What is a material control layer?

A material control layer is a system that sits between procurement, field operations, and financial systems to provide real-time visibility into material state across the full lifecycle — from purchase order to installation to reconciliation. Unlike ERPs or inventory apps, it tracks the physical material itself, not just the transaction.

How is RunBlu different from an ERP or inventory management system?

ERPs track dollars and transactions. Inventory apps track what's on a shelf. RunBlu tracks the material itself through six enforced states: Ordered, Received, Stored, Allocated, Installed, and Reconciled. Every state change is an immutable event. When RunBlu says you have 200 feet of conduit in Bay 4, it means someone put it there, nobody has moved it, and it's not allocated to another job.

What trades does RunBlu work for?

RunBlu is built for specialty trade contractors including electrical, mechanical/HVAC, plumbing, fire protection, and civil contractors, as well as general contractors who need visibility across all subcontractor material flows. It's designed for contractors in the $5M to $50M revenue range.

How long does it take to implement RunBlu?

RunBlu is implemented in four sprints over 17 to 24 weeks: Foundation, Receiving, Allocation, and Readiness. The system is configured around your workflows, your team is trained, and you go live together.

How much can RunBlu save my company?

Contractors typically recover $400K to $700K in working capital in year one through reduced over-purchasing, waste elimination, and improved reconciliation. The average contractor over-purchases 10-20% of material due to unreliable inventory data. Eliminating that alone often delivers 13x+ ROI.

Does RunBlu integrate with Procore?

Yes. RunBlu is the material control layer and Procore is the project management layer. They are complementary systems. RunBlu integrates with Procore as well as accounting systems like QuickBooks and Sage.

Integration

RunBlu + QuickBooks: Accounting Accuracy Powered by Material Truth

Connect RunBlu with QuickBooks Online to ensure your accounting reflects actual material consumption, not estimates. PO data flows in, accurate costs flow out.

How it works

RunBlu connects to QuickBooks Online via Intuit's OAuth 2.0 API

Purchase orders and vendor data sync from QuickBooks to RunBlu

Material receiving events in RunBlu match against QuickBooks POs automatically

Material consumption data flows back as journal entries or cost adjustments

Reconciliation variances are surfaced in both systems

Data flow

From	Direction	To	Data
QuickBooks	→	RunBlu	Purchase orders
QuickBooks	→	RunBlu	Vendor information
QuickBooks	→	RunBlu	Item/product catalog
RunBlu	→	QuickBooks	Material consumption by job
RunBlu	→	QuickBooks	Inventory adjustments
RunBlu	→	QuickBooks	Variance reports

Data flow diagram — coming soon

Setup guide

Connect QuickBooks Online

Authenticate via Intuit OAuth. RunBlu requests access to purchase orders, items, and vendors.

Map accounts and items

Map your QuickBooks chart of accounts and item catalog to RunBlu material categories.

Configure cost flow

Choose how material consumption data flows back to QuickBooks — as journal entries, inventory adjustments, or cost updates.

Test and verify

Run a test sync cycle to verify data mapping. Review a sample transaction end-to-end before going live.

Use cases

Eliminate manual data entry

Stop keying material costs into QuickBooks manually. RunBlu captures material events in the field and syncs cost data to QuickBooks automatically.

Accurate COGS

Your cost of goods sold reflects actual material consumption, not PO values. Know your true material cost per job.

PO matching

When material arrives, RunBlu matches it against the QuickBooks PO. Discrepancies (short shipments, wrong items, price variances) are flagged immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it work with QuickBooks Desktop?

Currently, the integration supports QuickBooks Online (QBO). QuickBooks Desktop support is on the roadmap. Contact us if you're on Desktop — we may be able to work with your setup.

Will RunBlu change my QuickBooks data?

RunBlu only writes data you configure it to write — typically journal entries or inventory adjustments. It never modifies existing transactions. All writes are logged and auditable.

What QuickBooks plan do I need?

QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced. The integration uses inventory and purchase order features that aren't available on Simple Start or Essentials.

Ready to connect RunBlu + QuickBooks?

Book a walkthrough and we'll show you the integration in action.

Book a Walkthrough Get Your Bleed Audit