
Epicor FP&A vs The EDA Suite

Compliance to forward-looking planning
If you’re asking yourself, “Why would I choose The EDA Suite powered by Phocas over Epicor FP&A?” – here's the difference.
Epicor FP&A
- Purpose
Statutory reporting, consolidation, IFRS/GAAP compliance - Data integrations
Direct Epicor ERP integration; limited support for non-Epicor sources - Users
Finance teams, built by accountants for accountants - Ease of use
Finance-led, requires BAQs, Excel and manual workflows - Drill down
Flat, one path drill downs (invoice-level only) - Budgeting & forecasting
Rigid structures, complex setup, accountant-centric - Excel dependency
Heavy reliance on Excel for reporting, formulas & modeling - Pre-built solutions
Supports select Epicor ERPs
Phocas
- Purpose
Financial planning tools built on a BI foundation; rolling forecasts, what-if modeling, exploratory analysis - Data integrations
Integrates directly with Epicor ERPs as well as 200+ other systems; ERPs, CRM, Excel, HRIS, finance - Users
Finance, operations, sales, executives – easy for everyone to use - Ease of use
Self-serve, point & click, no coding or IT dependency - Drill down
Dynamic, multi-level drill downs with pivot & side-by-side comparisons - Budgeting & forecasting
Flexible & collaborative with live ERP data that keep budgets current & forecasts rolling - Excel dependency
Familiar exports but not dependent; spreadsheets become a launchpad, not a limitation - Pre-built solutions
Delivers full solutions for all major Epicor ERPs; P21, Eclipse, Prelude, Kinetic, E10, CMS, Mattec, BisTrack, Lumbertrack, Eagle
Epicor FP\x26amp;A vs Phocas | | |
---|---|---|
Purpose | Statutory reporting, consolidation, IFRS/GAAP compliance | Financial planning tools built on a BI foundation; rolling forecasts, what-if modeling, exploratory analysis |
Data integrations | Direct Epicor ERP integration; limited support for non-Epicor sources | Integrates directly with Epicor ERPs as well as 200+ other systems; ERPs, CRM, Excel, HRIS, finance |
Users | Finance teams, built by accountants for accountants | Finance, operations, sales, executives – easy for everyone to use |
Ease of use | Finance-led, requires BAQs, Excel and manual workflows | Self-serve, point & click, no coding or IT dependency |
Drill down | Flat, one path drill downs (invoice-level only) | Dynamic, multi-level drill downs with pivot & side-by-side comparisons |
Budgeting & forecasting | Rigid structures, complex setup, accountant-centric | Flexible & collaborative with live ERP data that keep budgets current & forecasts rolling |
Excel dependency | Heavy reliance on Excel for reporting, formulas & modeling | Familiar exports but not dependent; spreadsheets become a launchpad, not a limitation |
Pre-built solutions | Supports select Epicor ERPs | Delivers full solutions for all major Epicor ERPs; P21, Eclipse, Prelude, Kinetic, E10, CMS, Mattec, BisTrack, Lumbertrack, Eagle |
Talk to a Phocas + Epicor expert |
BI, Financial Planning & Rebates in one platform
The EDA Suite powered by Phocas goes beyond BI Analytics to deliver a fully integrated platform that includes FP&A tools to help businesses connect, understand and plan better together.
Faster reporting, flexible planning
Amanda Ware, Director of Accounting and HR at Stokes Electric, shares their experience of adding FP&A tools from the EDA Suite powered by Phocas to their Epicor P21 ERP. By moving away from unwieldy ERP statements and error-prone spreadsheets, her team now gets automated, drillable financials with transaction-level detail. The result: reports built in minutes instead of hours, sharper visibility into sales and inventory and better planning around profitability and growth.

Dynamic financial reporting
EDA Financial Statements turns your Epicor ERP data into live, customizable reports that give finance teams and department leaders the insight they need. Instead of static outputs, you get flexible FP&A reporting that supports analysis, management reporting and planning – all in one place.
- Fast: Create, customize, automate profit & loss, balance sheet and cashflow statements for cross-functional teams in minutes.
- Compare: Quickly split reports like profit & loss to compare divisions, subsidiaries, regions, cost centers.
- Data visualization: Drill down to transaction-level detail and pivot data through multiple layers; branch, division, sales rep, customer, product.
- Management reporting: Customized exec dashboards enable department heads to access up-to-date metrics specific to their division.

Flexible planning
Most mid-market planning still happens in spreadsheets, which are rigid and slow to adapt when conditions change. EDA Budgets & Forecasts is a modern, automated tool that makes it easy to keep plans current and adjust quickly as the financial year plays out.
- Flexible: an easy-to-use interface allows you to build detailed, accurate budgets; no manual errors or version control issues.
- Automated: Live Epicor ERP data feeds budgets and forecasts, so actuals are always up to date.
- Collaborative: Assign tasks, collect input and submit budget approvals with ease.
- Connected: Link plans across the business; financial budgets, sales forecasts, headcount and demand planning.

Seamless implementation
- Reliable data: You data is centralized, cleaned and configured, delivering accurate numbers to base forward-looking plans on.
- Training & resources: Phocas provides admin + user training, workshops, and self-paced learning tools.
- Dedicated support: Once you're live, you'll have a locally-based Phocas Customer Support Manager and responsive human support (no bots or ticket queues).
- Built for complex data setups: Ideal for businesses juggling fragmented or multi-system environments.

Customer quote
"As a global manufacturing business, EDA makes life a lot easier for us. We didn’t have to provide internal resources to build out our own BI solution, and we don’t have to worry about the ingress into the system and to have to get that data. EDA has done it for us."
Epicor + Phocas customer
Integration
Unlike third-party tools that require complex mapping, The EDA Suite powered by Phocas is designed to pull directly from your Epicor ERP, and beyond. EDA integrates with multiple data sources like CRM, finance, operations and HRIS systems.
- Centralized data warehouse with built-in governance.
- Auto-cleans, validates and refreshes incoming data.
- Supports complex hierarchies and large data volumes - no lag.
- Delivers consistent, real-time insights from a single source of truth.
- Consolidates data views across branches, sales regions or product lines.

Customer quote
Epicor + Phocas customer
A secure end-to-end solution
As your data volumes and user base increase, security and governance become paramount. Rest assured, your data is safe with The EDA Suite powered by Phocas.
AICPA accredited
Choosing the right software
The "best" software choice is the one your team will actually use. Here are top tips from our buyer's guide:
- Does the software connect directly to your ERP?
- Is it easy for non-finance people to use?
- Can it handle your specific needs; multi-company budgets, headcount planning?
- Does the vendor understand your industry; manufacturing, distribution, retail?

The information contained in this page is based on independent research. It is accurate at the time of publishing [October 2025] and is subject to change.
Understand the past, operate better today, and plan well for the future
