Epicor HCM (discontinued)

The single most important factor in our selection was that the software would integrate into our shop floor data collection so we would not have to maintain two employee databases. We are able to set up new employees in Open4 and the shop employee record in Vantage is then populated during that process. There is no duplicate entry to be done.

It is important that the system be used properly and the user interface is an important part of that. Because this system allows the menu to be configured by user it greatly reduces the time it takes to train users in the system. There is no need to skip over menu items that are not used by the particular employee being trained. Their menu only displays the menu items they are required to use.

Tax tables updates are provided timely and can be downloaded and applied without the need for assistance from tech support. An email notification is sent out from Epicor support when an update is available and I can download and apply them at my convenience.

***BEWARE OF EPICOR***

You have officially been warned! As my coworkers and I like to call it, “Epic-mess,” as the possible becomes seemingly impossible. If you are even remotely considering Epicor as your company’s HRIS, please look elsewhere, as Epicor will only cause your HR team massive problems and irritation. Save your company the time, and more importantly the money. Epicor is extremely costly and every small customization has a price including speaking with service representatives. At this point, after dealing with Epicor for over a year and a half, I truly believe Epicor is a legitimate grift.

Why do you ask?

For one, nothing with Epicor is easy. Efficiency is thrown out the window which is ironic since HRIS systems are designed with efficiency in mind. However, this is surely not the case with Epicor. You will spend an inordinate amount of time trying to demystify the system.

Would you like to run a report?

Simple right? How about being directed by Epicor’s software programmers to utilize Microsoft Report Builder to execute this task.

Pardon me? Are you telling me this system doesn’t allow for embedded report creation?

Why yes, that is virtually the case.

While you are able to run very standard reports in Epicor, if you need to run an ad hoc report or build a complex report, you will be directed to utilize Microsoft Report Builder, which is consequently, pretty complicated and honestly, unnecessary considering your company purchased an HRIS. In addition, once you are finally able to run the report in Report Builder after it freezes a couple of times (cross your fingers), you can rest assure that your report is inaccurate. Not only does building a report require a ridiculous amount of time, but the report lacks integrity as Epicor will drop employees from your report without your knowledge. From my team’s understanding, we were told by Epicor that names are dropped because those particular employees are missing information in the requested data fields. Now, logic would tell anyone that a report should still pull the employee in spite of the empty data field, but of course, that would be too logical for Epicor. Instead of pulling the employee and including them in the requested report with the missing information, they completely drop off. Logic would beg one to think, “How would I know the employee was missing information if they are not pulled and I am not given the opportunity to see the missing data field(s) so I can correct them?”

This is only the beginning of your problems.

After dealing with trying to run an accurate report and losing your mind, you will now be inclined to contact Epicor directly. You will find this feat to be daunting if not absurd given you have to call to run a fairly simple report. Epicor offers a “free” customer service line that will immediately instruct you to contact the program developer who handles your account. That sound you just heard…was money flying out the window. Of course Epicor would have you contact your account manager as this means more money for them. So, after you finally call and leave a message, because you must leave a message (which is a joke), someone from Epicor will return your call the following day (emergency…what emergency?) and assist you as best as they can with your problem, but oftentimes, they cannot help because even they do not know. And if they do, they are recommending a solution that will…wait for it…cost more money.

Should you need a basic feature in your HRIS it is considered a “customization.” Would you like a “point in time” report? This is considered a special report that must be created. Yes, you read that correctly. A simple “point in time” report, which is standard in ADP Reports and most reputable HRIS systems, will cost you a pretty penny. But don’t fret, they will try to placate your anger by informing you that they are offering you a “discount” – for something a standard HRIS can do in five minutes. And to add to your mounting costs, your company is still being billed for the phone call(s) which is almost $100 per call, and mind you, because Epicor is extremely convoluted, you will spend a significant amount of time on those phone calls. Maybe even six months because that is how long it took for our organization’s PIT report with minimal parameters to be built. Who doesn’t have money and time to spare in an evolving and fast-paced organization?

Would you simply like to have your HRIS system interface with your company’s payroll system?

Again, the possible becomes impossible. For every single payroll cycle that my organization has to transmit, we have to run an import via Epicor that creates “error reports” that we have to review to ensure that Epicor made the correct changes, which often, we find information is not correctly transmitted over to ADP. Then, we are forced to manually enter the information in our payroll system and complete double data entry. Again, where is the efficiency if you have to manually enter the employee data in both systems? My organization does this multiple times throughout the month. You can only imagine how inefficient and time consuming this task is.

Would you like to complete a mass import?

Sorry. That’s not going to happen without another – you guessed it – phone call. And get this, after spending money on the call, you might possibly be met with, “That’s not possible.” Wow. Who’s asking for the world? You only want to complete a pretty simple task, or seemingly simple task.

Are there other problems?

Of course! However, I don’t have the stamina to list all of them. Without a doubt, if my organization could do it over again when selecting an HRIS, we would have never selected Epicor. It has not met our growing organization’s needs and it simply is not a robust and sustainable system. And there is no way Epicor will meet our needs in the future as it currently fails them now after three years of trying to get this HRIS running properly. Should your company be in the market for an HRIS system, bypass Epicor at all costs, as you can find another system that will meet your needs more efficiently with less cost.

Save yourselves the time, energy, and money -- and the headache.