Overview
What is Brightpearl?
Brightpearl’s retail operations platform is designed to handle peak trading, integrates with the full retail tech ecosystem, and is omni-channel native. Additionally, the vendor says their solution is the system of record for key trading data, provides real-time trading…
TrustRadius Insights
Easy to use software
There was a Brightpearl by Sage-shaped Hole in my Business!
In My Opinion: Many Inconveniences, but it's Hard to Find a Suitable Alternative
Solid system with significant drawbacks
Leaving Brightpearl after 8 Long Years
Support for a retail/e-commerce business
Lacking in functionality. Much better software is available.
Brightpearl User Review
Brightpearl helped our company grow!
Brightpearl - helpful and efficient!
Excellent.. Highly recommend to all small e-commerce businesses
- As …
Solid Inventory Accounting Software
Brightpearl - We love it!
Brightpearl is useful, but it needs work.
Awards
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Reviewer Pros & Cons
Pricing
What is Brightpearl?
Brightpearl’s retail operations platform is designed to handle peak trading, integrates with the full retail tech ecosystem, and is omni-channel native. Additionally, the vendor says their solution is the system of record for key trading data, provides real-time trading insights and is automated…
Entry-level set up fee?
- Setup fee required
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos
Sales Invoicing | Brightpearl
Setting up Ad-lister with BrightPearl
Brightpearl + Avalara Demo
Add Products Via Upload | Brightpearl
Brightpearl: The Retail Software for Omnichannel Growth
Product Details
- About
- Integrations
- Competitors
- Tech Details
- Downloadables
- FAQs
What is Brightpearl?
According to the vendor key differentiators include:
- Software and Service. Service is an integral part of Brightpearl's offer. The vendor says their retail consultants get users live three times faster than traditional ERP, always for a fixed cost. And the in-house team is available throughout, from tech support to ongoing business consulting.
- Built for Retail. Brightpearl is built only for the retail sector. This means: configuration not coding, designed for use by merchants not IT staff, every new feature is relevant, and their integrations and ecosystem are 100% retail.
- Designed to Scale. Whether it’s seasonal peaks, promotions or sustained growth, merchants need an ops platform that can handle the volume. The vendor says they stand by their numbers: orders, SKUs, channels, reporting and financials fit for multi-million dollar merchants.
Brightpearl Features
- Supported: Sales Order Management
- Supported: Inventory Management
- Supported: Inventory Planning
- Supported: Shipping & Fulfillment
- Supported: Warehouse Management
- Supported: Retail Accounting
- Supported: Purchasing & Supplier Management
- Supported: Workflow Automation
- Supported: Reporting
- Supported: Payments
- Supported: Analytics
Brightpearl Screenshots
Brightpearl Integrations
- Shopify
- BigCommerce
- Authorize.net
- ShipStation
- Xero
- QuickBooks Online
- Shiptheory
- PayPal
- Magento
- eBay
- Amazon
- Alibaba
- ekmPowershop
- Rakuten
- Royal Mail
- UPS
- Cubecart
- Hermes
- Parcelforce
Brightpearl Competitors
Brightpearl Technical Details
Deployment Types | On-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
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Operating Systems | Windows, Mac |
Mobile Application | No |
Supported Languages | English |
Brightpearl Downloadables
Frequently Asked Questions
Comparisons
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Reviews and Ratings
(294)Community Insights
- Business Problems Solved
- Pros
- Cons
- Recommendations
Brightpearl is a versatile platform that is used by various departments within an organization to streamline their operations and improve efficiency. Users have imported their client databases and categorized clients based on their profession, allowing them to generate accurate target lists for mailings. The operations team relies on Brightpearl to fulfill orders, enter shipping information, and manage inventory levels. The product management team utilizes the platform to collect and analyze campaign data, determine popular products through sales data, and manage SKUs and technological functions.
Brightpearl serves as a comprehensive solution for sales, inventory, marketing, and contact management. It is particularly helpful in keeping track of inventory and customer information, allowing users to integrate with other platforms such as Amazon and Shopify. The platform fulfills the organization's needs for stock management and invoicing. However, some users have found the CRM and reporting functions to be lacking. Brightpearl provides valuable insights into daily financial reports, marketing strategies, and customer behavior, enabling users to log calls, send emails, and track spending trends. Furthermore, the software is praised for its ability to simplify inventory management, order processing, and customer service, helping businesses save time and improve shipping efficiency. Overall, Brightpearl offers a range of use cases that address accounting, inventory, sales tracking, and customer management needs across multiple departments within an organization.
