Logistics and distribution
Epicor Eclipse data export: what history distributors can pull
By SourceX Editorial · Updated
Short answer
An Epicor Eclipse data export can pull years of sales order lines, quotes, invoices, price changes, purchase orders and inventory movements, but only if you take the detail records and their lookup tables rather than summary reports. Map what your Eclipse system still holds, export line-level history with codes intact, and finish before any ERP cutover.
Key takeaways
- Line-level order, quote and pricing history is worth far more than sales summary reports, both for a migration archive and for a licensing review.
- Export the lookup tables for branches, product codes, price classes and reason codes with the transactions, or the history becomes unreadable.
- The export route depends on your Eclipse version, hosting and licenses, so confirm the options with Epicor documentation and your support agreement.
- New ERP systems often load only open items and a short window of history, so a full archive has to be planned before cutover.
- A first licensing fit check needs a record map with system names and date coverage, not exported files.
What history does an Eclipse system hold?#
An Eclipse system holds the full order-to-cash and procure-to-pay trail for a distributor: quotes, sales orders, shipments, invoices, credits, purchase orders, receipts and inventory movements, plus the pricing logic behind each sale. For the electrical, plumbing, HVAC and PVF distributors that run on it, Eclipse is often the only place where years of counter sales, job quotes and supplier price agreements sit together.
What you can still pull depends on how the system was run. Some companies purged closed orders or archived old years to save space, and some carried history over from a predecessor system with fewer fields. Before planning any export, ask your system administrator which purge routines ran and where the oldest complete year of order lines begins.
| Record family | What it captures | Why it matters later |
|---|---|---|
| Quotes and bids | Job quotes, line items, quoted prices, expiry and won or lost status | Shows how pricing decisions turned into orders or lost business |
| Sales orders and lines | Customer, ship-to, branch, product, quantity, price, cost and salesperson | The core transaction history for analytics, forecasting and licensing |
| Invoices and credit memos | Billed amounts, returns, price adjustments and reasons | Connects what was ordered to what was paid and disputed |
| Pricing records | Matrix pricing, customer-specific prices, overrides and effective dates | Explains why a price was charged, not just what it was |
| Supplier agreements and rebate claims | Special pricing agreements, claim lines and supplier credits | Often confidential under supplier terms, so flag them early |
| Purchase orders and receipts | Vendor, cost, promised and received dates, quantity variances | Feeds supplier performance and exception analysis |
| Inventory transactions | Branch transfers, adjustments, cycle counts and reason codes | Shows how stock problems were found and resolved |
| Notes and comments | Free-text order notes, customer service remarks and job instructions | Adds the context that structured fields leave out |
Which export route fits which job?#
The right Eclipse export route depends on whether you need a quick report, a complete archive or an ongoing feed. Distributors generally choose among the built-in report writer and file exports, a direct database connection such as ODBC where it is licensed and supported, and the APIs or integration tools their version offers.
Availability varies by version, by whether the system is hosted by Epicor or runs on your own servers, and by what your license includes. Confirm the options in Epicor's documentation and with your account team before you promise anyone a delivery date.
| Route | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Report writer and file exports | Targeted pulls, reconciliations and one-off questions | Column limits, default date filters and rolled-up totals that drop line detail |
| Database connection (ODBC or similar) | Complete line-level archives with keys and lookup tables | Needs schema knowledge, a read-only account and care not to slow production |
| APIs and integration tools | Ongoing feeds to a data warehouse or a new ERP | Usually built for current transactions, not bulk history |
| Implementation partner extraction | Migration projects with a defined scope | Scope often stops at what the new system will load |
The line-level export checklist#
A line-level Eclipse export checklist covers the transactions, the codes that explain them and the notes that give them context. Pull each table in full for the years you keep, and record the date range and row count of every file so you can show later that nothing was dropped.
- Order, invoice and credit memo headers and lines, joined by their native keys.
- Quote and bid history, including quotes that never converted.
- Price change history with effective dates, override flags and the user who made each change.
- Cost history and supplier price agreement claims, kept in a separate folder because supplier terms may restrict them.
- Purchase order and receipt lines with promised and actual dates.
- Inventory transfers, adjustments and cycle counts with reason codes.
- Returns with return reason, disposition and credit outcome.
- Customer, ship-to, job account and product master records as of the export date.
- Lookup tables for branches, territories, price classes, product groups, reason codes and user codes.
