Quick answer
Paladin and Epicor both build retail management software for independent hardware stores, lumberyards, and other retailers. The main differences between the companies involve costs, design, and business model.
Choosing a point-of-sale system is one of the biggest decisions a retailer makes, and you live with that decision for years. Paladin and Epicor have been competing in the retail POS world for decades, so it’s natural to seek details on the most important differences between the two. This is a good place to start!
What are the major differences between Paladin and Epicor?
| Paladin | Epicor | |
| Founded | 1980 (for hardware and LBM retailers) | 1972 (as Triad, for auto parts distributors) [1] |
| Ownership | Employee owned, no outside investors | Owned by private equity firms [1] |
| Headquarters | Bend, Oregon and Mesa, Arizona | Austin, Texas |
| Deployment | Hybrid. In-store server and terminals, plus cloud and local backup; remote PC and mobile device access | Legacy: On-premises systems; current: cloud-based systems |
| Works during an internet outage | Yes (single-store systems can operate indefinitely without internet service) | Yes (cloud systems temporarily queue data during outages, then sync afterward) [2, 3, 4] |
| Industries served | Hardware, LBM, feed and seed, pharmacy, general retail | Manufacturing, distribution, retail, building supply, and automotive |
| Support | US-based phone, e-mail, and chat included for all customers (no separate support tiers) | Support access, response times, fixes, updates, and features vary by support tier [5, 8, 9] |
| Mobile | PaladinGo™ for iOS and Android: Count inventory; sell from anywhere; receive POs; build supplier POs; check and adjust store performance with PaladinNsight and Market Driven Inventory Management | Mobile+ (mobile POS functions); Mobile CRM; S+ (for staffing tasks); BisTrack Count, Picking, Receipt, and Stock apps (for warehouse/yard operations); Mobile Manager for business insights |
| Beyond POS | PaladinShop™ e-commerce, PaladinGo mobile apps, Paladin Pilot™ remote PC access, managed IT and cybersecurity, Microsoft 365 licensing | ERP, supply chain management, manufacturing execution systems, accounting software, mobile apps |
| Agreements | Month-to-month, no long-term contract, no cancellation fees | Users report multi-year terms; full-term payment may still apply after cancellation [6, 7, 10, 11, 12] |
Are Paladin or Epicor simple to learn and use?
Paladin specifically strives for speed and simplicity in the design of our products. Freeing up staff from time-consuming tasks with ongoing product improvement and new releases, so they can help more customers in the aisles, is the point. We frequently hear from our customers that Paladin’s interface and workflows are quick and easy to learn [16], with less time required to train new employees than other systems.
Negative reviews from Epicor users tend to cite overcomplicated workflows and integrations. [15]
Is Paladin or Epicor expensive to implement or maintain?
Many negative online reviews from Epicor users cite unfavorable contract terms and costs. [10, 11, 12, 13, 14]
Onboarding and month-to-month subscription prices for Paladin are intentionally low when compared with our competitors, which fits hand in glove with our approach of earning your business each month instead of offering long-term contracts.
Are reviews and ratings from Paladin and Epicor users positive or negative?
Independent user reviews of Paladin call out US-based support, inventory control, ease of use, ease/speed of initial training and value as our greatest strengths [18, 19, 20]. Positive Epicor user reviews praise ERP accounting features, LBM-specific functionality, and specific features like Favorites and dashboards [21, 22], while negative comments mention complexity, paid add-ons, reporting workflows, difficult onboarding, expense/value, and support quality [23, 24, 25, 26].
User ratings and reviews of Paladin and Epicor tend to show up in different places, with some overlap. Epicor currently has average ratings of 3.6/5 for their BisTrack product on the Capterra platform, 3.9/5 for Eagle and 4.2/5 for BisTrack on G2, 8/10 for Eagle and BisTrack on TrustRadius, and 4.2/5 for BisTrack on Gartner Peer Insights.
