We found and ranked the best maintenance management software based on core features, pricing, mobile capabilities, and integrations:
1 eWorkOrders - Best Overall
Why we chose it: We found eWorkOrders best overall because of its preventive maintenance module. It’s designed to allow users to schedule future maintenance tasks based on specific criteria like time intervals or meter readings. For instance, maintenance for fleet vehicles can be arranged based on actual mileage and usage, rather than just the time elapsed since the last service.
It also has a unique structure where it provides two separate interfaces - one for asset management and the other for maintenance requests. While the asset management interface requires individual login credentials, the maintenance request side is widely accessible via a link. Any employee, regardless of whether they’re a paid user, can use this link to submit a maintenance request. Once submitted, the software can assign these tasks based on specificity.
2 MaintainX - Most User-Friendly
Why we chose it: We found MaintainX the most user-friendly option because it has an intuitive interface and mobile accessibility. It does not require an excessive learning curve, making it easier for users to navigate and perform tasks.
It extends its functionality beyond desktop access through its native mobile app. All features are accessible on this mobile version. This is crucial for maintenance teams who are often on the move or on-site and need to update work statuses, upload images, or communicate with their teams. The ease of changing an asset’s status and uploading photos directly from a phone or tablet enhances the user experience and ensures that workers at all levels can engage with the software seamlessly.
3 Eptura Asset - Best for Larger Companies
Why we chose it: Eptura Asset, formerly ManagerPlus and successor to Hippo CMMS, is a solid choice for mid-sized to large companies. We found its support for multiple facilities a huge plus for enterprises. Eptura Asset’s facility management capabilities, like service requests, inventory tracking, and compliance checklists, provide a centralized system for managing these facilities efficiently.
Eptura Asset’s digital floor plan capabilities are also useful for companies with large or multiple facilities. They help efficiently locate and track assets, plan maintenance activities, and develop emergency response strategies.
Additionally, its multi-language support and localization features ensure the software is accessible and useful to teams across different regions. This facilitates better communication and consistency in asset management practices for enterprises operating globally.
4 MicroMain - Best for Manufacturers
Why we chose it: MicroMain is our top pick for manufacturers because it allows for efficient task management. Maintenance workers can easily create work orders, add additional tasks, assign them to different departments, and create custom reports and dashboards. This means that manufacturers can streamline their maintenance procedures, ensuring that tasks are managed efficiently and nothing falls through the cracks.
Additionally, it has a comprehensive feature set tailored for manufacturing companies. These include:
- Spare Parts Management: This ensures that manufacturers have an organized system for tracking and managing the spare parts they need for their machinery.
- OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness): This metric allows manufacturers to measure the effectiveness of their manufacturing processes and equipment for optimal performance.
- Unlimited Sites, Priced Per User: The multi-site functionality ensures that manufacturing businesses of all sizes, from single-site to multi-location, can effectively use the software and only pay based on the number of users.
5 Equips - Broad Industry Fit
Why we chose it: We found that Equips is compatible with a range of sectors, including financial services, first responders, property management, restaurants, and service providers. The ease with which users can view new, in-progress, and completed orders, as well as the simplicity of adding new work orders, makes it a versatile tool.
Different industries have varied maintenance needs, from machinery in manufacturing plants to equipment in health care facilities. The ability to quickly view, log, and manage these orders allows Limble CMMS to cater to the diverse maintenance requirements of multiple industries. Additionally, features like photo capture, markup, and automated reminders for tasks are universal necessities, further solidifying its fit for many sectors.
6 Limble CMMS - Most Customizable Solution
Why we chose it: We think Limble CMMS is the most customizable option because it has multiple dashboard views, allowing for the display of varied data at a glance. Users can set up parameters for these dashboards, such as having a monthly report auto-generate when a new month begins. Such automation ensures that once a report or dashboard is set up, the system will handle the rest.
It also offers pre-existing widgets as a starting point for users. However, if users need a more tailored widget, they have the option to reach out to Limble to create one for them. Once these widgets are set, users can drag and drop them to organize their dashboard exactly how they prefer. This high level of adaptability means companies can modify the system to align closely with their specific needs and preferences.
