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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Spruce

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/ASpruce is an end-to-end business management software that allows lumber, home, and building supply businesses to manage purchasing, inventory, ecommerce, documentation, delivery, accounting, and sales analytics all within a single system for increased efficiency and profitability.N/A

    M1

    Score7.1 out of 10
    N/AM1, from ECI Software Solutions headquartered in Ft. Worth, is an all-in-one manufacturing ERP software solution, built for small and medium-sized discrete manufacturers.N/A
    Pricing
    SpruceM1
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    SpruceM1
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    SpruceM1
    Considered Both Products
    ECI Software Solutions
    No answer on this topic
    ECI Software Solutions
    Chose M1
    I still love Spruce better than M1!
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    80%
    Would buy again
    4 Answers
    80%
    Would buy again
    24 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    24 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    87%
    Happy with the feature set
    26 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    62%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    13 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    50%
    Implementation went as expected
    13 Answers
    Features
    SpruceM1
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    9.5
    4 Ratings
    15% above category average
    M1
    7.9
    27 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Role-based user permissions9.54 Ratings7.027 Ratings
    Single sign-on capability00 Ratings8.915 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    6.8
    4 Ratings
    6% below category average
    M1
    6.5
    28 Ratings
    10% below category average
    Dashboards6.12 Ratings6.626 Ratings
    Standard reports7.14 Ratings6.328 Ratings
    Custom reports7.14 Ratings6.527 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    8.2
    5 Ratings
    6% above category average
    M1
    6.8
    26 Ratings
    13% below category average
    Accounts payable8.54 Ratings6.825 Ratings
    Accounts receivable8.15 Ratings6.826 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations7.95 Ratings6.421 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting9.02 Ratings6.718 Ratings
    Standardized Processes7.64 Ratings7.719 Ratings
    Global Financial Support00 Ratings5.29 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings7.916 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    5.8
    4 Ratings
    31% below category average
    M1
    6.9
    26 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Inventory tracking8.54 Ratings7.326 Ratings
    Automatic reordering3.92 Ratings6.415 Ratings
    Location management5.12 Ratings7.021 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    8.4
    4 Ratings
    7% above category average
    M1
    7.3
    26 Ratings
    7% below category average
    Pricing7.74 Ratings6.726 Ratings
    Order entry8.64 Ratings7.326 Ratings
    Credit card processing7.92 Ratings7.310 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold7.63 Ratings7.617 Ratings
    Order Orchestration10.01 Ratings7.413 Ratings
    Subledger and Financial Process
    Comparison of Subledger and Financial Process features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    8.0
    4 Ratings
    7% above category average
    M1
    6.4
    21 Ratings
    16% below category average
    Billing Management7.54 Ratings8.020 Ratings
    Cash and Asset Management8.03 Ratings6.817 Ratings
    Budgetary Control & Encumbrance Accounting8.02 Ratings5.013 Ratings
    Period Close8.63 Ratings7.721 Ratings
    Travel & Expense Management00 Ratings4.89 Ratings
    Project Execution Management
    Comparison of Project Execution Management features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    7.5
    1 Ratings
    9% above category average
    M1
    5.2
    16 Ratings
    28% below category average
    Task Insight for Project Managers8.01 Ratings5.310 Ratings
    Project Mobile Functionality7.01 Ratings4.67 Ratings
    Project Planning and Scheduling00 Ratings6.216 Ratings
    Definable Resource Pools00 Ratings4.89 Ratings
    Procurement
    Comparison of Procurement features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    5.0
    1 Ratings
    32% below category average
    M1
    6.3
    18 Ratings
    9% below category average
    Bids Analyzed and Compared6.01 Ratings6.07 Ratings
    Requisitions-to-Purchase Orders Integrated4.01 Ratings5.910 Ratings
    Contract Authoring00 Ratings7.34 Ratings
    Contract Repository00 Ratings6.36 Ratings
    Supplier Management00 Ratings6.218 Ratings
    Manufacturing
    Comparison of Manufacturing features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    7.0
    2 Ratings
    6% below category average
    M1
    6.5
    27 Ratings
    13% below category average
    Configuration Management7.52 Ratings6.119 Ratings
    Work Execution6.52 Ratings7.420 Ratings
    Production Process Design00 Ratings6.219 Ratings
    Production Management00 Ratings6.922 Ratings
    Manufacturing Costs00 Ratings5.826 Ratings
    Supply Chain
    Comparison of Supply Chain features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    5.4
    2 Ratings
    28% below category average
    M1
    5.6
    20 Ratings
    24% below category average
    Inventory Planning5.42 Ratings6.120 Ratings
    Forecasting00 Ratings4.714 Ratings
    Performance Monitoring00 Ratings5.815 Ratings
    Product Lifecycle Management
    Comparison of Product Lifecycle Management features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    8.0
    1 Ratings
    11% above category average
    M1
    4.3
    9 Ratings
    50% below category average
    Product Master Data Management8.01 Ratings3.99 Ratings
    Proposal Management00 Ratings4.86 Ratings
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    -
    Ratings
    M1
    5.6
    8 Ratings
    25% below category average
    Pay calculation00 Ratings5.38 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration00 Ratings4.53 Ratings
    Direct deposit files00 Ratings7.15 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    -
    Ratings
    M1
    7.0
    18 Ratings
    8% below category average
    API for custom integration00 Ratings7.515 Ratings
    Plug-ins00 Ratings6.511 Ratings
    Grants Management
    Comparison of Grants Management features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    -
    Ratings
    M1
    2.7
    2 Ratings
    93% below category average
    Award Lifecycle Management00 Ratings2.72 Ratings
