7 Best Equipment Maintenance Software of 2021

How do you keep track of equipment maintenance for your business?

If you’ve been using pen and paper or a spreadsheet to manually log equipment maintenance tasks around your facility, it’s understandable: you might think that you don’t have the time or money to adapt to a sophisticated program that tracks maintenance. The good news? Equipment maintenance software doesn’t have to be costly or time-consuming to learn. In fact, we’re about to explore some programs which may work perfectly for you and your business!

Put your pen-and-paper list down and listen up: we’re about to explore 7 great equipment maintenance software options for 2021.

Why is equipment maintenance tracking important?

When you’re running or managing a business, keeping track of equipment maintenance is essential for ensuring that everything gets done. Logging equipment maintenance tasks helps you to stay on top of all necessary updates, which ultimately helps you save significant dollars on repairs and premature asset replacement.

Equipment maintenance tracking is especially important for time-based and preventive maintenance, which requires monthly or annual inspections or updates to essential equipment. If you don’t keep track of which tasks were performed (or should be performed) at specific times, you risk equipment damage or malfunction that could have been avoided with better organization.

So what’s the best, most efficient way to track equipment maintenance? The answer is simple: a quality equipment maintenance software program.

What is equipment maintenance software?

Equipment maintenance software allows you to create and store digital work orders for your business within a centralized database. At best, a good software will streamline your maintenance process by scheduling routine tasks, ultimately allowing you to save time and money. By efficiently logging the upkeep of your assets and effortlessly tracking your maintenance costs, you can get the most out of your most essential equipment.

What are the benefits of equipment maintenance software?

There are several benefits of using an equipment maintenance software over manual tracking methods. A few of these include:

• Maximize the lifespan of equipment—if you want to prolong the lifespan of your business’s most essential assets, an equipment maintenance software will ensure you perform all necessary maintenance actions to keep your machinery running smoothly.
• Improves team communication and efficiency—a high-quality software will mean reduced back-and-forth communication, because the program will automatically track and store to-do items for you in an accessible centralized database. Easily track the progress of any work order at any time;
• Say goodbye to lost or missing work orders—having a centralized electronic database to store your work orders means that you’ll never lose or misplace a work order again;
• Reduce likelihood of unexpected downtime—equipment maintenance software will help you avoid unexpected breakdowns resulting from neglect of your assets;
• Save on preventable repair expenses and overtime—unplanned repairs may make employee overtime necessary to compensate for lost time during standard business hours. The repairs and costs of overtime are likely an expense you can’t afford; equipment maintenance software can substantially reduce the likelihood of these expenses;
• Never miss an important update or maintenance action—using an equipment maintenance software will help you stay organized, and store/track all maintenance tasks in one convenient place.

What to look for in an equipment maintenance software

So, what should you look for in a good equipment maintenance software, anyway? You’d be right in assuming that there are many options out there for you to consider. Where should you start?

To help you narrow down the best options for your business, here are some common elements for you to consider of a good equipment maintenance program:

• Affordability—does the software offer plans that are affordable for your business? Do monthly rates fit into your budget?
• Plan variety/flexibility—similar to affordability, does the program offer multiple tiers for you to consider and choose from based on the size of your business, budget, etc.? Likewise, are plans restrictive, or can you cancel any time?
• Ease of use—a good software should have minimal to no learning curve. Ideally, you should be able to purchase a program/plan and begin using immediately in a way that benefits your business.
• Scalability—is the software built to scale? Can you continue to use it if and when your business expands? A software that can accommodate growth is preferable.
• Accessibility—can you access the program on a range of technology (i.e. desktop, tablet, mobile app)? This will allow you to stay organized and access the software database no matter where you are in your facility.

 7 Best Equipment Maintenance Software and Apps

For your convenience, we’ve researched some of the best equipment software programs available, so you can skip the lengthy search and skip straight to reaping the benefits of the right program!

1. Coast

Best free and easy-to-use equipment maintenance software

Coast keeps everyone on your team on the same page. With handy features like group chat, work order assignment, and easy workflow creation and management, Coast is an app that will keep your equipment maintenance actions organized, and help you stay on top of essential tasks for your business. You can use it via desktop or mobile app, so it’s always accessible wherever you are. Best of all, Coast offers a free plan that may work great for your business needs!

