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Brightpearl allows me to manage my business from anywhere in the world.
Updated June 07, 2016

Brightpearl allows me to manage my business from anywhere in the world.

Robert Altham | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Brightpearl

Being able to speak with a support person rather than using an email support system is important when implementing Brightpearl. You need to speak with someone immediately who knows what they are doing. This is less important when you are familiar with how it works.
It used to be excellent when I could call them on a phone. Not so good now, as it is all online or email only. The follow up emails are a menace as I can never remember what they are referring to. Staff is nearly always knowledgeable.
We use Brightpearl across the whole organisation. We use it for managing accounts, bookkeeping, stock control. We also use it as a customer database, CRM, for sales and purchasing, and marketing with MailChimp. It is also used for channels sales with eBay, Amazon etc.
  • Brightpearl integrates all the sales channels into a single user platform. All stock availability is the same and visible for eBay or Amazon customers as it is for our own customers. It is a huge time saver and there is no need to do any data entry of orders, which is seamlessly done for you.
  • Brightpearl allows any member of staff to log in and enter new customer data, place sales orders etc., wherever they are. Sales can be dispatched from warehouses on different continents which have separate stock holdings.
  • The accounts are easy to use and can be accessed remotely as the data is in the cloud. You just need a browser to access Brightpearl.
  • Sending communications and marketing to customers is not well served. I have not yet used the new MailChimp integration app however.
  • VAT returns and EC sales lists should be connected directly with HMRC, as they do on Xero. It saves time and ensure no mistakes in data entry.
  • Sending monthly emailed financial statements to all customers should be automated and a one click job.
  • I need to give different credit terms to my customers. Some are payment in advance, some are cash on delivery, some are 7 days and some are 30 days end of month.
  • Cancelling an invoice when it has been dispatched is not easy as the stock has to be reassigned. This is painful and often does not get done properly.
  • Simplified new channel sales, accounting and tax reconciliation. Saved money on staff hours.
  • Average online order value has doubled over the past 2 years.
  • I find it difficult to persuade trade users to order online, even though they get trade discounts.
Xero, only used on a small basis. It has some good features like VAT return reporting and is automated into the HMRC system.
It was used for years but not very good for multichannel sales, and the system runs on an individual computer and could not easily be used remotely or by more than one user at a time.
It is important to have Brightpearl if you sell online on many channels. It is scaleable for small businesses. It is no good if you have no internet.

Using Brightpearl

4 - Warehouse - Stock control and order processing
Sales - Customer data and sales entry
Accounts - book keeping and management account
Management - Everything and everything else.
1 - Experience and using it regularly helps a lot!
  • Sales management
  • Consolidation of all channel sales and product related data
  • Ability to access all information from anywhere.
  • Better regular marketing communications to customers.
I have only used it for a short while and it works for us. There is a significant cost and a steep learning curve if changing to something else.

Evaluating Brightpearl and Competitors

Yes - MYOB. It only runs on a specific computer and could not be shared with others in the company. The cost increase dramatically but there was no investment in the product.