Honest eSpace Review: Is eSpace a Good CMMS?

Managing facility maintenance can be a juggling act, especially in smaller to mid-sized churches and community spaces where teams often wear many hats. That’s why eSpace, a maintenance management software from Smart Church Solutions, aims to give teams more flexibility and control over their workflows. It helps church maintenance and property managers simplify their work orders, asset tracking and preventive maintenance.

Our eSpace review highlights the software’s industry-specific offerings, like church event calendar integrations, and how it compares to alternatives like Coast.

We reviewed eSpace through its official product demo, which allowed us to explore the platform’s onboarding, workflow and communication features. We also took a look at its official resources and eSpace reviews from G2. The result is a well-rounded and honest assessment of how eSpace compares to competitors in the CMMS space. Here’s what we found.

Why Trust Coast?

At Coast, we take our software reviews seriously. Our review methodology evaluates software across seven critical categories that help differentiate the solutions from one another. Each category receives a score from one to five, with five being the highest, and a maximum possible score of 35 points.

eSpace Ease of Use

eSpace setup is easy enough for your average user, even those new to maintenance software. Onboarding is easy, and the dashboard has a clean, modern look with labeled menus. Creating work orders, assets and locations is a simple process that takes just a few clicks.

As an example, if you wanted to create a work order, you’d simply select a location, add a description, assign a priority and set the deadline. Every step is logical, visible and no-fuss.

Searching for and filtering work orders by status or priority is relatively easy, although the filtering system could be improved for power users. The interface is functional but feels somewhat basic compared to more polished competitors, which may be a factor for users accustomed to a slick user experience.

For the sake of comparison, however, let’s take a brief look at Accruent Maintenance Connection. While eSpace stands out for its straightforward, intuitive design, tools like Maintenance Connection are prime examples of just how dense and complex these tools tend to be. Maintenance Connection is functional, but visually cluttered and dated, with a multitude of fields and menus that seem overwhelming to users. It even has a steeper learning curve for basic tasks, like updating work orders. 

So, going back to eSpace, the tool is welcoming because it’s so simple and logical in its design. It provides a smooth, more user-friendly experience.

eSpace Mobile Experience

The eSpace mobile app is great for technicians, but it isn’t perfect. It doesn’t mirror the desktop version, so consider it a pared-down option. Navigation is intuitive, so less-savvy users should be able to use it. The large buttons and labeled menus do most of the work.

However, missing calendar views and “server unavailable” errors are common. Oftentimes, users need to navigate back to find items. Additionally, since the app only supports basic in-app messaging (without SMS or email notifications), it falls short in comparison to tools like Coast, which are known for their strong calendar integration, real-time chat features and mobile-friendly features that streamline communication and reduce manual navigation.

Overall, the mobile experience supports basic updates and task tracking, but lacks the depth and flexibility of the desktop version. While the app is great for checking tasks and adding notes, many users say essential parts, like the full calendar, are difficult or impossible to use on their phones. Field teams who depend on mobile tools for complex workflows may find their productivity hampered.

eSpace Core Features & Functionality

Let’s take a closer look at some of eSpace’s core features to see how they could work for your business.

Work Order Management

eSpace makes work order management a breeze. Users can create, assign and track everything they need in just a few short steps. Click into open, in-progress or completed work orders first. Then, assign them to team members with due dates. The system will automatically update statuses in real-time, ensuring everyone is on the same page.

Seeing as how simple the process is, we decided to compare it to known competitor, FMX. It’s known for streamlined communication, automated workflows and easy work order creation. What we found is that FMX wins in terms of automation and communication, since it can handle high request volumes. Dispersed teams benefit from its real-time updates and automated routing.

However, eSpace wins for organizations seeking complete lifecycle asset management and strong preventive maintenance features. Users can tailor work orders and track everything throughout the asset lifecycle.

Preventive Maintenance

Recurring work orders, visible on the calendar, support scheduling preventive maintenance. Users can set specific intervals based on time or usage to reduce downtime. The calendar is clear and accessible, so it’s easy to spot upcoming tasks.

What makes eSpace stand out compared to competitors is that its preventive maintenance features are specifically tailored to the realities of church and ministry facilities. For example, many churches rely on volunteer or part-time staff who may not have a background in facility management. 

eSpace’s simple calendar interface and church-oriented terminology help these teams easily schedule and track tasks — like quarterly HVAC filter changes or annual roof inspections — without requiring specialized training. The calendar even syncs with church event schedules, which ensures maintenance doesn’t conflict with services, weddings or other gatherings, something generic facility tools often overlook.

Asset Management

Creating assets is simple, with fields for location, manufacturer and maintenance history. While it includes downtime tracking, the reporting depth isn’t ideal, which may affect users seeking granular analytics.

