Spruce alternatives for air-conditioning installers
Spruce is a heat pump design and workflow tool covering survey, heat loss, emitter and pipework design, proposals, an MCS quality management system, DNO applications and handover packs. If your work is air conditioning or air-to-air heat pumps, you need split and multi-split design and F-Gas records, and you may want scheduling, invoicing and payments built in rather than in a separate CRM. Here are the best alternatives — starting with the one built specifically for air conditioning.
1. Vento
Vento is built for air conditioning and air-to-air heat pumps. It runs a room-by-room heat load as you survey, produces scaled split and multi-split drawings, builds a proposal the customer e-signs with the deposit, and includes dispatch, invoicing, service plans and the F-Gas register — with published pricing, from £39 a month billed annually (£49 month to month). It sizes air-to-water systems as a scoping estimate, and doesn't run MCS paperwork.
- Room-by-room heat load built in
- Split & multi-split system design
- Branded proposals, e-sign & deposits
- F-Gas register & leak-check scheduling
- Flat pricing, not per user
- Full workflow on a phone, on site
Why installers look for a Spruce alternative
Spruce is strong on the heat pump paperwork that MCS businesses spend hours on. Installers look elsewhere when their work is mostly air conditioning, or when they want the job management in the same platform rather than integrated from a separate CRM.
Spruce doesn't publish its pricing; Vento's is on the pricing page. See the full Vento vs Spruce comparison.
When to keep Spruce
If you're an MCS heat pump business and the quality management system, DNO applications and handover packs are what take your time, Spruce is built for that and Vento doesn't do it.
Vento and Spruce, feature by feature
"Not advertised" means we couldn't find it in what Spruce publishes — features change and vary by plan, so confirm anything that matters to you with them directly.
| Feature | 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 by plan — confirm with them |
| 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 |
What to look for in a Spruce alternative
Sizing built in
Does it calculate each room's load, or do you size on a spreadsheet and type the result in?
Design to quote
Does the quote come out of the design, or is it re-keyed in a separate step?
F-Gas against the unit
Is the refrigerant record attached to each installed system, with leak checks scheduled from the charge?
Proposals customers sign
Can the customer sign and pay the deposit on their phone from the proposal?
Contract length
What is the minimum term, and what happens to your data if you leave? Get it in writing.
Published pricing
Is the price published, and is it per user or flat?
Other alternatives
2. Heatpunk
Heat pump design and quoting to MCS standards, with a free tier.
3. Heat Engineer
Heating design platform with room-by-room heat loss, CAD drawings, emitter and pipe sizing and an MCS performance estimate.
4. Payaca
Quoting, payments and workflow for renewables installers.
Heat pump design tools and air-conditioning software solve different problems — many firms that do both use one of each. Features change and vary by plan, so confirm current details on each provider's site.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Spruce alternative for air conditioning installers?
Vento, because it's built for air conditioning and air-to-air heat pumps and includes the job management: sizing, split and multi-split design, e-signed proposals with deposits, scheduling, invoicing, service plans and F-Gas records.
Does Vento run MCS paperwork?
No. 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 or submit DNO applications.
How much does Vento cost?
Vento's pricing is published and flat per tier: from £39 a month billed annually (£49 month to month). Every plan has a 14-day free trial.
See also: all Vento comparisons, best air-con software 2026, and air conditioning software.
More alternatives pages: Joblogic alternatives, Commusoft alternatives, Simpro alternatives, BigChange alternatives, ServiceM8 alternatives, Tradify alternatives, Jobber alternatives, Powered Now alternatives, Fergus alternatives, Checker alternatives, KORD alternatives, Heatpunk alternatives, Heat Engineer alternatives.
A Spruce alternative built for air-con
Survey, size, design, quote and get paid — one platform for the whole air-conditioning job. 14-day free trial.
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