Paladin user ratings tend to be higher, with current scores (as of September 8, 2026) at 4.6/5 on Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice, 4.8/5 on SourceForge and 4.7/5 on Slashdot and Top Business Software. The average rating for Paladin on TrustRadius (7.6/10) slips slightly below that of Epicor (8/10), with the caveat that Paladin’s score there is based on only two ratings. Paladin is not currently listed on the G2 or Gartner Peer Insights platforms.
Paladin also polls its customers after each support interaction, using the standard metric known as Net Promoter Score (NPS) to gauge how likely each customer is to recommend Paladin. Paladin’s current NPS averages are relatively typical: 9.25/10 for the current week, 9.31 for the month, and 9.08 for the past year. Customer feedback is reviewed daily by our leadership teams, and over time as an indicator of long‑term customer relationships, dependable support, and technology that delivers practical value for independent retailers.
Where and when did Paladin and Epicor start doing business?
Paladin was founded in 1980 to build computerized point-of-sale software for hardware stores and lumberyards. The company has remained focused on hardware and LBM over the years, eventually expanding into additional retail industries including pharmacies, feed and seed stores, and many others. Ongoing product development has focused on delivering more efficiency and actionable business data analysis within our POS software as well as new offerings like the PaladinGo™ mobile applications, PaladinShop™ e-commerce solutions, PaladinMSP™ managed IT services and an ever-growing list of integrations with suppliers and other vendors.
Epicor’s website traces its earliest origins to 1972, when the company called Triad Systems (later acquired and eventually rebranded) developed a computer system for automotive parts distributors to store and manage inventory data. They have continued to do business in the automotive industry while expanding into hard goods retail (including hardware and LBM) during the 1980s. Later acquisitions and expansion added the manufacturing and wholesale distribution industries, along with ERP and accounting software, to Epicor’s portfolio.
Who owns Epicor and Paladin, and why does it matter?
Epicor is owned by private equity firms. Paladin is employee owned.
The software industry experiences constant change. Outside funding and growth objectives can eventually lead to acquisition, merger, or ownership changes. An acquisition does not automatically create risk, but retailers should understand what it could mean for future pricing, support, product direction, and company priorities.
When evaluating any vendor, ask:
• Who owns the company today?
• What is the company’s long-term vision?
• How long has its leadership team been serving this industry?
• What commitments exist to current customers?
Stability and continuity are important considerations in a technology partner. Paladin is arguably inherently stable in this sense.
What is the difference between Paladin and Epicor in terms of contracts and support?
Paladin offers only month-to-month subscriptions with no long-term contract or cancellation fees. Paladin operates on giving retailers complete flexibility. We believe in earning your business each month through dependable service, easy‑to‑use technology, and measurable results. All Paladin POS subscribers get the same level of support and access to updates and upgrades at no additional cost, because Paladin does not sell tiered support plans. We work to earn each renewal instead of locking customers into a term.
Epicor does not publish pricing or contract terms. Users have reported contracts running for three or more years [10, 11, 12]. This theoretically fixes pricing in place during the contract term, but of course any such protection ends (subject to renegotiation) at the end of the term. Higher-tier support agreements cost more for quicker support response and full access to bug fixes and new features.
What are Epicor and Paladin’s corporate philosophies or mission statements?
Paladin’s corporate purpose, vision and values center on personal integrity and strengthening local communities through innovation for independent retailers.
Epicor’s website says the company’s current mission is “to ensure every supply chain decision is made with confidence, clarity, and speed.”
The relevant contrast here is Paladin’s focus on the success of independent owner/operators versus Epicor’s closer orientation toward large, multi-store enterprises. Paladin works with multi-store operations as well but has maintained store-level success as our first priority. We operate on the principle that the more time is freed up for cashiers and other store workers by smart, effective retail technology, the more the store, the customer, and the greater community benefit.