Positive Pros:
- User-Friendly Interface: Many reviewers have praised the user-friendly interface of the product, stating that it is easy to navigate and intuitive to use. Users have appreciated how quickly they can learn and adapt to the system, making their experience more enjoyable.
- Efficient Performance: Several customers have highlighted the efficient performance of the product. They have mentioned that it carries out tasks swiftly and effectively, saving them time and increasing their productivity. The smooth operation has been a key factor in users' satisfaction with the product.
- Helpful Customer Support: A notable number of reviewers have expressed appreciation for the helpfulness of the customer support team. Customers have felt supported throughout their journey with the product, as representatives promptly address their queries and provide valuable assistance when needed. This responsive support has contributed positively to users' overall experience.
Confusing User Interface: Many users have found Brightpearl's user interface to be confusing, leading to difficulties in completing tasks. The layout and organization of features are not intuitive, resulting in a steep learning curve for new users. Some reviewers have mentioned that certain functions are buried within multiple menus or tabs, making it time-consuming to find and access specific tools.
Poor Communication and Updates: Users have experienced issues with poor communication and updates from Brightpearl, resulting in functionality problems and the need for regular retraining. Timely information about system changes or bug fixes has been lacking, causing confusion and frustration among users who rely on accurate and up-to-date software functionality.
Lack of Integration Options: Several users have mentioned that the software has been overpromised in terms of integration with external systems, causing them to seek alternative, untested integrations. The limited integration options provided by Brightpearl fell short of expectations for some customers, requiring them to explore other solutions that may come with additional challenges and potential risks.
Users have provided several recommendations for Brightpearl based on their experiences with the platform. The most common recommendations are as follows:
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Gain a thorough understanding of how Brightpearl integrates and works with all channels: Users suggest taking the time to learn all the features of Brightpearl to maximize efficiency when using the platform. This includes understanding how it integrates with various channels, such as eBay and Amazon, to ensure smooth operations across multiple sales channels.
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Prepare and test data before implementing Brightpearl: It is advised to get data in order before implementing Brightpearl and to watch support videos on YouTube to better understand the product before going live. Users recommend properly preparing and testing external databases and consulting with Brightpearl about their capabilities, particularly when importing products.
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Take advantage of training resources and ask questions: Users recommend fully understanding the functions of Brightpearl before starting and ensuring that all products and transactions are added correctly. They also advise asking lots of questions about how Brightpearl integrates with current systems and meeting other companies currently using the system. In addition, involving all users in the training process can help avoid answering their questions later on.
Overall, users recommend investing time in learning and exploring Brightpearl's capabilities, preparing data thoroughly, and seeking support from both external resources and the company itself.
Attribute Ratings
- 8.2Likelihood to Renew12 ratings
- 10Availability1 rating
- 9Performance1 rating
- 4.7Usability8 ratings
- 8.1Support Rating135 ratings
- 7Online Training1 rating
- 1In-Person Training1 rating
- 6.5Implementation Rating104 ratings
- 8Configurability1 rating
- 6.9Product Scalability5 ratings
- 7Ease of integration1 rating
- 9Vendor pre-sale1 rating
- 8Vendor post-sale1 rating
Reviews
(1-22 of 22)Leaving Brightpearl after 8 Long Years
- Channel Management - allows multiple sales channels.
- Warehouse Management - some good functionality for warehouses.
- Finance BOH - good financial controls and reporting.
- Arrogance - [I feel] this business needs to recognize they have flaws and listen to customers when capability gaps are raised.
- Cost - It is not cheap. c.£15k per year for basic functionality plus addons for POS, demand, planning, etc.
- Reporting - [In my experience] it is not at all customizable.
- Support - [I feel] there is a lack of outside expertise in Brightpearl.
- Support is very good.
- Supports only a small number of marketplaces and in a limited way only. When I signed up with Brightpearl they claimed that you could list directly onto eBay from within Brightpearl but this turned out to be untrue as Brightpearl did not support eBay postage policies (eBay's semi literate way of saying shipping tables).
- Not only can you not list directly onto eBay, you cannot list directly from within Brightpearl to any marketplaces whatsoever. With other software you can list directly to all the marketplaces they integrate with.
- Brightpearl is abysmal at VAT. Brightpearl calculates VAT on Channel Islands and Canary Islands orders even though there is no Vat in either of them. So when you pay HMRC you will be paying them a bit extra unless you check all your orders which makes the software somewhat redundant.
- When I signed up they advertised Brightpearl as the software to automate your online selling. But it didn't really do that. A couple of years later at considerable extra cost they released an add-on app called Brightpearl Automation that does seem to deliver on automation. However other software offers that at no extra cost.