Key Features:

• Checklist creation helps you effortlessly keep track of work orders and completed maintenance tasks;
• Mobile accessibility makes equipment maintenance easy tasks easy to reference and update from anywhere;
• Set deadlines with automated reminders for your most pressing maintenance actions to ensure they’re completed on time;
• Use the photo attachment feature to share and pinpoint equipment maintenance issues;
• Organize, assign, and track equipment maintenance orders all in one place.

Pros:

• Easily track time and cost of each equipment maintenance work order;
• Reports feature allows you to see which maintenance tasks have been completed;
• Work order management features keep everyone on the same page;
• Easy to get up and running.

Cons:

• Certain features and integrations are limited;
• Reporting only available on paid plans;
• No dark mode available on desktop or mobile.

What People Think About Using Coast for Equipment Maintenance:

• Capterra – 5/5
• G2 – 5/5
• Google Play Store – 4.4/5
• Apple App Store – 4.7/5

Pricing:

Free Plan: Yes — includes unlimited messaging, scheduling, work orders, and work order history, plus file storage up to 5 GB. Try Coast for free now to streamline your equipment maintenance process!

Paid Plans: Several.

• The Starter plan is available for $4 a user per month.
• The Plus plan is available for $8 a user per month.
• The price of the Professional plan (for larger teams) is undisclosed on the Coast website, but a demo of the software may be requested.

2. ProntoForms

Best equipment maintenance software for creating inspection and maintenance lists

Servicing industries such as manufacturing, oil & gas, and small businesses/accounting, ProntoForms prides itself on simplifying field work for businesses. Available for desktop and mobile use, the software makes it easy for professionals to collect data from more than one device, access data from anywhere in the facility, and share results with associates to a variety of other platforms. Businesses that work with ProntoForms will enjoy LiveChat customer support, an efficient app and form builder, and more.

Key Features:

• Works with your existing apps and forms to make them field-ready;
• App & form builder makes it easy to control all of your business’s data;
• Bulk-editing simplifies form creation and saves your business time;
• Mobile accessibility works from anywhere in the facility, and even offline;
• Form automation enables multi-step workflows and conditional routing.

Pros:

• Creating, filling out, and customizing forms is easy;
• Attractive and streamlined UI;
• Make changes in real-time;
• Automatic distribution of forms saves time.

Cons:

• Steep learning curve to adapt to all software functions;
• Some file attachment limitations;
• Some device limitations (i.e. can only be used on iPhone or iPad, not both simultaneously).

What People Think About Using ProntoForms for Equipment Maintenance:

• Capterra – 4.6/5
• G2 – 4.6/5
• Google Play Store – 3.7/5
• Apple App Store – 2.7/5

Pricing:

Free Plan: No

Paid Plans: Several.

• The Essentials plan is available for $15/user per month.
• The Advanced plan is available for $45/user per month.
• The price of the Enterprise plan (for larger teams) is undisclosed on the ProntoForms website.

3. HippoCMMS

Best equipment maintenance software for multiple facilities

 

Hippo CMMS by iOffice is a good software option for storing and managing essential documents, as well as organizing custom inventory, on-the-go. Accessible via mobile and desktop, Hippo is helpful not only for creating and moving work orders through a workflow, but for streamlining vendor communications by quickly generating and sending purchase orders. Hippo CMMS offers demos for each of its price tiers, as well as a 14-day free trial.

Key Features:

• Mobile CMMS collects and accesses data even from offline;
• Inventory management tracks PPE and other parts to avoid under or overstocking;
• Equipment maintenance software stores essential asset information (ID tags, documents, etc.);
• Tracks downtime and cost of parts;
• Take photos and upload from smartphone or tablet.

Pros:

• Easy to learn and use;
• Helpful customer service team;
• Streamlines company maintenance records;
• Recurring/scheduled work orders help keep equipment up-to-date.

Cons:

• Inability for multiple users to log in at once;
• Limited customization ability;
• Steep learning curve;
• Unable to update work orders after they have been closed.

