What is the best facilities software when work orders run on spreadsheets and email?
A custom system built by Black Badger is the best facilities software for a team that runs work orders in spreadsheets and email or works around a vendor portal, because the team already has a process and needs software that follows it. UpKeep is the best product to buy instead, since its entry plans are priced on the page and the first step can be small.
Chains that would hand vendor management to a service
Built for multi-location businesses that use outside repair vendors
Offered as software, a managed service or a provider marketplace
No price, plan names or tiers on the site
A single-site team is outside the stated audience
The site does not say how each form of the offer is priced
The ranking, entry by entry
1 Custom build by Black Badger
Best for teams with a working process and no software that follows it
This is an outgrowing list, so the custom route goes first. A facilities team that runs 40 buildings from a shared inbox and a workbook has built a process that works and outgrown the tools holding it. Black Badger publishes this guide and builds custom software. We take the columns, the approval emails and the vendor list you already use and turn them into a system you own.
Watch for. If your process is still unsettled, or you would be content to work the way a CMMS expects, buy a product. A build is for a team that knows how it wants to work.
How it charges
One-time build scoped in writing, then running costs such as hosting
Main limit
Needs a scoping call first, and suits companies of 50 or more employees
Best for teams that want to replace the spreadsheet with a product fast
If you want a product, UpKeep is the easiest first step off a spreadsheet. The Essential and Premium plans have a published per-user price, and people who only submit requests or view work need no paid license. That keeps the first move small. The limit comes with growth, because multi-site support and workflow automation are listed only on the quoted Enterprise plan.
Watch for. Implementation packages are extra, and the price climbs from Training Only to Expanded Training. Decide how much help the team needs to leave the spreadsheet behind.
How it charges
Per user on lower plans, higher plans quoted
Main limit
Multi-site, SSO and API access are held to the quoted Enterprise plan
Best for teams that expect to add sites after leaving spreadsheets
Limble CMMS ranks third as a step up. It suits a maintenance organization that wants a CMMS now and expects to climb through plans as it adds sites. A team used to email approvals should note that approval workflows are listed only on Enterprise, along with multi-location tools and custom roles. Vendor and purchase order management start one plan lower, at Premium Plus.
Watch for. The Standard plan limits Work Orders with Attached Procedures to 3 per month. A team moving its checklists out of spreadsheets will need more.
How it charges
Priced through a calculator or a quote, by plan
Main limit
Multi-location tools and custom roles are held to Enterprise
Best for organizations whose requests arrive by email from many people
FMX is fourth. If the problem is the inbox, with requests arriving from hundreds of staff or occupants, FMX is aimed at that pattern of many requesters and a smaller maintenance staff. Request-only users are not billable, so everyone who emails you today can submit properly instead. It ranks below the two CMMS products because the price is quoted and a one-time implementation fee applies.
Watch for. Custom workflows are one of the things that set the quote. If you want your email approval chain rebuilt, say so before the price is given.
How it charges
Quoted by billable users and add-ons, plus an implementation fee
Main limit
One-time implementation fee, with a quote driven by users and add-ons
Best for multi-site operators moving vendor dispatch out of email
Corrigo ranks fifth as a next step and suits a different starting point. If the spreadsheet you have outgrown is a list of vendors by store and the email is dispatching them, Corrigo is built for that work in volume. It is a large move from a workbook. Pricing is quote-based, enterprise rollouts often include professional services, and vendor management is an optional module with its own price.
Watch for. Ask what a first phase limited to one region would cost. A full rollout is hard to judge from a spreadsheet starting point.
How it charges
Quoted by scale, users, integrations and service level
Main limit
Optional modules and professional services cost extra
Best for chains that would hand vendor management to a service
ServiceChannel is sixth here. For a multi-location business with more vendor email than it can handle, it offers three routes, a software platform, a managed facilities service and a service provider marketplace. The managed service is the notable one for this list, because some teams leaving spreadsheets want to do less of the work themselves. A company with one site or its own maintenance staff is outside the stated audience.
Watch for. The site names no plans and no prices. Ask how the managed service is charged and what stays with your own team, and get the answer in writing.
How it charges
Quoted after a demo, no pricing page
Main limit
No price shown, and the site names no plans or tiers
This list is for the facilities team of an organization with 50 or more employees that runs work orders through spreadsheets, shared inboxes and phone calls, or has a vendor portal that forces workarounds. We ranked next steps by how closely they can follow the process the team already has.
Custom is first here because this is an outgrowing list. On our general list it is second, and it is not first on any other list on this site.
Questions buyers ask
How does a facilities team know it has outgrown its work order spreadsheet?
A facilities team has outgrown its work order spreadsheet when the file has more than one author and nobody trusts it. Other signs are a request that sat in an inbox because the person was on leave, a vendor paid twice, and a compliance inspection nobody can prove was done. Any one of those is a cost the spreadsheet causes.
What should a facilities team do when its vendor portal is the problem?
When a vendor portal is the problem, list what your team does outside the portal, such as approvals by email, a side list of not-to-exceed limits and invoices checked by hand. If that list is short, configuration may fix it. If it is long, the portal is modeling another company's process, and you should scope a system built on yours.
Is a custom facilities system too big a step up from a spreadsheet?
A custom build is not too big a step from a spreadsheet when the process is settled. A spreadsheet operation has already decided its columns, its statuses and who approves what. Black Badger starts with discovery and a written scope, and you see working screens during the build, so you can check the work as it is built.