- Brightpearl claims that it integrates with Amazon, but this is only partially true as they have completely ignored the new marketplaces that Amazon have opened. If you list on those marketplaces you have to input the orders manually and Brightpearl will not update the stock, putting you at risk of negative feedback. Other software integrates fully with all Amazon marketplaces.
- Now that I am leaving it was suggested that I might benefit from read-only access so that we could easily double check things like warranty claims. They offered me a year's read-only access for £10,080 which is more than double my yearly contract for full use of the software. Now, if that isn't taking the mickey, I don't know what is!!!
Brightpearl - We love it!
- Consistant look to all documentation.
- You create your document templates to suit your business. The consistency across all documents is very much addressing the "corporate" look.
- Ease of invoicing.
- All staff are able to invoice directly - even on site at the completion of the job.
- This makes your staff realise they are responsible for making the business work better together.
- Saving time.
- [Previously] Shouting across the office for the latest price for a widget [would] usually return 2-3 differing values. [Now] Hunting for the correct price is as simple as pressing a button.
- The biggest issue with Brightpearl is the lack of ability to create options within a quotation.
- Sometimes we need to quote alternative products and there is no easy way to do this and make the quotation look good.
Brightpearl brightens up our day.
- Live inventory management
- Banking information importing
- VAT calculation
- Resolving input errors
- No offline capability
- No mobile app
My SAAS ERP review. What a battle it was to find a perfect software to run a business.
- I particularly enjoy the sales flow that Brightpearl has. From adding a new prospect lead and converting a quote to a sale - it's as easy as few clicks.
- Intuitive user experience, SAAS (ability to work from any PC+internet).
- Inventory management, and ability to work with Shipstation which makes shipping process very easy.
- Multiple sales channel integrations. Whether you are selling on Amazon or your own ecommerce website, Brightpearl allows you to funnel the sales and easily import them into the the system without a need of manual data entry.
- iOS App. A few times on my business trip I tried to check inventory or shoot a sales quote to my customer from my phone, and it was practically impossible. A simple phone app that will allow us to check stock, create a customer and sale would be great!
Great software, but CRM is its weakest point
We find the integration from quote, through sale, product dispatch, invoicing to receiving payment very straightforward. The ability to easily split orders in order to part dispatch is great, and the inventory management is good.
- The entire sales process is very straightforward and easy enough to use. The ability to sort the data in almost any way imaginable for reporting purposes is really handy.
- Product and inventory management is comprehensive. The ability to use customer specific SKUs as well or instead of our own is a really useful feature for us.
- CRM has a few issues we are not so keen on. Customers are individuals first, company second. There is therefore no reporting on a company as a whole. For instance if you wanted to see volume of sales by customer there is no way to combine all the contacts within one company to give one figure without exporting and manipulating in Excel.
- It is also not possible to make simple company wide changes, each individual within the company is treated as a separate contact and must be edited individually.
- Reporting for the CRM is a little patchy in what can and can't be done.
- Client record links can be used for help desk tickets, orders/invoices & accounting information.
- Access from any browser anywhere and get full access to all of the information - useful for when our doing onsite work.
- Profit and loss reports are clear and simple and show real time information.
- There is no mobile app and the website is not mobile optimised - would be useful for when working remotely.
- Integrations with card processing such as SagePay are slow in being changed to paid modules.
- Recurring monthly client invoices have to be done manually, there is no automatic system that works and no link to GoCardless for monthly direct debit capture.
- Good for client service invoices.
- Good for multiple people accessing business accounting information.
- Less appropriate for service users in the field who need access to records from a mobile device.
Brightpearl Review
- PO management is handled very will with BP. It's possible to clone previous POs so you don't have to keep typing in all the information again. It's also easy to see what's already been received.
- Inventory is similar to the PO management; it's easy to see what's in stock and ready to ship, as well as what's on PO, and what's already allocated to sales orders.
- Sales orders are fantastic. At a glance you can see if it's able to be shipped, or if it's been partially shipped already. The fulfillment process is simple, and it integrates seamlessly with ShipStation.
- The first frustrating part about BP is that you can only receive one invoice per PO. We often receive up to 20 different shipments per PO, with a different invoice attached to each. I have no way of entering these invoices. I have to wait until everything's been received and then I can enter in one single large invoice, and it's really frustrating.
- We've been having issues with the accounting side of BP. Our financial reports are changing from one day to the next, and we haven't figured out why. Support hasn't been able to figure out why either. Along with that, the financial reports are completely unpresentable. Our CPAs take the information out of BP and put them into a readable Excel file.
