Epicor Eclipse is one of the best-known ERP systems in electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and PVF distribution. It was built for the way trade distributors work: high order volumes, large catalogs, contractor pricing, busy sales counters, and many branches.
Plenty of distributors run well on it. Others start looking around when an upgrade, a hosting decision, a growing set of add-ons, or a change in the business makes them ask whether it is still the right platform for the next ten years.
If that is where you are, the question is whether to keep investing in Eclipse or move to a different platform.
Bizowie is a cloud ERP platform built for mid-market distributors and manufacturers. It brings inventory, warehouse operations, EDI, purchasing, financials, and reporting together in one unified operating environment, implemented directly by the Bizowie team.
Eclipse was founded as Eclipse Inc. in 1990. Intuit acquired it in 2002, Activant acquired it in 2007, and it became part of Epicor when Epicor and Activant merged in 2011. Epicor also owns Prophet 21, another distribution ERP.
Eclipse is designed for electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and PVF distributors. Its functional areas include sales and counter order entry, inventory and purchasing with multi-branch transfers and vendor rebate tracking, wireless warehouse management, job management, financials, eCommerce, business intelligence, document management, and EDI. It can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud, with Epicor's cloud option hosted on Microsoft Azure. Independent sources describe it as running on a MultiValue database, Rocket UniData.
That is important context. Eclipse is a capable, actively developed system with deep roots in trade distribution. The more useful question is whether it is still the best fit for how your business operates and where it is going.
Distributors comparing Eclipse with other options usually do so for one or more of these reasons:
The decision is not "Eclipse or nothing." It is whether to keep investing in your current platform or evaluate the market with the same care you would give any major system decision.
| Area | Bizowie | Epicor Eclipse |
|---|---|---|
| Primary market | Mid-market distribution and manufacturing | Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and PVF distributors |
| Platform approach | Unified cloud platform with inventory, WMS, EDI, and financials operating in one environment | Long-established trade distribution ERP within the broader Epicor portfolio |
| Deployment | Cloud, delivered by Bizowie as a service | On-premises or cloud, with Epicor's cloud option hosted on Microsoft Azure |
| Warehouse management | Integrated barcode-driven WMS spanning receiving, put-away, picking, packing, shipping, and cycle counts | Wireless warehouse management with barcode scanning |
| EDI | Direct ANSI X12 support, with the ability to work with existing third-party mapping services | EDI and vendor integration capabilities; confirm what your proposal includes |
| Manufacturing | Multiple manufacturing modes for organizations that both distribute and make products | Distribution-centered ERP; confirm assembly and fabrication needs |
| Adaptability | Configuration, no-code platform capabilities, and workflows | Configuration, APIs, and extensions within the Eclipse platform |
| Implementation | Vendor-direct implementation by the Bizowie team | Epicor and its services ecosystem |
| Potential best fit | Mid-market distributors seeking one platform across inventory, WMS, EDI, financials, and manufacturing, with one accountable vendor | Trade distributors that value established Eclipse workflows and the Epicor ecosystem |
This comparison reflects publicly available vendor and independent information reviewed in October 2026. Product capabilities, packaging, pricing, and deployment options can change. Buyers should validate their specific requirements directly with each vendor.
Real screens from Bizowie, not mockups. Click any screen to enlarge.
Bookings, open orders awaiting fulfillment, and inventory value at a glance.
Every receipt, transfer, build, and quarantine move by SKU, lot, bin, and location.
Purchase orders with approvals, receiving, ASNs, and vendor invoices on one screen.
Customers search items, place orders, and check order and invoice history themselves.
Staying keeps workflows your team knows, an ecosystem of trade-focused partners and add-ons, and a vendor with a long history in electrical, plumbing, and HVAC distribution. If your environment is current and working well, that has real value.
If your next step is a major upgrade, a move to the cloud, or replacing several add-ons, the project may be large enough to deserve a real evaluation: your requirements, your hardest scenarios, and more than one platform. That is not a reason to leave Eclipse. It is a reason to make the decision deliberately.
Bizowie is designed as one platform. Warehouse management, EDI, inventory, purchasing, and financials run in the same environment, so a scan in the warehouse, an EDI order, and the general ledger all describe the same transaction. Bizowie delivers the platform as a cloud service, and the team that builds it also implements and supports it.
The strategic question is therefore:
If you are going to make a major investment in your ERP, which platform should it be in?
Ask each vendor to run these scenarios, live, using only what is in their proposal:
Ask exactly which of these need separate products, and who supports each one.
For a full view of what distributors should look for, see our distribution ERP software buyer's guide.
“We have seen immediate economic benefit for our business in terms of productivity from our warehouse staff, eliminated processing errors, and better stock control.”
Julius Hart — Managing Director, LensesOnline
“From our first contact all the way through to our implementation, Bizowie has been a first class organization to work with… We strongly recommend the Bizowie software program.”
Alan Seymour — President, Cleveland Electric Labs
Staying with Eclipse may be the better fit if:
Bizowie deserves a close look if:
Have a question about your own system? Talk to the team that builds Bizowie.
It depends on what you need to fix. If you face a major upgrade, a cloud move, or a growing set of add-ons, compare Eclipse with other distribution platforms using your own trade scenarios: contractor pricing, counter sales, branch transfers, and rebates.
No end of support has been announced, and Eclipse continues to be offered for on-premises and cloud deployment. Confirm the status of your version and Epicor's roadmap directly with Epicor.
Eclipse can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud, with Epicor's cloud option hosted on Microsoft Azure. Ask what moving your current environment to the cloud would involve.
Both are Epicor distribution ERP systems. Eclipse is designed for electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and PVF distributors; Prophet 21 serves a broader range of distribution segments. See our Prophet 21 comparison.
For many mid-market distributors, yes. The right way to find out is to bring your own scenarios to a demonstration: a contractor quote, a counter sale, a branch transfer, an EDI transaction, or a rebate claim.
Most of the effort is data, especially pricing: customers and jobs, items, price matrices and contracts, rebate agreements, open orders, inventory balances, and history, plus the add-ons and integrations around the system.
Eclipse has served trade distributors well for decades, and for many it remains the right system. The goal is to make sure your next decision is based on how your business works today and where it is going.
Bring us your hardest contractor order, pricing, or branch scenario. We'll show you how Bizowie handles it, and if we are not the right fit, we will tell you.
A real person will reply within one business day with an honest assessment, not a sales pitch.
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See all on our switching ERP page.
Product information sources: Bizowie Cloud ERP for Distributors, Wikipedia: Eclipse ERP, SoftwareConnect, and DCKAP.
Epicor, Eclipse, and Prophet 21 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epicor Software Corporation or its affiliates. Bizowie is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Epicor Software Corporation. This comparison is based on publicly available information and is intended to support independent evaluation.
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