TrueSpec

How TrueSpec works

One standard for building-product data. Publish your catalog once, and every customer — their website, their ERP, their estimator — reads it live and stays current on its own.

The big picture

The people who make products publish their data into one standard shape. The people who sell or build with them pull it through one clean API — no re-typing, no stale spreadsheets.

Manufacturers & distributors
Publish the catalog once
TrueSpec
One standard data model + one versioned REST API
Dealers · ERPs · eCommerce · architects · homeowners
Consume live, current data

Every product lands in the same consistent format — names, sizes, colors, finishes, specs, images — so it’s ready to use the moment it’s published.

Which one are you?

Most organizations do one of these — some do both (a distributor often publishes and consumes).

I make or distribute products

Manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors with a catalog to share — decking, railing, siding, cabinet hardware, panel goods, laminates, lumber.

  • Upload your catalog — we standardize it.
  • Invite your customers; they each get one API key.
  • Update once; everyone downstream stays current.
See the publish flow ↓

I sell or build with them

Dealers, retailers, eCommerce sites, and the ERPs they run on — anyone who wants rich, current product content without re-keying it.

  • Get one key that reads every catalog you’re granted.
  • Power your storefront with live vendor content.
  • Match it to your own item numbers automatically.
See the consume flow ↓

Publish your catalog

From spreadsheet to a live, standardized API your customers can read — in an afternoon, not a quarter.

1

Create your account

Sign up and you’re the owner. Invite teammates to help categorize and enter data — they get a one-time link to set their own password and join as members.

2

Upload your catalog

Drop in a spreadsheet (CSV). TrueSpec auto-detects your column names — Item Number, Vendor SKU, color, size, finish — and maps them to the standard fields. (PDF catalog upload, where we extract the items for you, is on the way.)

3

We standardize & check every row

Each product is validated against its category’s attributes and stored in one consistent shape. You get a clear, row-level report — nothing is silently dropped or guessed.

4

Invite your customers

Grant a customer read access by invitation. They accept and mint one secure API key that reads your catalog through a clean REST API. You decide who’s in, and you can revoke access any time.

5

Update anytime — everyone stays current

Re-upload the new version (it updates in place, no duplicates) or edit a field by hand. Consumers pull only what changed since last time, so no one is ever stuck on last spring’s colors.

Power your storefront or ERP

Pull rich, accurate vendor content — descriptions, images, specs, sizes, colors — and show it under your own item numbers.

1

Create your account & turn on consumer features

An owner enables consumer access (and accepts the agreement). Now your org can receive catalog invitations and create API keys.

2

Accept your vendors’ invitations

One API key reads every catalog you’ve been granted, merged into a single, consistent feed — no separate integration per vendor.

3

Your systems pull it live

Your website or ERP reads the catalog through one REST API — clean JSON, cursor pagination, and delta sync so you fetch only what changed. Your tech person wires it up in an afternoon.

4

Match it to your own SKUs

Upload your item list (your part numbers + the vendor SKUs you already have). TrueSpec links each of your SKUs to the authoritative vendor product — so your storefront resolves your own item number to the manufacturer’s real description, photos, colors, and sizes.

Where your data goes

The same clean record flows all the way down the channel — and nobody re-keys it at any tier.

Manufacturer
Publishes the source of truth
Distributor
Resells & enriches
Dealer / retail site
Shows accurate listings
Builder · GC · architect
Specs the right product
Homeowner
Sees what they’re really buying

When a color is discontinued or a box quantity changes, the correction starts at the manufacturer and reaches the contractor and the homeowner automatically — instead of being wrong on five different websites.

Why it’s better than emailing spreadsheets

One standard, every product

Consistent, industry-aligned fields plus per-category attributes (species, grade, finish, R-value, slip rating…). No bespoke spreadsheet format per vendor.

One key, one API

Publish once; every customer and their software read the same clean data through a single, versioned REST API with interactive docs.

Easy to join

Non-technical? Upload a spreadsheet. Technical? A REST API your developer connects in an afternoon. Both sides win.

Always current

Change it once and it propagates. Consumers sync only the deltas, so dealer sites and ERPs never drift out of date.

You stay in control

Invite-only access, revoke any time, and a record of who pulled what. Your product IDs are permanent, so a change on our end never breaks an integration.

Built for teams

Owners run the account — invites, keys, access. Members do the catalog work. Bring on helpers to categorize data without handing over the keys.

Ready to stop emailing spreadsheets?

Publish your catalog once. Your customers will thank you.