Brightpearl vs. Unleashed Software

Brightpearl is something of a mixed bag when it comes to ease of use. While the interface itself is relatively straightforward, and much more intuitive than some competitors we’ve tried, configuring settings can be cumbersome.

Tasks like creating listings, batching products, and setting up integrations, for example, require numerous manual steps.

There is a little bit of a learning curve for new users. That said, Brightpearl offers high-quality support and extensive documentation, along with the option of dedicated training.

"While Bright Pearl is easy to use, sometimes the amount of manual steps you have to take with some of the processes are tedious."

"Sometimes you have to do things by the book and can't cut corners in processes."

"Really easy to learn and manage."

Unleashed is a cloud-hosted solution and access is through a browser app. It’s a good option for companies that don’t want the hassle of maintaining desktop software.

All in all, the Unleashed dashboard is fairly intuitive and easy to use. It follows a traditional format, with a left-hand menu providing access to the management areas for order processing, customer details, production processes, integrations, and analytics.

“Using Unleashed I finally have a process for everything inventory related in my business from purchasing, manufacturing, through to pick/pack/dispatch/invoice and everything in between.”

“Unleashed is a necessity for small businesses growing in the e-commerce industry.”

"Outstanding. We went live with Xero and Unleashed on October 1, 2018. We chose both on the basis of their respective features, and the tight integration."

As a cloud-based solution geared towards larger companies, Brightpearl has an extensive array of features along with high-level reporting and inventory management tools. We couldn’t find anything major that was missing.

Brightpearl operates according to a “modular” pricing structure, so users can choose which kinds of functionality they want to pay for. In the longer-term, this may prove more cost-effective than opting for a one-size-fits-all plan.

Unusually for an inventory management app, Brightpearl also has CRM capabilities, making it possible to store and manage client details and send out notifications.

The only downsides were the lack of a mobile app and a somewhat limited selection of marketplace integrations (although this is offset somewhat by intermediary connectors like SPS Commerce). We also felt that some essential features, like POS, were omitted from the plan for smaller retailers.

In terms of order, inventory, and shipping management, Brightpearl includes multiple tools for dealing with high sales volume, including automated fulfilment rules. Users can also take advantage of multi-location and multi-currency inventory control, and warehouse features like barcode scanning.

The analytics centre allows for the creation of a variety of advanced reports covering channel-specific performance, demand forecasting, customer analysis, and more.

Finally, Brightpearl has a range of offerings for companies experiencing fast growth, including the option to move over to dedicated secure servers.

Unleashed has a very large set of features and is suitable for both manufacturers and retailers. The platform has everything users need to run a store efficiently. Main features include inventory, reorder, and management tools, analytics, POS, barcode scanning, materials and production tracking, warehouse connectors, and a reasonably extensive library of integrations. The one big downside is that native integrations with third-party marketplaces like Etsy and eBay aren’t available.

Retailers looking for a solution accessible from mobile devices will feel very at home with Unleashed. The Apple and Android apps are suitable for a range of tasks, including displaying online catalogs, checking stock, and making sales (both online and offline). It’s a great tool for sales teams and one of the best inventory management mobile apps we’ve seen.

Training and customer service are also excellent. UK businesses will benefit from fast email support on UK hours, with the option to upgrade to premium phone and live chat support for an extra £119/month. Team members also have access to “Unleashed University”, which is a structured and in-depth set of training materials for new users.

On the reporting front, Unleashed offers a comprehensive collection of twenty-one reports, covering areas like purchases, sales, reorders, and so on. Analytics functionality can further be extended with integrations.

While the Brightpearl integrations library is good, we weren’t absolutely blown away by it. For an enterprise platform of this sort, we expected to see more native marketplace integrations and support for a wider selection of ecommerce platforms.

As a retailer, you will likely find everything that you need. And even when in-house integrations aren’t offered, third-party connectors make up for the gaps in functionality. Just make sure you check out what’s on offer before you purchase. Large companies will be pleased to hear that Quickbooks, Xero, and Avalara are all supported on the accounting front. Brightpearl also integrates with the desktop version of Quickbooks.

In terms of ecommerce platforms, Shopify, Shopify Plus, Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and NuORDER are all covered.

Native integrations with third-party marketplaces Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Jet, and Newegg are provided. On the surface, this looks somewhat paltry for a dedicated omnichannel solution. And while this is true to an extent, SPS Commerce and CommerceHub significantly extend marketplace functionality. Brightpearl is built to work well with both of these integrations.

