choices
Manufacturing features in each system
BC Premium has bills of materials, routings, work centers and machine centers. It also has capacity plans, production orders and outside work. Planning worksheets then work out what to make and buy. Assembly orders in Essentials also cover lighter kitting work. So for many small and midsize plants, this is enough.
Epicor goes further in its base package. Examples are job-based production, quoting and estimating, and shop floor data capture. Plants with heavy custom work or tricky scheduling often value that. In BC, you can meet the same needs with add-ons. Those cover scheduling, configuration, quality or machine data.
Walk through your routing →- ✓Production BOMs and versions
- ✓Routings and work centers
- ✓Planning worksheet
- ✓Subcontracting worksheet
- ✓Output and consumption journals
Distribution and warehouse handling
Epicor also offers a separate product for wholesalers. It has pricing, counter sales and buying tools tuned to that trade. Wholesalers with branches and trade counters often add it to their shortlist. So it deserves a proper demo against your own order patterns.
Business Central handles distribution in the same app as finance and production. It has item tracking, several locations and bins. It also has directed put-away and pick, transfer orders and landed cost charges. Sales price lists are there too. Firms that both make and sell often prefer one system. A warehouse app on handheld devices adds barcode scanning.
Show us your warehouse flow →- ✓Bins and zones
- ✓Directed put-away and pick
- ✓Lot and serial tracking
- ✓Transfer orders
- ✓Landed cost with item charges
Platform, extensions and reporting
BC runs on Microsoft's cloud, and Microsoft updates it in two release waves a year. We write custom work as AL extensions. Links use standard APIs and Power Automate, and analysis runs in Power BI. Staff sign in with their Microsoft 365 account and work from Outlook, Excel and Teams.
Epicor offers its own cloud service and on-premises options. It also has its own tools for custom work, process tools and analytics. And it works with Microsoft products too. So a maker should ask both vendors how custom work survives upgrades. Ask also how machine, quality and scheduling tools connect to the core system.
Compare the platforms →- ✓How often versions change
- ✓Who tests customizations
- ✓Whether downtime is needed
- ✓What breaks integrations
- ✓How users are retrained
Which way a Business Central vs Epicor decision leans
Epicor is often the stronger pick when your edge is complex, job-based work. It suits a plant that wants that depth from one vendor. BC is often the stronger pick when your work repeats or is only moderately complex. It suits a firm that wants finance, sales and operations on Microsoft's platform.
Our consultants set up BC only. To help you decide, we map your production steps. We mark which ones standard Premium handles and name the add-on for each remaining step. If the add-on list grows long, that is useful proof. Then we will tell you so, instead of stretching the product.
Map your process with us →- ✓Production strategy mix
- ✓Scheduling complexity
- ✓Existing Microsoft investment
- ✓In-house IT capacity
- ✓Reporting expectations
Business Central vs Epicor: manufacturer questions
Business Central vs Epicor: can BC run a make-to-order shop?
Yes. You can create production orders straight from sales orders, with order-specific parts and routings. You can also set planning to make-to-order for chosen items. Shops with very complex design changes or finite scheduling needs usually add a specialist scheduling or configuration extension. That is a common pattern for makers on Business Central.
Does Business Central include a manufacturing execution system?
Not as a standard module. You record output, use of parts and time through production journals or the shop floor pages. Firms that want touch-screen terminals, machine data capture or labor tracking add an extension for that. We help you pick one and test it, so it fits your floor before you commit.
Business Central vs Epicor for a wholesaler that also assembles?
Either can work. BC covers both sides in one app, with assembly orders in Essentials and full production in Premium. The best test is simple. Run one day of your real orders, receipts and builds through a demo of each product. Then compare the steps, the screens and the time it takes your own staff.
How hard is it to move from an Epicor product to Business Central?
It is a standard ERP migration. We extract items, bills of materials, routings, customers, vendors and open orders. Then we clean them and load them with setup packages, and we post balances through journals. The harder part is agreeing how each production process will run in the new system. We settle that in workshops before any data moves.
Which Business Central license do manufacturers need?
Users who work with production orders, routings, capacity or service management need Premium. You cannot mix Essentials and Premium for full users in one environment. So a maker normally licenses everyone on Premium. Team Members and Device licenses can sit alongside for light users and shared terminals. Microsoft posts the current prices.
Book a discovery call
Let's talk through your move to Business Central.
A focused call with a senior consultant. We learn how your business runs today, give you an honest view on whether Business Central fits, and outline scope and next steps before you commit to anything.
What happens after you send the form