7 Fiix Software - Best Customer Support
Why we chose it: Fiix Software is our top pick for customer support because it offers dedicated 1:1 training sessions with an expert. This ensures that users are given personalized attention to understand and navigate the software’s features optimally.
Additionally, having telephone support during regular business hours allows users to directly communicate and resolve any queries or issues they might face. This is complemented by a large library of video tutorials and an extensive knowledge base in the help center. These resources collectively suggest a commitment to helping users troubleshoot problems and use the software effectively.
8 UpKeep - Great Mobile Access
Why we chose it: We found that UpKeep has an easy-to-use mobile app and real-time accessibility, making it one of our top picks for maintenance management software. The app displays pending work requests, enabling technicians to view and prioritize their tasks on the go. For instance, if a deadline is missed on a task, a red exclamation mark will appear promptly to highlight the urgency. Such real-time updates can help maintenance teams efficiently address tasks, especially in time-sensitive situations.
UpKeep’s mobile app also integrates QR codes. Technicians can utilize QR codes on all company assets, allowing them to scan the asset and update it with the work or maintenance check each time. This integration of QR code scanning with real-time updating provides a seamless way for technicians to access asset information, conduct maintenance checks, and update their progress instantly, all through their mobile devices.
9 eMaint CMMS - Best Mid-Market Solution
Why we chose it: We think eMaint CMMS is the best mid-market option due to its features tailored for growing companies with diverse machinery and assets. Its unique proprietary sensors enable medium to enterprise-level businesses to seamlessly monitor and manage the health and performance of every asset. This in-house sensor solution by eMaint adapts to the evolving needs of larger organizations and eliminates the challenges associated with third-party integrations and custom coding.
eMaint’s Interactive Plans feature provides a clear visual representation of assets, making it straightforward for maintenance managers to locate, evaluate, and address any asset, no matter its location. This is important for many mid-market and enterprise companies spread across vast facilities or multiple locations.
10 Maintenance Care - Great for Small Businesses
Why we chose it: Maintenance Care is our top pick for small businesses because it offers an “Always Free” plan. This plan provides the fundamental tools required for basic maintenance needs, allowing startups or smaller businesses to cut costs while establishing a foundational maintenance management system.
One of the standout features of Maintenance Care is its preventive maintenance scheduling. This feature allows businesses to set up various preventive maintenance tasks in advance, with the flexibility to decide when and how often these tasks should be triggered. Scheduled tasks appear alongside manually added ones, ensuring that preventive measures are not overlooked. This proactive approach to maintenance can result in cost savings, reduced downtimes, and extended asset lifespan for small businesses.
Choosing the Best Maintenance Management Software
We’ve devised a clear methodology to recommend top maintenance management software based on four criteria:
Key Features:
The first aspect we consider includes the core features of maintenance management software. Here are the key functionalities we think every product should have:
- Scheduling Maintenance: Ability to organize maintenance schedules for abundant assets.
- Maintenance Work Checklist: Enables maintenance teams to track necessary activities.
- Work Orders: Facilitates tracking, creation, and assignment of work orders.
- Preventive Maintenance: Scheduling and tracking to minimize downtime and prolong equipment lifespan.
- Spare Parts Inventory Management: Efficient management of inventory levels and part reordering.
- Asset Management: Comprehensive tracking and management of equipment, facilities, and vehicles.
- Reporting: Generation of reports on work orders, asset performance, and costs.
Pricing:
Pricing factors influencing our ranking include:
- User count impact on price.
- Feature-richness potentially increasing price.
- Presence of upfront costs for setup and implementation.
- Additional costs for premium support, training, or other software integrations.
- Charges related to customization.
- Annual maintenance costs.
Mobile Functionality
Key considerations for mobile functionality are:
- Native Mobile App with Offline Capability: For on-the-go access without internet.
- Geo-Location Mapping: For asset location and history tracking.
- Mobile Work Order, Asset, MRO Inventory, and Preventive Maintenance Management: Comprehensive mobile management capabilities allowing technicians to track, manage, and reorder as necessary.