Finally, a wide range of shipping connectors is provided, including ShipStation, Hermes, DHL, Royal Mail, FedEx, UPS, Parcel Force, and others. Unlike many competitors, the selection of shipping integrations caters to UK as well as US retailers.

We were a little disappointed with the Unleashed integrations library. The “App Marketplace” isn’t anywhere near as extensive as some other solutions we’ve reviewed. It’s not terrible - and for many businesses it will be entirely sufficient - but it’s not brilliant either.

Unleashed also relies quite heavily on “connector” integrations like Zapier and OneSaaS, which allow users to link up with third-party apps via an intermediary service, rather than syncing directly. Functionality is sometimes limited by this approach. What’s more, features that retailers may consider essential, such as a point-of-sale system, are only provided through integrations, which often incurs extra costs. It would have been nice to see more in-house Unleashed options for retailers that want to take advantage of additional functionality.

Magento and Shopify are the only ecommerce platforms which are natively supported. Further compatibility, for example with WooCommerce and BigCommerce, is provided through OneSaaS. On the accounting front, both Xero and Intuit Quickbooks are available.

A point-of-sale system is available through Vend or Shopify POS, both well-respected solutions. Shipping is managed with the ShipStation integration. Finally, Unleashed offers an in-house app for building a B2B ecommerce portal, which is a nice extra. Users can also take advantage of a mobile app, downloadable on either Apple or Android.

Brightpearl operates a custom pricing model and doesn’t publish exact figures on its site. You’ll need to get in touch directly for a quote.

Broadly speaking, there are two plans available, although various levels of customization are available. The first plan is for retailers processing under 1500 orders per month; the second is for retailers with orders in excess of 1500 per month.

The first plan allows for five channels and five users, while the second allows for an unlimited number of both users and channels. Warehouse management and POS is only available on the higher-priced plan. No free trial is explicitly offered but it may be possible to organize one.

We thought that Unleashed was very affordable. Retailers will appreciate the custom pricing model (the monthly cost increases for every extra user), along with annual discounts and a 14-day free trial.

The one downside is that there are the additional “hidden” costs for premium support and a compulsory onboarding fee of £139/month for the first three months.

The entry-level “Medium” plan, which includes three users, costs £149/month when paid annually or £159/month when paid monthly. Every extra user costs approximately £50/month on all plans. The “Large” plan is £299/month and is suitable for between eight and twenty users. The “Large Plus” plan costs £519/month and accommodates upwards of twenty users.

Brightpearl has an excellent support package. Companies in the UK and US will benefit from dedicated customer service teams in their own countries. There’s no limit to the number of technical requests that users can make.

Phone support is available sixteen hours a day. During the remaining eight hours, users can take advantage of 24/7 email support, with an average 26 minute response time.

Brightpearl also offers extensive documentation and training videos, along with access to a community of users. Companies that need extra training, whether in relation to sales order management, accounting, or the use of integrations, can purchase additional support packages.

On the whole, support is good. Unleashed customer service teams are available from GMT 8 AM to 6 PM, which will be of benefit to retailers based in the UK who might not be able to access direct support from companies based in other countries. Email and community/forum support are included on all plans. For help via phone or live chat, you’ll need to upgrade to the premium support package, which costs an extra £119/month and has a four-month minimum term.

The big downside in the pricing structure is the inclusion of compulsory “managed onboarding”, which essentially hikes up the monthly price by £139 for the first three months.

We were very impressed with Brightpearl. While we have a few minor quibbles - mainly due to the small number of native marketplace integrations, tedious configuration settings, and a lack of features on the lower-priced plan - overall we liked what we saw. Enterprise ecommerce companies will find everything they need with this inventory management solution.

It’s definitely geared towards larger retailers (with a minimum of one million dollars in yearly sales) and the cost of the software will be untenable for most smaller businesses. For larger online sellers, however, the modular pricing structure may prove more cost-effective than alternatives.

If you think it might be suitable for you, our advice is to get in touch and ask for a demo.

On the whole, we were very impressed with Unleashed. It’s definitely not suitable for certain kinds of retailers, especially those that process high volumes of sales on third-party marketplaces and use unsupported ecommerce platforms. But other retailers will find it ideal. If you’re based in the UK, run manufacturing as well as retail, and require a high-quality mobile app to manage sales and orders, then Unleashed is well worth considering. Despite some semi-hidden costs, it’s also one of the best-priced solutions available. Many retailers will appreciate the custom subscription model.

If you’re thinking about giving it a whirl, just make sure that your ecommerce platform is supported first. And don’t forget to take advantage of the free trial.