    Risk Management
    Comparison of Risk Management features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    -
    Ratings
    M1
    4.9
    4 Ratings
    28% below category average
    Risk Repository00 Ratings6.42 Ratings
    Control Management00 Ratings5.84 Ratings
    Control Efficiency Assessments00 Ratings4.84 Ratings
    Issue Detection00 Ratings3.73 Ratings
    Remediation and Certification00 Ratings3.73 Ratings
    Logistics
    Comparison of Logistics features of Spruce and M1
    Feature
    Spruce
    -
    Ratings
    M1
    4.0
    10 Ratings
    50% below category average
    Transportation Planning and Optimization00 Ratings2.24 Ratings
    Transportation Execution Management00 Ratings2.54 Ratings
    Trade and Customs Management00 Ratings4.73 Ratings
    Fulfillment Management00 Ratings4.98 Ratings
    Warehouse Workforce Management00 Ratings5.58 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    SpruceM1
    Small Businesses
    Zoho One
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Zoho One
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Zoho One
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Zoho One
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics AX (discontinued)
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Microsoft Dynamics AX (discontinued)
    Score9.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    SpruceM1
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.1
    (5 ratings)
    7.2
    (30 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.4
    (30 ratings)
    Availability
    8.4
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    SpruceM1
    Likelihood to Recommend
    ECI Software Solutions
    I think my single most surprising and satisfying experience with ECI and its RockSolid Maxx and then Spruce products was the ease of implementation and rollout -- both on the hardware and software side. ECI seems to have mastered the idea of using an integrated team along with robust tutorials to make that process easy.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ECI Software Solutions
    The M1 ERP is tailored for small to medium organizations, offering good features at least in the components utilized by my organization such as customizable workflows, user-friendly dashboards, ability to process orders, and track the entire orders lifecycle. It also has good customer interaction features in the CRM part. It provides robust data security, and offers scalable modules to grow with your business. Implementation is not challenging if you don't have so many customizations in the software.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    ECI Software Solutions
    • lumber management.
    • purchasing and receiving.
    • Cloud based.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ECI Software Solutions
    • Allows for component parts to be scheduled independently through the plant
    • Once parts are built, it is easy to duplicate/reuse parts across they quoting and ordering modules and customers
    • If used properly and consistently, M1 will provide accurate job cost analysis to determine estimating, training, efficiency and other issues.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    ECI Software Solutions
    • Point of sales
    • P&L usability
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ECI Software Solutions
    • Some of the functions are pretty detailed - and so they take a while to generate screens and pages in reports.
    • We actually use it for 2 companies we own - and it would be nice if the inter company communication was a little smoother. It's hard to share some data, and not everything is possible to be shared.
    • Customized reports need to backed up before any updates to M1 or they're lost. It seems M1 overwrites the report folders everytime you run an update - so you have to keep track of what you've changed in Crystal Reports and restore it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    ECI Software Solutions
    No answers on this topic
    ECI Software Solutions
    Because it would be helpful if ECI would provide better documentation, communication and workflows to understand how each field interacts within the system and how each of those touch other areas within M1. It would also be useful if ECI would provide prescheduled training for how to customize things with M1 through Design Studio
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    ECI Software Solutions
    For the most part when there is internet, we are able to log in and proceed to do our daily tasks which is very helpful, but we have also encountered a glitch on our laptop that we use to do inventory that switches to the last branch that was used. This, in combination with Spruce logging out of the remote connection daily, can cause issues if the person accessing Spruce does not have the remote connection password.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ECI Software Solutions
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    ECI Software Solutions
    No answers on this topic
    ECI Software Solutions
    Support has been great and timely
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    ECI Software Solutions
    Spruce is possibly just above average. Not super impressed with usability and especially not impressed with tech support who is rarely able to answer questions on the first call.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ECI Software Solutions
    M1 is light years ahead in overall cost and proficiency. It allows so much more control and flexibility as compared to its competitors. When choosing M1 we went through many demos and M1 was the only ERP that met our needs and still does. We also control our own data which is a big plus for us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    ECI Software Solutions
    • With $13 million in gross and 40 employees I'm able to run a full back office with a staff of two. In today's tight labor market that is invaluable.
    • Being able to implement Spruce with almost no upgrading or replacement of existing computer hardware represented a huge cost savings to us. I'm not even sure what dollar amount I could attach to that.
    • Dealing with both a wholesale and retail customers requires that we provide different levels and kinds of reporting and documentation. Spruce has made it easy to respond to the different demands that those customers place upon us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ECI Software Solutions
    • Time savings having to only enter certain information once and have it follow through the entire order process from quote to cash
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    M1 Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshot