Preventive Maintenance Software: 7 Best Solutions for 2024

Facility managers and maintenance pros: Wouldn’t it be great if you could predict when a piece of equipment needs maintenance? Preventive maintenance software does just that, acting as an intelligent assistant that tracks planned maintenance repairs, reminds you when it’s time for routine maintenance check-ups and catches problems before they snowball into unexpected equipment failures.

If your business is new to digital maintenance, buckle up — we’re about to explore some game-changing tools in the computerized maintenance management system software (CMMS software) space.

What Makes the Best Preventive Maintenance Software?

Think of preventive maintenance software as your maintenance team’s secret weapon. It schedules recurring upkeep tasks for all your critical equipment and assets, acting like a super-smart calendar that knows when each machine needs a little TLC.

When comparing software solutions, focus on how well each one handles a preventive maintenance (PM) program. Top-notch options excel at scheduling regular inspections, which keeps operations running smoothly. You’ll also want to look for tools to set up daily, weekly or monthly reminders for various tasks.

As almost always is the case, communication is key. That means quality PM software should include both in-app messaging as well as chat capabilities with work orders. Your team can message, share updates and solve problems without switching apps. 

Every business is unique, so it’s crucial to find a PM software that prioritizes customization and lets you tailor it to your specific needs. You should be able to create custom fields, adjust notification settings and set up workflows that match your team’s processes.

Remember, the goal of any solid preventive maintenance plan is to prevent breakdowns, extend equipment lifespan and optimize your maintenance strategy in an effort to avoid costly repairs. The benefits of preventive maintenance are vast, and the right software can transform your operations, making your job easier in the process. Here are seven options that can help enhance your preventive maintenance program.

Preventive Maintenance Software at a Glance

Coast – For Customizable Recurring Scheduling

Coast stands out with its flexible preventive maintenance scheduling options. You can set up recurring reminders on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to make sure that no maintenance task slips through the cracks. Businesses with diverse equipment that requires different types of maintenance frequencies will find this feature especially useful.

Key Features

• Preventive maintenance notifications, dashboards and alerts: Coast offers comprehensive maintenance management tools. Users receive timely notifications for scheduled maintenance, while intuitive dashboards provide a quick overview of pending tasks, completed work and upcoming schedules. Customizable alerts ensure that critical maintenance activities are flagged and addressed promptly, helping to prevent unexpected breakdowns and minimize equipment downtime. For example, a restaurant chain could use Coast to schedule regular restaurant equipment maintenance across multiple locations, ensuring food safety compliance.
• Customization capabilities: One of Coast’s standout features is its high level of customization. Users can tailor various fields within the mobile app to match their specific needs. The software’s flexibility allows maintenance technicians to modify work orders, asset data and maintenance logs to meet their organization’s unique needs.
• Enhanced team communication: Coast excels at facilitating communication between maintenance teams. The app allows for seamless interaction within work orders through an integrated messaging system. Team members can easily exchange information, ask questions and provide updates directly within the context of each task. Additionally, uploading photos to work orders helps document disruptions and complete work visually, improving clarity and reducing misunderstandings. In the property management industry, Coast enables maintenance staff to communicate effectively about repairs across multiple properties, streamlining operations and enhancing tenant satisfaction.

Coast Pros

• User-friendly interface with a minimal learning curve
• Highly customizable to fit various industry needs
• Strong focus on team collaboration and communication
• Comprehensive PM scheduling and reminder system
• Regular updates and responsive customer support

Coast Cons

• Advanced features require higher-tier plans
• Can be challenging to integrate certain third-party tools

Coast Price

Coast offers a tiered pricing structure to accommodate different team sizes and needs:

• Free plan: $0 per user/month, offering basic features like unlimited messages, cards and limited file uploads
• Starter plan: $20 per user/month, including custom views, workspace permissions and unlimited file uploads
• Pro plan: $39 per user/month, adding custom workflows, reporting, dashboards and prioritized support
• Enterprise plan: Custom pricing featuring multi-site management tools and customizable dashboards

Coast’s pricing model makes it accessible for small- to medium-sized businesses while providing scalability for larger organizations requiring more advanced preventive maintenance management functionalities.

STEL Order – For Field-Service Businesses

STEL Order caters specifically to field-service businesses with its preventive maintenance offerings. The software focuses on streamlining PM tasks for teams working in various locations, ensuring efficient management of critical assets and work orders across different sites.

Key Features

• Asset management: STEL Order provides robust asset management capabilities. Users can track equipment details, maintenance history and performance metrics. The system allows for easy categorization of assets, assignment of maintenance schedules and monitoring of asset lifecycles. Field-service businesses can increase uptime and extend asset lifespans using this comprehensive approach. For example, HVAC service companies can use STEL Order to track maintenance schedules for air-conditioning units across multiple client sites.
• Third-party invoicing: A standout feature of STEL Order is its ability to invoice third parties. This feature is handy for field-service companies with multiple clients or subcontractors. End users can create and send invoices directly from the platform, simplifying the billing process. STEL Order streamlines operations and improves cash flow for service-oriented businesses by integrating financial tasks with maintenance management. This feature is particularly beneficial for landscaping businesses managing multiple properties, enabling them to bill various clients for regular maintenance services easily.

STEL Order Pros

• Integrated work order management system tailored for field services
• Comprehensive asset tracking and management
• Ability to generate and send invoices within the platform
• Unlimited document storage and automatic data backups
• Specifically designed for field-service businesses

STEL Order Cons

• Users with specific requirements have limited customization options
• May have a steeper learning curve for teams transitioning from simpler systems
• Pricing structure not be as flexible for smaller teams or growing businesses

STEL Order Price

STEL Order offers a straightforward pricing model:

• 15-day free trial: Provides complete access to all features and support
• Monthly plan: $60/month for one user, with additional users at $30/month each
• Annual plan: $48/month for one user, with additional users at $24/month each
• Two-year plan: $45/month for one user, with additional users at $22.50/month each

STEL Order offers special pricing for small and medium field-service companies. Including all key features in the base price ensures that users can access comprehensive tools without hidden costs. However, the per-user pricing model may become expensive for larger teams or companies with many field technicians, potentially limiting scalability for rapidly growing organizations.

Limble – For Real-Time Efficiency

Limble stands out with its real-time reporting capabilities for preventive maintenance tasks. The cloud-based software provides maintenance teams with real-time data on task completion, resource allocation and overall maintenance performance, allowing them to track and analyze their operations instantly. Having real-time insight enables quick decisions and efficient resource management.

Key Features

• Quality reporting on KPIs: Limble delivers comprehensive reports on key performance indicators (KPIs) related to maintenance operations. Users can access detailed historical data on time spent on tasks, the ratio of planned versus unplanned maintenance activities and task duration. These reports help maintenance managers identify bottlenecks, optimize workflows and improve overall efficiency in their preventive maintenance efforts. For example, Limble can track hotel maintenance tasks in the hospitality industry, helping managers ensure rooms and facilities are always guest-ready.
• Multi-language support: Limble supports more than 33 languages, so it’s an ideal choice for international organizations and businesses with diverse teams. This feature doesn’t hinder language differences, allowing seamless collaboration across regions and departments. It’s particularly valuable for companies with global operations or multilingual environments. This feature is handy for multinational manufacturing companies, enabling maintenance teams in different countries to use the software in their native language.