Is Paladin or Epicor the best POS solution for lumber/LBM retailers?
When considering POS systems, carefully evaluating prospective vendors’ experience and feature depth in terms of your specific industry is vital. The following is a list of tools and features built specifically for lumber dealers over the course of Paladin’s nearly 50-year history.
LBM Specific Sales, Quoting & Invoicing Tools, Lumber Industry Calculators
• Thousand Board Foot (MBF) Calculator: converts mill unit pricing to customer each pricing
• Thousand Square Foot (MSF) Calculator: same logic for sheet goods
• Ton Pricing Calculator: bulk materials priced by ton
• Lineal Foot Tally/Footage Calculator: tally mixed length pieces (feet/inches); accessible via CTRL K or right click; works on POs too
• Square Footage Calculator: width times length times pieces, accessed via right click or Ctrl+S
Buy/Sell Unit of Measure Conversions
• Buy by MBF, sell by the stick: auto calculated stick cost with retail auto update to target margin on PO receipt
• Show MBF/MSF/Ton prices on quotes and invoices via inventory checkbox
• Extended precision on numbers: up to 6 decimals on price, 4 on quantity, real time extension updates
Quote & Invoice Power Tools
• Profit Analyst: real time cost/profit/margin visibility (average and market cost) while building quotes; tune pricing up or down by item
• Weight Analyst: complex weight based SKUs on invoices/quotes
• Discount Analyst: displays which pricing/discount plan applies to any line
• Dynamic subtotals anywhere in a quote, auto recalculating
• Insert items/notes/preexisting quotes anywhere in an invoice or quote
• Detailed notes, descriptions, and special-order instructions as permanent record
• Auto update stale pricing on recalled quotes (blue highlight, one click update single or all)
• Search for any part or value within an invoice or quote
• Sophisticated item family search (e.g., pull entire gutter product family at once)
• View images on anything in the invoice/quote/advanced lookup
• Hide itemized pricing (“Print Unpriced Quote”)
• Stored quotes/orders/on holds recall window
• Stock visibility (on hand, on order, on hold) on every quoted line
• Auto Quote Numbers with sequential IDs
• Integration with Saberis Software (middleware platform that connects supplier ordering systems directly to Point-of-Sale)
Lumber Order Manager (Staged/Partial Fulfillment)
• Convert quotes into orders (F5/Order Manager)
• Order Manager: deliver partial quantities while protecting quoted pricing
• Sell partial orders over time with auto fill quantity and item history
• Auto close on completion
• Auto put items ON HOLD in Order Manager
• On Hold feature: commit inventory without billing to a job yet
• Buy Down Quote Pick List Report (Excel export)
Special Orders
• Built in margin/price calculator for special orders
• Force to large sheet, set percent deposit, add freight, exclude from rewards by class
• Numerous deposit options presented to salesperson
• Automatic PO generation from special order event
• Optional setting to allow special order modifications
Yard Order Forms & Delivery Order Forms
• Yard Order Forms: 4 sizes/types, optional second printer tray, item only or full invoice print
• Confidential pricing at the yard (all sale details except price/payment)
• Delivery Order Forms with “Received by” and “Delivered by” fields
• Yard only Oversold Warning filter
• Yard Order filtering by location
• Yard Order Printing to unique printer
Construction Bundles & Kits
• Construction bundles to boost productivity and simplify checkout
• Full kit: simple, complex, dynamic; line item priced or trigger only priced
Return Wizard
• One scan recall via receipt barcode, customer, or product lookup; supports serial numbers for warranty claims
Contractor & Job Account Management
• Job/project management with on request historical invoices
• Every quote/invoice can be tied to a specific project
• Duplicate – Child (project) accounts under a parent contractor account
• Per project credit limits
• Contractor reports by project/job/address (Excel/PDF export)
• Assign project to invoice for all payment types (not just AR)
• Authorized signers recorded, verified at checkout, printed on receipt
• Custom trade discounts and specialized pricing plans, auto applied by customer
• Project payment management: Open Item AR, applied payment history per project
• Contractor discounts at sale or as prompt payment discount on statement
• AR statement generation (print/email) with transaction reports by project
• Past due balance alerts/limits
• Enhanced Month End Statement (automatic, reversible, Account Summary Report)
• Right click AR access
Epicor’s marketing for lumberyards most commonly mentions the following features:
- Dispatch and delivery management
- Yard and warehouse operations
- Multi-phase contractor job management
- Contractor pricing and quoting
- Mobile warehouse applications
- Route optimization and GPS tracking
- Special orders
- Pro dealer workflows
- Business intelligence and analytics
- Co-op integrations
- Inventory management across multiple locations
Is Paladin or Epicor better for my business?
