Vento vs Spruce
Spruce is a UK heat pump design and workflow tool covering enquiry, survey, design, proposal, MCS paperwork and handover. Spruce covers the heat pump paperwork end to end — an MCS quality management system, DNO applications and handover packs — alongside heat loss, emitter, cylinder and pipework design. Vento is built around air conditioning and air-to-air heat pumps, and includes the job management — scheduling, invoicing, payments and service — rather than integrating with a separate CRM.
Spruce and Vento overlap in places and not in others, so the table below says which. A "Yes" for Spruce is something its own website advertises; "Not advertised" means we couldn't find it there, not that it can't be done. Confirm current details on Spruce's website.
| Capability | Vento | Spruce |
|---|---|---|
| Air-conditioning design & engineering | ||
| Built specifically for air conditioning | The entire workflow | Not advertised |
| Room-by-room heat-load (Manual J) | Built in, instant | Yes |
| Split & multi-split system design | Scaled, construction-issue drawings | Not advertised |
| Unit capacity matching | From a SEER/SCOP catalogue | Not advertised |
| Condenser placement & pipe routing | On the drawing | Not advertised |
| F-Gas register, CO₂e & leak-check scheduling | Built in | Not advertised |
| Running-cost estimates on proposals (SEER/SCOP) | Automatic | Not advertised |
| Running your business | ||
| Jobs, scheduling & CRM | Yes | Varies |
| Quotes & invoicing | Yes | Not advertised |
| Branded proposals with e-signature | Good/Better/Best options | Yes |
| Online payments & deposits | Card, Klarna, DD, transfer | Not advertised |
| Service & maintenance plans | Recurring, with certificates | Not advertised |
| Mobile app for on-site work | Full workflow on a phone | Not advertised |
| Running the operation | ||
| Dispatch board | Drag-and-drop, per engineer | Not advertised |
| Route planning | From Professional | Not advertised |
| Van & store stock | Ledger-backed levels | Not advertised |
| Purchase orders & invoice matching | Yes | Not advertised |
| Subcontractor job access | Per-job link, no account | Not advertised |
| Lone-worker check-ins | Office alerted if missed | Not advertised |
| Customer portal | Emailed link, no password | Not advertised |
| Schedule of Rates pricing | Import NHF, PSA or your own | Not advertised |
| Batch billing for maintenance contracts | Draft, review, commit | Not advertised |
| Specific to this comparison | ||
| Air-to-water emitter, cylinder & pipe sizing | Yes — a simplified MCS-style estimate | Yes |
| MCS quality management system | No | Yes |
| DNO applications & handover packs | No | Yes |
| Air-to-air & multi-split design | Yes — scaled drawings | Not advertised |
| Published pricing | Yes | Not advertised |
Checked against Spruce's own website in October 2026. "Varies" means it exists in some form or depends on plan or integration. We don't speak for Spruce's product — verify current capabilities directly.
Spruce runs the heat pump paperwork
Spruce is a heat pump design and workflow tool. Beyond heat loss and emitter, cylinder and pipework design, its strength is the paperwork around a heat pump install: a built-in MCS quality management system, DNO applications and handover packs. For an MCS heat pump business, that admin is a real burden and Spruce takes it on.
Vento runs the air-con job
Vento is built around air conditioning and air-to-air heat pumps. The survey, room-by-room load, split and multi-split design, proposal and deposit come first, and then the job itself — dispatch, van stock, purchase orders, invoicing, service plans and a customer portal — on the same record, with the F-Gas register following each installed system.
Vento doesn't run an MCS quality management system or submit DNO applications, and its air-to-water sizing is a simplified estimate for scoping and quoting. If those are the jobs you need done, Spruce is aimed at them.
Pricing
Spruce doesn't publish its pricing, so you'll need to ask them. Vento's is on the pricing page and flat per tier: from £49 a month, or the Professional plan at £149 for 3 seats. See the full pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Does Spruce do air conditioning?
Air-to-air and multi-split air conditioning design isn't something Spruce's website advertises; its focus is air-to-water heat pumps. Confirm with them if it matters to you.
Does Vento handle MCS paperwork like Spruce?
Not in the same way. Vento checks a job against the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and MCS requirements and flags what's missing, but it doesn't run an MCS quality management system, produce DNO applications or submit anything to MCS — the certified installer does that.
Does Spruce include job management?
Spruce advertises integrations with CRMs and job systems such as Payaca and Simpro rather than its own scheduling and invoicing. Vento includes the job management. Confirm the current position with Spruce.
Where Vento differs from Spruce
- Air conditioning as well as heat pumps — Split and multi-split design, refrigerant routing and F-Gas records — the air-to-air side of the trade.
- Job management included — Dispatch, stock, invoicing, payments, service plans and a customer portal are in the platform rather than a separate CRM.
- Published, flat pricing — Plans and prices are on the pricing page, flat per tier rather than per user.
See why installers switch to Vento
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