Limble Pros

• Offline mode allows users to work without internet connectivity, ideal for remote locations
• Detailed maintenance logs provide real-time, accurate documentation of activities
• Multi-language support for use in diverse, international teams
• Comprehensive KPI reporting for data-driven decision-making

Limble Cons

• Might be less intuitive for new users compared to some competitors
• Limited customization options may not suit highly specific maintenance processes
• Advanced reporting features require higher-tier plans

Limble Price

Limble offers a tiered pricing structure to cater to different organizational needs:

• Basic plan: Free, designed to help teams transition from paper-based systems to digital work orders
• Standard plan: $28 per user/month, offering advanced preventative maintenance features and real-time KPI reporting
• Premium+ plan: $69 per user/month, providing automated workflows and streamlined inventory management
• Enterprise plan: Custom pricing, optimizing maintenance operations across multiple locations with advanced controls and customization

Limble’s pricing model makes it accessible for small teams looking to digitize their maintenance processes. The Standard plan provides more robust features for teams seeking detailed analytics and preventive maintenance capabilities. The per-user pricing allows for scalability, though it may become costly for larger organizations with many users.

eMaint – For Extensive Asset Management

eMaint offers easy-to-navigate asset management that makes it an efficient choice for maintenance teams. It’s particularly helpful when users need to establish parent-child relationships between assets and their components, allowing for a more organized approach to asset management. This feature enables users to understand how different parts relate to one another and to track maintenance needs accordingly. 

Key Features

• User-friendly interface: eMaint’s robust design offers a centralized hub that makes it easy to track asset maintenance history.
• Advanced maintenance tracking: Real-time data enables maintenance managers to make quick decisions about asset utilization that inform operational efficiency.

eMaint Pros

• A design that focuses more on functionality instead of aesthetics
• Detailed reports, charts and tables
• Ability to attach important documentation to assets

eMaint Cons

• Can be information-dense for new users
• Initial setup can be challenging if implementing too many features at once

eMaint Price

eMaint provides a tiered pricing structure to accommodate various organization sizes and needs:

• Team plan: $69 per user/month
• Premium plan: $85 per user/month
• Enterprise plan: Custom pricing for large teams requiring advanced customization and security features

eMaint’s pricing structure caters to varying business sizes and needs, from small teams to large enterprises that require extensive preventive maintenance solutions. Just note that it’s team plan requires three users to start.

FMX – For Floorplan Mapping

FMX offers similar asset record storage and preventive maintenance scheduling, but one of it’s more unique features is the floorplan visualization. This allows users to see all of their assets on a facility map, which can be especially helpful when training new team members on specific maintenance routes and the like.

Key Features

• Automated reporting: Users can auto-generate reports to get insight on completion rates, proactive versus reactive maintenance strategies and more.
• Floorplan mapping: FMX makes it super simple to find equipment by following intuitive floorplans that highlight asset locations with a colorful dot.

FMX Pros

• Ability to scan asset barcodes to get work history and warranty information easiily
• Option to schedule time-based or meter-based PM activities
• Store instructions for individual PM tasks

FMX Cons

• Equipment manuals and procedural documents can be difficult to navigate in the software
• Reports section sometimes missing different lists that users need

FMX Price

FMX requires you to request a personalized quote to learn more about what the product costs.

Fiix – For Third-Party Integrations

Fiix offers comprehensive preventive maintenance software with a strong focus on detailed asset management. The system allows users to create extensive asset inventories that integrate seamlessly with preventive maintenance work orders. With it’s third-party integrations, Fiix also makes it easy for maintenance teams that rely on other software.

Key Features

• Robust integration capabilities: Fiix stands out with its ability to connect with various business systems, including enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools, SCADA systems and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These integrations enable real-time data flow between systems, enhancing overall operational efficiency and providing a holistic view of maintenance needs. For example, Fiix can integrate with production line sensors in manufacturing to trigger maintenance alerts based on equipment performance.
• Advanced analytics and reporting: Users can generate customized reports on KPIs, asset performance and maintenance metrics. These insights help proactive maintenance teams make data-driven decisions and optimize their preventive maintenance strategies, leading to improved asset reliability and reduced downtime.
• Free version availability: Fiix offers a free version with basic maintenance management functionalities. Smaller teams and organizations with limited budgets can implement digital maintenance management without incurring financial obligations.