Integrations
To round off our methodology, we prioritize maintenance management software that integrates seamlessly with:
- ERP Software: For coordinated operations between maintenance and enterprise functions, including HR, project management, and CRM.
- Fleet Management Software: For maintenance of vehicles and mobile assets.
- Accounting Software: Enables tracking of maintenance-related costs.
- Document Management Software: Simplified access to maintenance documentation.
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Facilitates asset mapping and history tracking.
What is Maintenance Management Software?
Maintenance management software creates work orders for maintenance activities (such as preventive maintenance tasks and predictive maintenance scheduling) which help limit equipment downtime and lengthen the lifespan of assets. A properly implemented system will automate maintenance work and maintenance programs, lower maintenance costs, and provide real-time KPIs and maintenance history for your maintenance team.
The primary reason businesses use maintenance management software is to ensure production levels are never interrupted and that their profitability remains at a consistent level and is not threatened by equipment failure or downtime. Maintenance management systems can increase the reliability of your production facilities, maximize the life of your equipment, and increase the safety of your employees.
Often referred to as a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), a properly deployed preventive maintenance software will keep your business proactive rather than reactive with how it approaches maintenance. This is accomplished by tracking and controlling all of your company assets such as equipment used in daily operations or at the facilities where you conduct your business.
What Does Maintenance Management Software Do?
- Maintenance Request Portal: Allows employees to submit maintenance requests to management personnel for approval or denial. Ensures all requests are viewed and prioritized based on their urgency.
- Work Orders: Create a trackable document identifying what work needs to be done and how it should be accomplished. Helps maintenance managers ensure tasks are being performed in a timely fashion. Includes widgets such as rules-based approval management, scheduling management, change orders, and reporting.
- Preventive Maintenance: Schedules routine maintenance tasks to reduce the risk of production errors, work injuries, and asset damage. Creates schedules, tracks procedures, sets maintenance routines, balances workloads, and more.
- Predictive Maintenance: Scans equipment data for performance trends and uses condition-based monitoring to alert the appropriate staff of any potential issues.
- Equipment and Asset Management: Records general information on company assets (buildings, vehicles, technology, and more) such as the frequency of asset use, issues, ongoing costs, and asset specifications. Includes repair history, work orders associated with each asset, images and warranty info, meter readings, and floor plan management.
- Inventory Management: Tracks information on equipment used in maintenance and repair operations such as tools and parts. Creates alerts to warn of low stock levels to ensure the proper materials and tools are always available for both routine and emergency maintenance.
What Is Reactive, Preventive, and Predictive Maintenance?
Maintenance tasks can be broadly broken down based on the type of maintenance being performed, such as:
Maintenance Type | Details |
---|---|
Reactive | Perform maintenance or repair tasks after an asset has broken down or been damaged |
Preventive | Schedule maintenance tasks in advance to prevent potential breakdowns before they happen; utilize upgrades to offset maintenance |
Predictive (PdM) | Attempt to forecast when preventive maintenance should be performed to maintain uptime without risking breakdowns |
Condition-Based | Maintenance planning is based around asset performance, such as tune ups after certain milestones are met |
Reliability-Centered (RCM) | Base maintenance operations on minimum criteria and allow less critical assets to “run-to-failure” |
Maintenance by Industry or Asset
Most of the time, software options will be marketed and sold based on your industry or by the relevant asset/equipment:
- Aircraft and Aviation Maintenance Management Software: Tracks maintenance, repair, and operations on aircraft and aviation vehicles. Also known as Aviation MRO software. Handles aircraft airworthiness by ensuring compliance with maintenance activities, sourcing the right parts, and improving logistics controls.
- Asset Maintenance Management Software: Intended more for broad use of combinations of similar or unrelated types of assets. Includes building and importing asset hierarchies, tracking the history of assets, and organizing parts inventory.
- Facility Maintenance Management Software: Monitors the health of buildings, spaces, and the equipment residing in them. Lets facility managers maintain ongoing maintenance and repair which includes asset management, contractor sourcing, work orders, payments, and analytics.
- Fleet Maintenance Management Software: Maximizes the uptime, efficiency, and life of your fleet vehicles. Assets typically include cars, trucks, and trailers, but can also include construction equipment, machinery, and tools needed to maintain them. A unique feature module is fuel tracking.