- Assemblies are a problem in BP as well. We have SKUs that require up to 30 different parts. We have to use an outside app to build our assemblies in. Usually it works fine, but if the connection is lost in the middle of the build, our inventory is completely messed up.
Great Package for Companies Growing out of Small Business Accounting
- It is integrated with multichannel retail giants such as eBay, Amazon, shopify and others.
- Customers can benefit from 24/7 support through various channels including toll-free phone line, helpdesk and video guides.
- Brightpearl has integrated accounting, CRM and inventory tools in one platform.
- Brightpearl’s fee is final, there are no GMV fees extracted and hidden charges
- Brightpearl has no native mobile app available for now.
- It may not be recommendable to large retailers with complex needs and software requirements.
The future's bright, the future's Brightpearl
- Brightpearl is great for streamlining our email marketing, allowing us to use external systems (such as mailchimp) with our Brightpearl customer lists to send out relevant, targeted emails that get a much higher response and much lower unsubscribe numbers than sending out generic emails to all customers.
- Brightpearl is great for our consultants and trainers (I'm a trainer) when we're on the road. We can easily enter and submit our work expenses on the move and can always come back to attach receipts etc. at a later date. I find this feature useful as I work away a lot and can get my expenses paid without having to head to the office to process them (which can sometimes be 2-300 miles from where I am working.
- Brightpearl is great for maintaining our customer records. We have organised our customers using the tags in Brightpearl and have customised the data capture fields to gather the exact information we want and need about our customers. Plus, the fact we can record and trace our telephone and other conversations with our customers through Brightpearl ensures we have an easy job knowing where we are with each customer and we can feel comfortable handing over customers to colleagues who can pick up straight from where we left off.
- We did use Brightpearl for timesheets which they got rid of recently so that was a shame as it stripped from us functionality that we were using.
- A mobile app to have even more versatility to enter expenses / view customer records on the go would be great.
- More flexible licencing structure would be great so small businesses can tailor access to a select number of employees without having to pay a lot extra for having access for more people than they need.
I think Brightpearl is a great tool for businesses to use. We are not a retail company ourselves and I think the way Brightpearl is heading it is going to be of most benefit to retail companies who can make use of its full features. We do not use the retail features and instead use it to store our customer records, expenses etc. and, until recently, our timesheets too.
If you're a retail company I think Brightpearl will be of the most benefit to you but we also get a good use out of it even if we don't use its full potential.
- Reporting functionality
- Multiple channels for sales
- App synchronization to ShipStation
- Detailed reporting - my reports usually unfilter when I click into them
- Sync with QuickBooks Online
- More interactive home dashboard
An honest review of BP for a distribution business
- Processing orders
- Stock management
- Communication
- Brightpearl has let us down in terms of its functionality for us as a manufacturing and distribution business. My perception is that all their development has gone into developing the system for online retail and not for distribution businesses. I would highly recommend Brightpearl for online retailers but not for distribution businesses.
- Based on my comment above, we do not find Brightpearl to be good value for money, for the functionality it provides us.
- Brightpearl's CRM functionality falls flat, as it cannot be used well on a mobile device.
- Quotes
- Invoices
- Inventory
- Multiple Currencies
- Navigation of product catalog
- Info on products
- Consolidated shipping overview
- Good tools for sales
- For inventory: Very good for retailers with simple products, gets complicated if you have products with multiple boxes
- Integration with email marketing app is expensive (more than monthly fee of the email management software)
- Not good if you buy products in different currencies
- 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.
- Batch processing - import and export of product, order and customer data is intuitive and flexible. Being able to specify a 'data map' for exactly the items I need to update in a CSV file means I don't have to touch every attribute value when I only need to adjust one or two.
- Provides a RESTFUL API, which allows script-based automation of common queries and tasks in whatever language you need.
- Inventory management - from purchase order through fulfillment, it's easy to see what you've got, how much is allocated and how much is on order.
- Tax calculations. BrightPearl supports both European-style VAT and US location-based systems, but it seems like the US tax calculation can be brittle
- Managing inventory and sales of by-weight or by-volume items.
- User interface is a little busy and not consistent. There are often too many menus - I counted 4 separate menus on the 'Settings' page alone. Sometimes the user-interface elements seem non-standard (and therefore non-intuitive): a left-side 'expanding' menu (see: Settings) that visually doesn't transition well and makes it hard to use.