Fiix Pros

• Ability to attach and store files for each asset, including service manuals and manufacturer recommendations, enhancing accessibility of crucial information
• Option to enhance work orders with photos, task lists and suggested spare parts, improving clarity and efficiency
• Mobile access for technicians to all necessary information, facilitating onsite maintenance
• Comprehensive integration capabilities with other business systems

Fiix Cons

• Steep learning curve reported by some users, potentially requiring additional training
• Extensive features may overwhelm users transitioning from simpler systems

Fiix Price

Fiix provides a tiered pricing structure to accommodate various organization sizes and needs:

• Free plan: Offers basic work order management and asset hierarchies
• Basic plan: $45 per user/month, includes unlimited preventive maintenance tasks
• Professional plan: $75 per user/month, provides multi-site management and AI-powered insights
• Enterprise plan: Custom pricing for large teams requiring advanced customization and security features

Annual billing for paid plans comes with one month free. Fiix’s pricing structure caters to a wide range of organization sizes and needs, from small teams to large enterprises requiring comprehensive maintenance solutions. The per-user model allows for scalability but may become costly for organizations with many users.

AkitaBox – For Focusing on Facilities Management

Now, this is preventive maintenance software for facility maintenance and management. The platform leverages preventive maintenance strategies, asset tracking and space management to improve facility operations. It helps organizations minimize unplanned downtime, extend the lifespan of facility assets and maintain buildings more effectively.

Key Features

• Location-based facility management: AkitaBox uses a unique location-based approach to facility management. Users can visualize and manage assets based on their physical location within the facility. It allows maintenance teams to quickly locate equipment, plan efficient inspection routes and manage space more effectively. It’s beneficial for large facilities or organizations managing multiple sites.
• Industry-specific tools: AkitaBox offers specialized tools for healthcare, education and government facilities. These tools address each sector’s unique challenges and requirements, providing targeted solutions for facility managers. With this industry-specific approach, users can access features and workflows relevant to their operational context. For example, in healthcare, AkitaBox can help track medical equipment maintenance schedules and ensure compliance with health regulations. In education, it can manage classroom and laboratory equipment upkeep.
• Asset lifecycle management: The software provides comprehensive asset lifecycle management capabilities. Users can track the entire lifecycle of facility assets from acquisition to disposal, including maintenance history, depreciation and replacement planning. A holistic view of asset maintenance, replacement and budgeting helps organizations make informed decisions.

AkitaBox Pros

• Industry-specific tools suit the unique needs of different sectors, making them more relevant and usable
• Location-based management improves efficiency in asset tracking and maintenance planning
• Comprehensive asset lifecycle management capabilities support long-term facility planning
• User-friendly interface with visual floor plans for easy navigation and asset location

AkitaBox Cons

• Limited customization options for users with highly specific or unique requirements
• May have a steeper learning curve for organizations transitioning from traditional methods
• Some users report that certain advanced features could be more intuitive than basic functions

AkitaBox Price 

AkitaBox uses a unique pricing model:

• The software charges building owners and operators according to the area implemented in AkitaBox
• Users should contact the company directly for a quote tailored to their facility size and requirements
• Smaller organizations might find this pricing structure less cost-effective, but larger facilities may find it more valuable

Compared to per-user models, AkitaBox’s area-based pricing can be advantageous for large facilities with extensive square footage. Still, it may be less flexible for organizations with smaller spaces or those looking to scale gradually.

Choosing the Right Preventive Maintenance Software for 2024

The ideal preventive maintenance software combines customization, efficient scheduling, detailed asset tracking and team collaboration. While AkitaBox, Limble, eMaint, FMX, Fiix and STEL Order each have unique strengths, Coast stands out for its flexibility and user-friendliness across diverse industries. 

However, the best fit will depend on your specific business needs and priorities. To see if Coast aligns with your maintenance goals, sign up for a free account today and explore its features firsthand.