Some businesses are a great fit for Paladin and a bad fit for Epicor. Others are the opposite, and many could fit with either company. Now that you have a basic comparison, we recommend reaching out to other retail stores like yours that are experienced with one vendor or the other (or both), asking for details on every relevant supplier integration and feature before you sign, and scheduling in-depth product demos to create the clearest possible picture of how each system would work in your store.
I have more questions. Who should I ask about how Paladin compares to Epicor or other POS vendors?
At Paladin, we’re always eager to hear about what we could do better as a business partner and answer any additional questions you may have. Click the Contact Us button below to contact our Sales staff.
Sources
1: https://www.epicor.com/en-us/company/about/; 2: https://www.epicor.com/en-us/sp/innovation-moves-to-the-cloud/; 3: https://www.epicor.com/en-au/blog/technology-and-data/cost-savings-found-in-retiring-legacy-on-premises-erp/; 4: https://www.epicor.com/en-us/customers/security-suite/ptw-cellular-isp-failover/; 5: https://www.merchanter.com/post/bistrack-on-premises-end-of-support; 6: https://www.epicor.com/en-us/company/customers/customer-agreements/ 7: https://assets.epicor.com/asset/efa9f23b-2dbd-4ad2-b88e-630c2784f870/Epicor-Master-Customer-Agreement-2026-7-30.pdf; 8:https://www.epicor.com/en-us/customers/customer-support/; 9: https://datixinc.com/blog/what-epicor-customer-support-changes-mean-for-you/; 10: https://www.epiusers.help/t/i-think-we-made-a-mistake-going-with-epicor/87983 11: https://www.epiusers.help/t/does-anyone-ever-negotiate-with-epicor-over-their-yearly-maintenance-fees-for-public-cloud/106639; 12: https://www.epiusers.help/t/epicor-cloud-contract-concessions-covid-19-response/66115; 13: https://www.reddit.com/r/epicor/comments/135xi3q/evaluating_epicor_what_has_your_experience_been/; 14: https://www.g2.com/products/epicor-eagle/reviews 15: https://www.capterra.com/p/247914/Epicor-for-Building-Supply/reviews/; 16: https://www.softwareadvice.com/scm/paladin-pos-profile/reviews/; 17: https://www.capterra.com/p/155794/Paladin-POS/reviews/ 18: https://www.softwareadvice.com/scm/paladin-pos-profile/reviews/; 19: https://checkthat.ai/brands/paladin-point-of-sale/reviews; 20: https://www.capterra.com/p/155794/Paladin-POS/reviews/; 21: https://www.trustradius.com/products/epicor-eagle/reviews; 22: https://www.g2.com/products/epicor-bistrack/reviews; 23: https://www.capterra.com/p/247914/Epicor-for-Building-Supply/reviews/; 24: https://www.trustradius.com/products/epicor-eagle/reviews; 25: https://www.reddit.com/r/epicor/comments/135xi3q/evaluating_epicor_what_has_your_experience_been/; 26: https://www.reddit.com/r/epicor/comments/dt0z4q/would_you_recommend_epicor/