However, where eSpace shines is in recognizing the kinds of assets churches typically manage — like sound systems, pews, baptistries, lighting rigs or even church vans. For example, a church could enter a projector as an asset, noting its installation date, warranty details and last maintenance. 

The software keeps all of this information organized and tied to specific rooms or campuses, making it much easier for staff to stay on top of upkeep without digging through spreadsheets or paper records. 

Because these assets are often used heavily and expected to last many years, eSpace’s ability to schedule routine inspections and document maintenance history is particularly valuable to churches looking to protect their investments.

Communications Within Work Orders

Communication features include the ability to add comments and attach documents directly within work orders. It facilitates team collaboration and keeps all related information centralized. However, live chat or instant messaging within the platform is not available.

Reporting & Analytics

All tiers of the Work Order & Asset Management workspace offer an expanded report builder. But while reports are accessible, they lack advanced filtering and customization options that power users might expect.

Unique Features to eSpace

It’s worth noting that the tool integrates seamlessly with other popular facility management tools and calendar apps, including Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar, Gmail and Eventbrite. It’s a handy feature for teams that need to link maintenance schedules with broader organizational calendars.

eSpace Adaptability & Customization

Customization in eSpace is modest. Users can add or remove fields in work order forms and asset records, but cannot create entirely new custom fields or automate workflows extensively. Renaming fields and customizing views is possible but, again, basic, which may limit the ability to address more complex operational needs.

Automations are also minimal, with no support for advanced triggers or conditional workflows. For teams that require a high degree of software tailoring, eSpace might feel restrictive.

eSpace Customer Support

eSpace provides customer support mainly through email and a help center with articles and tutorials. While the help resources cover key areas, some users have reported slow response times from support teams. 

One central sticking point is that there is no live chat available. Users have to choose between phone or email, which could be a downside for organizations needing rapid assistance.

That said, user experiences showcase helpful documentation alongside available personalized support, creating a well-rounded support system for customers.

eSpace Pricing

eSpace offers competitive pricing plans; however, the pricing structure is a little convoluted. They have two products — the Event Scheduler and Work Order & Asset Management products — which each offer three paid plans and a custom, enterprise option. But then there are additional support options that cost more, depending on the level of onboarding and customer care you need:

1. Event Scheduler: Starting at $60 per month for a basic plan, this option provides over 100 spaces, multiple locations, unlimited users, multiple floor plans, custom layers and 50-plus events per month. Basic, Premium, Ultimate and custom-priced Enterprise all offer a personalized dashboard, custom forms, Outlook and Google integrations, multiple user roles and more.
2. Work Order & Asset Management: These plans offer the exact pricing as the even scheduler options, at $60-plus per month, with custom pricing available for Enterprise. Users enjoy access to more than one location, 100-plus pieces of equipment and spaces, unlimited users, multiple floor plans, custom layers and 50-plus work orders per month.

For comparison’s sake, Limble has a much more streamlined pricing structure. It features Standard (improves preventive maintenance), Premium+ (focuses on workflows and inventory) and Enterprise (suitable for multiple locations). All three plans have access to the mobile app, unlimited work orders and real-time communication. 

Still, Limble lacks something that eSpace does well: pricing transparency. With Limble, everything is customizable, so users must reach out for a quote. eSpace might be a little more convoluted in its structure, but prices are always visible.

Coast – The Better eSpace Alternative

While eSpace offers a solid entry point for SMB maintenance teams with affordable pricing and essential features, Coast stands out with superior adaptability and customization options. It enables users to tailor workflows extensively, automate tasks and enjoy a more seamless mobile app experience.

Here is a side-by-side comparison highlighting how Coast excels in key areas, especially adaptability, making it a strong choice for teams seeking flexibility and scalability.

Ease of Use	Clean interface, featuring an intuitive dashboard that simplifies creating and managing work orders.	More polished design with user-friendly workspaces.
Mobile Experience	Covers essential functions for field technicians but lacks full parity with the desktop platform.	Mobile-first design means that's ideal for on-the-go workers.
Core Features & Functionality	Strong work order management and preventive maintenance features, though reporting and communications could use more depth.	Strong asset and parts inventory management as well as work order tracking and real-time communication.
Adaptability & Customization	Basic customization options with field edits and simple view adjustments, but advanced automation and custom field creation are limited.	Advanced customizations for teams to build out their own workflows.
Customer Support	Support is primarily email-based, accompanied by helpful documentation; however, response times can be slow.	Users rave about the fast and helpful Customer Success team.
Pricing	Affordable pricing tiers make eSpace accessible, but no free plan is available.	A free plan, followed by competitively priced paid plans make Coast ideal for any size team.
Current Reviews	Users generally praise the ease of use and core features, but note limitations in mobile functionality and customization options.	Users love the mobile-first design and adaptability of the software, leaving room for teams to grow.