Surpass Reviews

Not Too Old to Learn

Pros:

It appears to be very easy to use. As soon as we received our login information we started work inputting our books into the system.

Cons:

I haven't come across anything I don't like so far!

Alternatives Considered: Atriuum

Reasons for Switching to Surpass: Price and the fact that I actually had someone respond the same day I requested information.

Surpass out performs other library cloud-based platforms

Comments: Our PK-8 private elementary school library used the non-cloud based Surpass system for 15-20 years. When we decided to move to a cloud based platform, we looked at two other vendors before deciding that Surpass was by far the best option.

Pros:

I have used Surpass for the past fifteen months. Surpass is user friendly, intuitive, and easy to navigate. I have taught over thirty school volunteers to use this system with ease. I appreciate the prompt customer service when needed, either by phone or chat box. I can usually speak with a support person within five minutes.

Cons:

At this point, there is nothing that I like least about Surpass.

Alternatives Considered: LIBRARIAN

Reasons for Switching to Surpass: Surpass was what we had before in the non-cloud option so moving to this one was fairly easy. It is intuitive, user friendly, and has superior customer service.

Excellent for our Church library!

Comments: Exceptional customer service - [sensitive content hidden] has been hands on to help with questions and figuring out even the smallest of details to make the system work for our needs.

Pros:

Easy to manuever site and implement our catalog. The web page is a nice addition for our patrons to search for titles within our listings and find out what is happening in our church library.

Cons:

N/A. Surpass Cloud has thought through everything to make this an excellent catalog for our use.

Proceed with Caution

Pros:

I like the bright colors on the catalog. I also like that you can catalog books by just typing in the title and author.

Cons:

The follow-up by the Help Desk is pretty much non-existent. The chat feature does not work so if you put in a ticket, you have to log in again to see if your question has been answered. I was hoping it would send me an email. It is also very slow when checking in books.

The Alliance for Children Smart Start Resource Center LOVES Surpass!

Comments: The customer service is excellent. The software and online catalog is simple to use. The online catalog projects a professional image and gives patrons a highly functional way to search, select, and place holds on materials.

Pros:

Surpass is easy to use, flexible, and always improving. We have recommended this software to other non-profit lending libraries that have reached out to us to find out how we developed such an amazing catalog. We have to confess that we have very little to do with it...it is Surpass!

Cons:

Sometimes requested changes are not accommodated because we are a minority in the way we use Surpass (toy library for a non-profit rather than a traditional library). It can be difficult to navigate between functions (go from transactions to resource/patron, etc.), although this is improving.

Alternatives Considered: ResourceMate, TinyCat, Koha ILS and Follett Destiny Resource Manager

Reasons for Choosing Surpass: Follett was not very flexible for meeting our needs and it was difficult to use.

Switched From: Follett Destiny Resource Manager

Reasons for Switching to Surpass: Ease of use, flexibility, beautiful catalog.

Review of Surpass

Comments: Easy to use, helpful staff. patrons of library know what book they are getting because they check it out themselves.

Pros:

Ease of use and fast customer support. Better experience for patrons

Cons:

Due dates don't always show correct date but not a big deal.

Powerful Library Catalog

Comments: Surpass customer service and sales representatives have been extremely responsive and helpful. They clearly understand their complex software and are more than willing to resolve any issue that arises. They have a litany of YouTube videos that cover many of their features of their software, they are usually only about 3 minutes each making them easy to watch

Pros:

Surpass catalog is easy to use and is as good as far more expensive library systems.

Cons:

It does not show you one copy of a multivolume set but shows the user all copies as separate entries. I would like to see this changed to show the user only one book but with a list of all the volumes.

Great Job.....

Comments: My overall experience has been great..It is very easy to use

Pros:

Surpass is very easy to use ....everything is clearly marked

Cons:

there is nothing that I dislike about Surpass

Love the Service!

Comments: I described it above.
I have only positive things to say about Surpass.

Pros:

As a new librarian of a small school library, I feel that the it was easy to master and to comprehend the basic functions of the program. And most importantly, the service is fabulous. Not only are there instructional videos on Youtube, but I can chat online to get help with a LIVE ASSISTANT without going through a bot first. The assistants, without fail, are patient, knowledgeable, professional and extremely helpful. Love it! I feel taken care of.

Cons:

The time it takes to enter new holdings with an ISBN is too long. As for the rest, I can not give any constructive feedback as I am not fully experienced in using your program.

Terrific product for church libraries

Comments: Surpass CL is perfect for our small to medium church library. The price is reasonable and customer service is responsive and helpful.

Pros:

-It's very flexible - you can add as little or as much detail as you like. -There are multiple ways to enter bibliographic information. -I'm impressed that we can choose to search multiple library catalogs to do copy cataloging.

Cons:

-Label printing is imperfect. -Using the Add New by ISBN feature can be a bit slow.

Surpass Cloud

Comments: I have had amazing customer service with Surpass. I took over my library with zero training and the fast and easy chat button is a life saver.

Pros:

Ease of use, amazing fast customer service

Cons:

I haven't found anything that I did not like about it.

Great Library Software

Pros:

Easy to use, great tools to manage library works

Cons:

Didn't find any cons, excellent tools and software

Excellent Customer Service

Comments: My experience has always been wonderful with Surpass. Thank You!