- Free-text notes attached to orders, quotes and customer accounts.
- A data dictionary describing each file, field and code.
Why summary reports are not an archive#
Summary reports are not an archive because they keep totals and discard the decisions behind them. A monthly sales-by-branch report tells you revenue; it cannot tell you which contractor asked for a quote, which price an inside salesperson overrode, or why an order was credited back.
The same gap shows up in licensing reviews. AI developers building tools for quoting, order entry and pricing look for linked records: a request, the response, the price logic and the outcome. A distributor with line-level history and notes can describe that chain; one with only exported reports usually cannot rebuild it.
A simple test helps. If a file does not carry an order number, a line number and a date on every row, treat it as a report, not as history.
What to keep when you migrate off Eclipse#
An Eclipse migration should leave a complete, readable archive of closed history in company-controlled storage, even if the new ERP loads only a slice of it. Implementation projects commonly load open orders, open balances, master data and a limited window of history, then leave the rest on the old system until its license ends.
That leftover history is easy to lose. When the old server is retired or the hosting agreement lapses, nobody may have a working login, the schema notes may be gone, and the people who understood the reason codes may have moved on.
- Set a freeze date and run the full archive export after the final close in Eclipse.
- Store the files and the data dictionary in storage your company controls, not only with the implementation partner.
- Check row counts and totals against Eclipse reports before the old system goes read-only.
- Ask whether a read-only Eclipse license or a restorable database backup will remain available under your agreement.
- Name an owner for the archive and record who can access it.
Illustrative: an electrical distributor archives before cutover#
Illustrative: a fictional electrical and plumbing distributor with several branches decides to move from Eclipse to a cloud ERP. Its IT director learns that the implementation plan loads open orders, master data and a short window of sales history, and nothing about quotes, price overrides or supplier claims.
She has a contractor pull line-level history through a read-only database connection outside business hours, along with the lookup tables and order notes. Supplier agreement claims go into a separate restricted folder. Row counts are checked against Eclipse reports, and the data dictionary is written while the long-serving pricing manager can still explain the codes.
The outcome: the sales team keeps its quote win and loss history for pricing reviews, and when leadership later asks whether the records could be licensed, the company answers the fit check from the record map alone. Customer names, job site addresses and contractor contacts are already flagged for removal before any sample is discussed.
Preparing Eclipse history for a licensing review#
Eclipse history is prepared for a licensing review by mapping it first and then deciding what stays out. Customer names, ship-to addresses, contractor contacts and account numbers are removed or replaced. Supplier price agreements and customer-specific net prices may be excluded, aged or generalized, because supplier contracts and competitive sensitivity can restrict their use.
SourceX starts with a metadata-only fit check covering system name, years of history, record families and known restrictions; nothing is exported at that stage. Companies that proceed move through the SourceX five-step transaction of Supply, Rights, Preparation, Approval and Delivery, and each approved package carries a SourceX Evidence Packet covering provenance, licensing rights, permitted use, the privacy record and release authorization. Large archives stay in the distributor's own storage or ship on encrypted drives.
Frequently asked questions
Can our team export Eclipse history without Epicor's help?
Often yes, if your license and hosting arrangement allow report exports or a read-only database connection and someone on staff understands the tables. Hosted systems may limit direct database access. Many distributors use an Epicor partner or an experienced contractor for the first full export, then document the process so it can be repeated.
How far back can we pull Eclipse data?
As far back as records were kept in the live database or a restorable archive. Purge routines, past conversions from an older system and archived years all affect what remains. Ask your administrator for the oldest complete year of order lines and quotes, and test a small pull from that year before planning around it.
Does exporting our history conflict with our Epicor agreement?
Your business records are generally yours, but your software license, hosting agreement and support terms govern how you access the system and its database. Read those terms before using direct connections or third-party tools on a hosted instance, and ask Epicor in writing if anything is unclear.
What file format should the archive use?
Use open formats that any tool can read, such as delimited text or columnar files, with one file per table and consistent field names. Keep the data dictionary, row counts and export date beside the files. Avoid any format that needs the original Eclipse software to open.
Can supplier rebate and special pricing records be licensed?
Sometimes, but they need the most care. Supplier price agreements often carry confidentiality terms, and current net prices are competitively sensitive. These records are usually reviewed separately and may be excluded, aged or aggregated. The rights review decides, with your counsel, before any sample leaves the company.
Related resources
See if your company qualifies
A short company assessment. No data uploads are needed.