- Property Maintenance Management Software: Maintain the maintenance activities involved with the property you own and potentially lease out. Maintenance request portals give access to tenants rather than employees in your company. Can view maintenance activities on a per unit basis, and store important documents. This can include homes, apartment buildings, hotels, and even golf courses. An example product is UpKeep which has property maintenance capabilities:
What Are the Advantages of Maintenance Software?
Used correctly, maintenance management software can help your company become more profitable than ever before and ensure your business doesn’t lose money on maintenance. Some of the top benefits of maintenance management software include:
Avoid Downtime to Improve Efficiency
Preventive maintenance procedures can keep your assets running at optimal levels with limited downtime for repairs and upkeep. This means equipment can continually generate revenue for the company. A maintenance management software will automatically generate work orders for preventive maintenance tasks, eliminating the need for an employee to manually time and submit work orders. Rather, you can use scheduling modules to automatically generate repair tasks for your staff during non-peak times so your machines can continue to thrive when needed.
Save On Future Expenses
There’s a lot more to this management software than just checklists detailing when and how to do maintenance. Without proper maintenance features put into place, assets will depreciate at a quicker rate and become overused. This can lead to machines breaking down quicker, and puts equipment at a greater risk of malfunction. Predictive maintenance tools can help spot problems before they occur. It also lowers labor expenses normally incurred when a machine becomes faulty.
Catching errors in equipment early and often will lead to less frequent turnover of assets, as well as lower labor costs involved with performing the maintenance. Companies who invest a solid amount of money into their core assets will want to maintain them as long as possible. Spending money on maintenance software with preventive methods now can save you from an exponential amount of repair costs in the future.
Keep Customers and Employees Happy
Customers are happiest when they receive their orders on-time, and are more likely to do repeat business with companies that consistently meet demands. Likewise, employees are happy when they can get through the work-day uninterrupted by equipment breakdowns. Assets and equipment kept in a serviceable condition help you produce quality products your customers can enjoy, without causing delays to employee workflow due to unexpected machine downtime.
Finally, maintenance software provides an easy way to keep records on past and upcoming maintenance work, perfect for compliance reporting and industry-required audits.
What’s the Difference between CMMS Software vs Maintenance Management Software?
Computerized maintenance management software (CMMS) or maintenance management software: which does your business need? How does the word “computerized” make a difference?
In short, CMMS and maintenance management software will provide you with the same functionalities. The goal of CMMS is to provide you with maintenance management capabilities, such as preventive and predictive features that can help you prolong the life of your assets. Both types of software will provide you with the means to create work orders, record spare parts inventory, scheduling preventive maintenance, and record asset histories. They can streamline your scheduling by using automated notification systems to alert you to upcoming or necessary maintenance.
Another type of similar software is enterprise asset management software (EAM software). This type of solution was created as a type of CMMS software for enterprise-level organizations looking to implement global maintenance initiatives. EAM software differs due to the scope of assets being tracked, as this usually happens across multiple departments and locations and will have a much larger impact on your business when it comes to the manufacturing process, procurement of goods, and even human resources due to how it may affect personnel.
How Much Does Maintenance Management Software Cost?
The cost of maintenance management software will range from $29 to $70 per user per month. This price range will give you an entry-level system for less than 3 users. Common capabilities included in these entry-level options include work order management, preventative maintenance, asset management, document management, and reporting. Onboarding costs for these types of systems will vary depending on your provider and the level of services needed, but will usually average between $600 to $2,500 one-time.
Companies that require more advanced capabilities such as maintenance request portals, barcode scanning, KPI dashboards, custom interfaces, and interactive floor plans can expect to spend as high as $400 per user per month, with onboarding costs of a few thousand dollars. These mid-level and enterprise type systems can handle a larger amount of users.
A majority of maintenance management software packages are sold as a subscription (SaaS) and are entirely web-based (SaaS). These options provide smartphone mobile device flexibility with the use of user-friendly mobile apps on iOS and Android devices. There are still a few options which can be sold on-premise with only a one-time licensing fee.