Great online, Simple customer databasing and invoicing
- Contact management
- Quick invoicing with different price margins
- Simple interface
- Better Mobile site
- Mobile App
- Integration with dropbox
The Brightest Pearl has made us shine!
We have a service repair centre and have customized the sales section of Brightpearl to allow us to produce documentation with specified areas to allow information regarding these repairs to be added.
We can send shipping documentation as well via email to customers directly and this system has been integrated with our website and Amazon and Ebay accounts to allow for a multitude of selling platforms.
- Keeping track of customers and their vital information on their accounts.
- Keeping track of a day/week/months worth of sales information in concise forms of graphs and tables.
- Easy to use EPOS interface for quick shop sales.
- Finding sales by branded or supplier is difficult.
- System does go down from time to time and is buggy occasionally.
- Email system does not always reach all recipients.
BrightPearl is one of the best "all-round" systems but it excels more in some areas than others
- Stock Management
- Integration with other apps
- Most complaints about the system come from our accounts team.
Improved Ecommerce Operations with BrightPearl
- Inventory management
- Accounting
- Order fulfillment
- Not mobile-friendly, no mobile app
- Would like to see a fulfillment-level user access without access to invoices, etc
Brightpearl - 5 star
It allows us to easily look after our customer base and see which customers are buying what and how often, which in turn helps us tailor our service. The accounting software is brilliant and has already helped us eliminate costs we used to incur by having our accountant sort on Sage software.
The App store is also a great feature and we have used a number of apps to streamline and improve processes not to mention the man hours some of the automated software aspects have made. We have been able to adjust/amend Brightpearl to suit our needs as a business to which has been great and we see it as an instrumental part of the business moving forward. Our last financial year was our best yet and we expect to improve on this again this year with the help of Brightpearl.
- All aspects of the business can be run from one software package, not multiple packages/spreadsheets
- Cloud based so you can log in anywhere in the world if you have the internet!
- App store allows you to add features that suit and help your business. Some of these have been a real key factor for our business/
- Ticket system has been poor so far and a disappointment. A re-launch due for March and we hope that is now going to help us.
- Emailing from Brightpearl is restricted to one address. So for example - if you sent an email from an employee named Jon to a customer and a separate one to another customer from Tom, both emails would show up in the customers inbox from the same email address. This can lead to confusion for both customer and employees
Brightpearl - With a few features it could be great
Some of the main benefits of the platform include the ability to access our data from any computer with an internet connection, integrating multiple channels and managing the stock levels of all of our products.
- Brightpearl is excellent at integrating into various platforms and updating stock levels via live API feed. It also integrates into our warehouse system so order information can flow in and out of Brightpearl seamlessly.
- Purchase and sale transactions are automatically posted to the integrated accounting package. This eliminates the need to enter this information manually, reducing the chance of error.
- The CRM offers the ability to add custom fields making it a powerful tool for gathering and utilising detailed customer information and insight.
- Brightpearl is completely useless on mobile devices. There is no simple way to add orders on any device other than a computer. This is where so many of their competitors excell. To keep up, Brightpearl MUST build an app / mobile site which allows users to view, update and add orders, contact information, purchases, etc. This needs to be accessible offline too, like the alternatives on the market (eg. Trade Gecko) which updates the data as soon as there is an internet connection.
- Brightpearl cannot handle multi-currency. This causes HUGE headaches with our accounting when we're purchasing in USD and selling in GBP and EUR.
- Brightpearl focus heavily on Retail users, but they need to realise that Wholesale is a huge market and their system needs to cater for multi-channel retailers and wholesalers alike. The ability to take orders at trade shows, or when out visiting customers could be done quickly and easily on a tablet / mobile device. An integration with Handshake or NuORDER would be worth exploring.
- The B2B portal where customers can pay for their orders can not be easily tweaked or branded. It's so restrictive that we don't use it, and this is something that we really could benefit from.
Brightpearl review
- CRM - There are good tools to communicate and manage your customer communication, particularly if you invest some work in the templates initially.
- Goods out notes and other templates - highly customisable and can be worked without too much technical knowledge.
- Reporting - there are some detailed exports that can be manipulated well.
- Stability - Brightpearl push updates with poor forward communication, meaning some functionality can simply 'vanish' or work differently. This requires regular retraining of staff, and needs a level of tech savvy among some team members that doesn't suit their position.
- Overpromising - BP was sold as intergrating cleanly with some external systems (namely Shopify and Metapack), which hasn't been out experience. The Metapack intergration sold to us no longer existed and we had to rush to find antoher, untested one.
- Implementation - we didn't receive the promised, on site support during launch.