What People Think About Using HippoCMMS for Equipment Maintenance:

• Capterra – 4.4/5
• G2 – 4.2/5
• Google Play Store – N/A
• Apple App Store – N/A

Pricing:

Free Plan: Yes, a free trial is available.

Paid Plans: Several.

• The Hippo Starter plan is available for $39/user per month.
• The Hippo Plus plan is available for $69/user per month.
• The Hippo Pro plan is available for $99/user per month.

4. EzOfficeInventory

Best equipment maintenance software for tagging your assets

EzOfficeInventory is specifically designed for tracking and maintaining your business’s equipment. It’s a unique program because it’s specifically geared toward equipment maintenance and management, making it easy to access reports, vendor histories, user management, and more. You can try it for free, and access the software from anywhere, whether it’s on your mobile or PC.

Key Features:

• Check assets in and out of the database, and easily add new information;
• Dashboard calendar makes checking daily or monthly repairs and updates effortless;
• Audits feature helps you monitor regular checkpoints in an asset’s life cycle;
• Reservations module keeps the booking process for equipment updates conflict-free;
• Asset Lifecycle Management allows you to add and track purchase orders, vendors, maintenance histories, and more.

Pros:

• User-friendly with minimal learning curve;
• Personalization makes extremely flexible asset tracking;
• Easy to search for/look up specific asset information;
• Unlimited users for lowest tier at an affordable price.

Cons:

• Some functionalities are limited;
• Some features are not as intuitive as they could be;
• Not modular enough to accommodate basic asset tracking (without more sophisticated features).

What People Think About Using EzOfficeInventory for Equipment Maintenance:

• Capterra – 4.6/5
• G2 – 4.4/5
• Google Play Store – 4.1/5
• Apple App Store – 2.8/5

Pricing:

Free Plan: Yes—15-day free trial.

Paid Plans: Several.

• The Essential plan is $35/month for 250 assets;
• The Advanced plan is $45/month for 250 assets;
• The Premium plan is $50/month for 250 assets;
• The Custom plan for enterprise needs is undisclosed on the website.

5. eWorkOrders

Best web-based equipment maintenance software

eWorkOrders prides itself on offering an affordable, web-based CMMS software to help businesses increase their asset uptime. They also boast a “seamless integration” of devices, data, and platforms. With the customer’s needs in mind, eWorkOrders strives to deliver the best software tools to service professionals and equipment efficiently and effectively.

Key Features:

• Service request (or work request) interface makes it easy to schedule work, installations, or repairs;
• Asset management module integrates all asset management and tracking into a centralized location;
• Mobile maintenance management enables barcode scanning, creation and assignment of work orders, asset tracking, and more;
• Employee management and time tracking functionality analyzes labor availability, reporting, work order costs, and labor costs;
• Dashboards provide a quick and easy way to view all of your systems at once.

Pros:

• Easy to use;
• Web-based and accessible from multiple devices;
• Ability to create multiple workflows;
• Outstanding customer support.

Cons:

• Mobile app is lacking compared to desktop;
• Set-up process is time-consuming;
• Not offered in other languages (no translate features available);
• Dozens of features can be overwhelming when first starting out.

What People Think About Using eWorkOrders for Equipment Maintenance:

• Capterra – 4.9/5
• G2 – 4.5/5
• Google Play Store – N/A
• Apple App Store – N/A

Pricing:

Free Plan: No

Paid Plans: Pricing plans are undisclosed on the website.

6. BlueFolder

Best equipment maintenance software for field services.

BlueFolder has been helping businesses increase their organization and productivity since 2005. Since that time, 11 million work orders have been created and 1.9 million customers have been serviced by the software. BlueFolder stands behind the belief that a software should never be discarded for being too difficult to use. With this goal, BlueFolder helps professionals with business solutions that are easily-accessible, and is built around monthly subscriptions, so you’re not locked in to any long-term contracts.