Pros:

One of the features i really enjoy with Surpass is the excellent customer service. Whenever I have an issue they are always available to help and resolve the issue.

Cons:

I have not encountered anything yet that I do not like. This is my second year using Surpass.

Surpass for Retirement Centers

Comments: Surpass was implemented with employees at a Retirement Village but the library volunteer residents have learned the parts of it they need to on a day to day basis quite easily. Since it's based on the Cloud it can be accessed anywhere at any time.

Pros:

Surpass has many layers to it but can also be used very simply. The online and live chat help is critical for any database and the support is superb for Surpass.

Cons:

Missing all the great features that are sometimes buried until you have a question and then Support helps you find the answers

I interested

Comments: They are mostly good, very good, and it is important to deal with them

Pros:

The best team, platform and collaborative benefits for the community

Cons:

It is mostly good and needs more development in the tests

Stellar Service/Outstanding Product

Comments: Top-notch customer service! I’m always amazed at all quickly they adjust or correct any issues that I bring to them.

Pros:

I think I appreciate most about Surpass Cloud is how easy it is for my volunteers and students to sit down and be able to navigate the system with very little, if any, training at all. It is the most user-driven system I’ve ever used.

Cons:

The only feature that could be improved is the patron import. We have had a bit of difficulty with students who are in a grade that is not designated within their categories. This means hand keying in few of them after the upload.

Alternatives Considered: Follett Destiny Library Manager

Reasons for Choosing Surpass: Cost/Design/Ease of Use

Reasons for Switching to Surpass: Customer service and design.

Surpass Cloud is wonderful, as is Surpass Support.

Comments: Surpass Support has always treated me well. [SENSITIVE CONTENT] and the tech department are easy to talk with, and they have implemented suggestions I have made the same day. For example, I asked for the ability to print receipts when students pay a fine. This was implemented by D[SENSITIVE CONTENT]the same day. This ability to make suggestions, and have the suggestions implemented, is one of the best features of Surpass Cloud.

Pros:

The software is easy for me to use, and easy for my assistants to use. [SENSITIVE CONTENT] are always happy to help me when I email or call.

Cons:

There is nothing about Surpass Cloud I do not like!

Surpass

Comments: Whenever I have a problem or issue the staff at Surpass is wonderful! Always friendly and professional.

Pros:

Very user friendly and if you happen to have an issue their customer service is a call away!

Cons:

There is nothing I can think of that I'd change.

Small government library

Comments: We've used Surpass software products in our small government library for over 15 years and have been very satisfied with its tools, customer support, functionality and ease of use.

Pros:

We like this product because it's inexpensive, easy to use, and can be installed on a secured shared local server.

Cons:

I have no complaints about any aspects of the software.

KHMS-Librarian

Comments: Very satisfied.

Pros:

When submitting the problem, very helpful support.

Cons:

Sometimes it is slow, but that can happen with any software.

Great service for their product.

Pros:

The support is fantastic. We just upgraded to the Cloud version and of course have many questions. If I contact by phone, text, or email they are always helpful.

Cons:

The learning curve is a little difficult, but their support team is always available. So I don't consider that is a downside.

Great customer service!

Comments: Easy

Pros:

The software did everything we needed and the customer service was quick and helpful. Surpass is so easy to work with.

Cons:

I can't think of anyway to improve the software.

Top Notch Software!

Comments: I volunteered to help the church move the library and catalog their books into the Surpass system last year. I worked in a school library for over twenty years, so felt I could help them get the job done. My library at the school used the Follett system, therefore, I was able to figure out the Surpass system with a little help from your staff. I feel that your staff is very approachable and easily understands my problems and to helped me to work through them. We opened the library last Sunday morning. We had 89 patrons fill out a registration form for a patron number and many checked out their own books at the self-checkout station. The patrons were very impressed with the Surpass system. We are purchasing the Safari application and I am very excited to show the patrons how the Search for an author or book and enter a book into the Bookbag feature. I feel that Safari is a necessary component for the library to run smoothly, especially when a volunteer staff person is not available.

Pros:

The Self-Check feature.

Cons:

Waiting for the Marc Record to be found. Some times the search takes a long time.

Surpass has never let us down. We enjoy having chosen Surpass years ago.

Comments: This program brought our library into the 20th/21st Centuries. Before Surpass, we used a crude, cumbersome program.

Pros:

It works. It is always "up" and only when operator error occurs or staff with steep learning curves do we need assistance.

Surpass is Excellent for Small Church Libraries as well as other types of businesses

Comments: I recently upgraded our small church library software (it hadn't been upgraded since 2008). Every person I talked to was patient, knowledgeable and efficient. The tech guy (Ron) had been with the company since before 2008, so the process seemed easy from his end. He stayed with me on the phone as he upgraded and answered all my questions, as if I was the only customer for the day. I just ordered a scanner from Surpass to make my job easier (I had done the first wave of cataloging without one). The yearly price for tech support was probably used by that ticket alone. The product prices are/were relatively easy to handle, too. This is a great company and I am glad I went with them. I am a retired school librarian, so am familiar with cataloging software. This does everything I need it to do. I wish the scanner was wireless, but then I probably would not be able to afford it. So am just happy to have one I could afford that is 100% compatible with the software out of the box. They set the bar with Customer Service!