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Spruce (ECI Software Solutions)

Spruce (ECI Software Solutions) at a glance
VendorECI Software Solutions
HeadquartersWestlake, Texas, USA
OwnershipPrivately held; ECI is owned by Leonard Green & Partners and funds advised by Apax Partners (co-control)
DeploymentCloud (SaaS); no current on-premises offering
Target marketIndependent and regional lumberyards, hardware stores, home centers, and building materials dealers, typically up to around 200 employees
IndustriesLumber and building materials, hardware retail, millwork and door/window supply, farm and feed, landscape, roofing, specialty retail
PricingNot published; quote-based
Websiteecisolutions.com/products/building-materials-software

The short version

ECI Software Solutions sells Spruce as a cloud system that runs both halves of a building materials dealership: the sales counter and the back office. POS, inventory, purchasing, accounting, document management, and analytics sit on one platform, with an optional e-commerce storefront on top. The target is the independent or regional dealer. National distribution chains are explicitly not the audience.

Where Spruce comes from

The software began at Spruce Computer Systems, a New York firm that served lumber and building materials dealers for decades. ECI Software Solutions bought it in January 2015. ECI is headquartered in Westlake, Texas, builds SaaS ERP for small and midsize businesses, and is owned by Leonard Green & Partners together with funds advised by Apax Partners. Inside ECI the product belongs to the building materials portfolio; despite the shared vendor name it has nothing functionally in common with ECI M1, the job-shop manufacturing ERP profiled separately in this directory. The most visible recent addition is Spruce e-commerce for online trade accounts.

Modules and capabilities

At the counter, staff quote fast, apply contractor pricing, and manage accounts without leaving the transaction. Inventory is where the building materials specifics show: real-time stock visibility and flexible units of measure, so a dealer can buy by the bundle, stock by the foot, and sell by the piece. Purchasing brings vendor catalog imports, EDI catalog integration, and reorder suggestions that read sales history against live stock levels. Accounting is built in, not interfaced. Document management digitizes signatures, invoices, and statements. Spruce e-commerce adds the storefront plus trade account self-service, and it is sold separately.

Target market and industries

Dealers up to roughly 200 employees are the sweet spot: lumberyards, home centers, hardware stores, millwork and door/window suppliers, farm and feed stores, landscape and roofing suppliers, and specialty retailers. Multiple branches are supported, but the design assumes a small network rather than a national footprint. ECI markets the product in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Caribbean, and the Australia-Pacific region.

How it is sold

Cloud SaaS only. Infrastructure and backups are vendor-managed, and there is no current on-premises option. ECI publishes no prices, so every deal arrives as a project quote. When comparing offers, price the data conversion from the legacy POS and accounting systems as its own line, because that effort often decides which quote is really the cheaper one.

Our take

For an independent lumberyard or hardware dealer still running a POS terminal beside a separate accounting package, Spruce is the obvious shortlist entry: retail-grade counter software with distribution ERP underneath, sized for a company that generic small-business ERP tends to ignore. The 2015 acquisition brought ECI's cloud infrastructure and continued investment, most recently in e-commerce. Who should skip it: dealers with substantial remanufacturing or genuinely complex multi-branch distribution, where DMSi Agility or Epicor BisTrack fit the structure better, and any business outside building materials and adjacent retail, where the vertical depth buys nothing. One more item belongs on the checklist before signing. ECI is a private-equity-owned portfolio, so pin down the roadmap commitment for your specific edition during selection.

What the Spruce (ECI Software Solutions) website looks like

Current view of the vendor homepage, captured by our editorial team.

Screenshot of the Spruce (ECI Software Solutions) vendor homepage

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Frequently asked questions

Is Spruce a point of sale system or a full ERP?

Both roles live in one product. The counter side works as a retail point of sale with quoting and contractor pricing, while the back office runs inventory, purchasing, accounting, and reporting the way a distribution ERP does. For a typical independent dealer that replaces a separate POS terminal, an accounting package, and an inventory tool with a single system.

What does Spruce cost?

ECI publishes no list prices. Every quote depends on branch count, user numbers, and optional modules such as Spruce e-commerce. Ask for an itemized proposal, and budget the data conversion from your existing point-of-sale or accounting software separately, because migration effort is frequently a meaningful share of total project cost.

Can Spruce run our online store?

Spruce e-commerce is the companion product for that, sold separately from the base package. It connects an online storefront to the same item, pricing, and account data as the in-store system, so contractor customers can check their accounts, pay invoices, and place orders online. Scope it as its own line in the quote rather than assuming it is included.

Which size of dealer does Spruce fit?

Independent and regional building materials dealers, typically up to around 200 employees. Multiple branches are supported, but the design targets smaller networks rather than national distribution chains. Larger multi-state distributors, and companies with heavy remanufacturing operations, more often end up evaluating DMSi Agility or Epicor BisTrack.