Key Features:

• Work order tracking helps you operate and grow your organization by streamlining processes;
• Asset management allows you to store critical information about your equipment in one centralized, accessible location;
• Service dispatch & scheduling allows you to get the right equipment or the right jobs performed when you need them;
• Reporting features offer filtering capabilities for data that is exportable;
• Offers integration with a range of back office solutions to simplify processes.

Pros:

• Work order flow is organized and uncomplicated;
• Integrations are convenient and effective;
• Free trial;
• Data entry is easy.

Cons:

• No native mobile app;
• Limited customization options;
• Has many features which may not be necessary for some businesses (no way to tailor plans for business’s needs).

What People Think About Using BlueFolder for Equipment Maintenance:

• Capterra – 4.7/5
• G2 – 4.3/5
• Google Play Store – N/A
• Apple App Store – N/A

Pricing:

Free Plan: Yes, a free trial is available for 15 days.

Paid Plans: Several.

• The Starter plan is $99/month for 3 users;
• The Pro plan is $139/month for 3 users;
• The Pro Plus plan is $179/month for 3 users;
• The Enterprise plan is $325/month for 5 users.

7. Fleetio

Best equipment maintenance software for managing fleets

Fleetio is a good software option for equipment maintenance organization—specifically for fleet maintenance. The program makes it easy to track and store vehicle details, schedule and automate in-house maintenance, maintain control of small equipment and tools, and more. Fleetio also offers a free trial, and an equipment management add-on to the plan of your choice for additional fees.

Key Features:

• Expense tracking & total cost of ownership helps you understand the true cost of running your equipment;
• Fleet dashboards allow you to determine productivity and manage exceptions in real-time;
• Fuel management allows you to spot deficiencies and optimize equipment functionality;
• Track parts and supplies with ease;
• Plan, schedule, and track maintenance tasks and costs.

Pros:

• Responsive and helpful customer service;
• Workflow process makes updates, repairs, and work history easily-traceable;
• Easy to use;
• Mobile app accessibility.

Cons:

• Not fully customizable;
• Integrations are not easy to employ;
• Account set-up is time-consuming.

What People Think About Using Fleetio for Equipment Maintenance:

• Capterra – 4.8/5
• G2 – 4.5/5
• Google Play Store – 4.3/5
• Apple App Store – 4.6/5

Pricing:
Free Plan: Yes, a 14-day free trial is available.

Paid Plans: Two

• The Pro plan is $5/vehicle per month;
• The Advanced plan is $7/vehicle per month.

How Do You Use Equipment Maintenance Software?

There are several equipment maintenance software available in the market with their unique set of capabilities. However, their basic functionalities are similar and they are all built with a single goal of putting all your equipment, parts, locations, and work orders in one place

Here are some some steps that will help you get familiar with the basic functions of a equipment maintenance software.

1. Add all your locations into the software

If you have equipment in multiple locations, you’ll need to include all those locations into the software. When you add your equipment in the next step, you will be able to choose a location to indicate where it is located. Typically, these are the fields you will need to know about the location:

• Name of the location
• Address
• Parent location – Is this location part of another? For example, if your location is the second floor, the parent location will be the main building.
• Team in charge of location – Include all your technicians and workers that works in this location.

If you only have one location, this step will be quick any easy for you.

2. Add all your equipment

Next, you’ll need to gather a list of all your equipment that you use and need to track maintenance for. These are the fields you will need to field in for each equipment into the software:

• Name of the equipment
• Description of the equipment
• Photo – Most software allows you to take a picture of the equipment
• Model of the equipment
• Location
• Parent Asset – Is this equipment part of another?
• QR / Barcode
• Files – These includes manuals and guides.

3. Add all your parts

Parts are what you have in stock to help repair your equipment. Include the following for each part:

• Title
• Description
• Quantity
• Cost
• Location

4. Create work orders

After you’ve included all your locations, equipment, and parts, you can start creating work orders for your equipment. All your work orders will be stored in one placed for easy tracking, and you can easily see all the work orders associated to an equipment.

The Bottom Line on Equipment Maintenance Software

There’s a lot that a good equipment maintenance software will do to improve efficiency, organization, and productivity for your business. If you’re interested in getting the most out of your essential machinery and reducing the likelihood of downtime, any of the options in this article are worth looking into!