Discussions with Finance Executives: QAD vs Epicor Kinetic

In conversations with finance leaders across the manufacturing industry, a consistent theme has emerged. Many are taking a hard look at their ERP platforms, questioning whether their current systems are still advancing their financial and operational goals.

For companies running QAD, the conversation has shifted from how to upgrade to whether to stay. These discussions often start the same way: a CFO or VP of Finance asks, “What’s the real value in moving to Epicor Kinetic?” It is a fair question, rooted in fiscal responsibility and long-term thinking.

The answer, however, lies not only in cost or technology but in the measurable financial outcomes that come from agility, insight, and sustained innovation.

Financial Agility: Beyond Maintenance Budgets

Manufacturing CFOs understand that every dollar tied to system maintenance is a dollar that cannot be used for innovation. That is one of the most fundamental challenges with legacy ERP environments like QAD.

For many organizations, staying on QAD can be an exercise in maintaining the status quo. Patches, version upgrades, license renewals, and costly reimplementations may often be needed to keep up with compliance and performance standards. What is missing is the ability to reallocate those dollars toward strategic initiatives such as automation, process optimization, or analytics that improve financial visibility.

Epicor Kinetic represents a different financial equation. The move to Kinetic is not about shifting expenses; it is about transforming spend. Cloud-based deployment and modular functionality enable CFOs to turn fixed IT overhead into predictable operational expense. Kinetic’s architecture also reduces the reliance on external development or custom code, freeing finance and IT teams to focus on value creation rather than version control.

Predictable Costs and a Clear Path to ROI

Financial leaders are trained to think in terms of predictability: predictable revenue, predictable margins, predictable cash flow. Unfortunately, legacy ERP systems have become increasingly unpredictable in both cost and outcome.

The QAD roadmap has shifted in recent years. New version requirements, changing cloud strategies, and sunset announcements may have left customers uncertain about when and how much they will need to reinvest. That unpredictability can make it difficult for CFOs to forecast total cost of ownership or plan multi-year budgets with confidence.

Epicor Kinetic addresses this challenge directly. Epicor’s ongoing investment in product development and its steady release cadence provide financial executives with clarity. The subscription-based model delivers not only cost consistency but also built-in innovation. Every update introduces measurable improvements in functionality and performance without the financial disruption of a full reimplementation cycle.

From a finance standpoint, the math is simple with cloud deployment: lower capital requirements, faster deployment timelines, and an accelerated payback period driven by automation and real-time analytics.

Visibility and Control Through Real-Time Data

Epicor Kinetic gives finance leaders real-time access to accurate, up-to-date financial and operational data, eliminating the delays and uncertainty that come with disconnected or outdated reporting processes.

With live information flowing from every part of the business, CFOs can make confident decisions the moment they’re needed. Kinetic’s dashboards, embedded analytics, and AI-driven insights surface margins, cost variances, production performance, and other critical metrics in real time.

This level of immediacy transforms financial management into a proactive discipline, where leaders can detect trends earlier, respond faster, and guide the business with precision.

A Community That Drives Long-Term Value

One point that often resonates most with finance executives is community. Software alone does not deliver ROI; people do. The strength of a product’s community directly influences how much value an organization extracts from it over time.

Epicor has cultivated a vibrant, collaborative network of manufacturers, partners, and experts who actively share best practices through events such as Epicor Insights. It is a community invested in mutual success, where CFOs can exchange ideas with peers facing the same challenges, learn from Epicor’s product leaders, and explore new ways to drive efficiency and profitability.

Cambia Advisors is proud to be part of that community. As an Epicor-exclusive Certified Platinum Partner, we have built our practice around helping manufacturers get the most from Epicor Kinetic, technically, strategically, and financially. Our history with QAD gives us a unique perspective on how to transition quickly, accurately, and with minimal disruption.

Final Thoughts: A CFO’s Opportunity to Lead Change

Finance executives I speak with share a common goal: to strengthen their company’s financial position while enabling growth. That requires systems that deliver insight, agility, and confidence.

Epicor Kinetic represents the next evolution of ERP for manufacturing finance leaders who want more than maintenance, they want momentum. At Cambia Advisors, we are helping those leaders evaluate the move with data, not guesswork. Our no-cost, like-for-like QAD-to-Kinetic assessment provides a clear financial and functional comparison to help you make the right decision for your business.

Sometimes, the best financial decision is not about cutting costs; it’s about investing in your company’s future.

Learn more about moving from QAD to Epicor Kinetic