Work orders usually start on paper, a whiteboard or a group chat. That works until a job falls through the gap between the person who took the call and the person who does the work, or until the filter change everyone remembered last spring is forgotten this one.
This guide is for a small business that sends people out to do jobs, or keeps its own equipment and buildings running: a trades or cleaning company, a repair shop, a facility or maintenance team of one to fifteen people.
Two kinds of work order software
Most work order software is built for one of two jobs, and picking the wrong kind is the most common mistake.
- Maintenance software, often called a CMMS, looks after your own things: machines, vehicles, buildings. It is built around assets, preventive maintenance on a schedule, spare parts and requests from the people who use the equipment. MaintainX, Fiix, UpKeep and Limble are in this group.
- Field service software runs jobs at customers' sites. It is built around customers, quotes, scheduling the team, invoices and getting paid. Jobber, Housecall Pro, BlueFolder and ServiceTitan are in this group.
If the equipment is yours, look at the first kind. If the customer pays you for the visit, look at the second.
When a spreadsheet is still enough
Keep the spreadsheet if all of this is true:
- One person hands out the work.
- A few jobs a day, in one place or one area.
- Nothing has to repeat on a schedule, or you can keep the few repeat jobs in a calendar.
- Nobody needs to update a job from their phone while standing next to it.
Microsoft's free Excel work order tracker is a fine start. Make it sturdier: give every work order its own number, keep the status to a fixed list (open, scheduled, in progress, done, invoiced), record the dates it was opened and closed, and never delete a row. A finished job stays in the sheet as history.
Signs you've outgrown it
- People call or text the office with updates, and someone types them in.
- A job that repeats, such as a monthly clean or a yearly inspection, is missed because nobody added the next one.
- Photos and customer signatures live in phones and email threads.
- Nobody can quickly answer "what did we do at this site last time?"
- Jobs get done and then never invoiced.
Questions to answer before you compare tools
- Whose equipment is it? Yours points to maintenance software, your customers' to field service software.
- How many people need to log in? Maintenance tools charge per user. Field service tools often sell a plan with a number of users included, then charge for each extra one.
- Does work repeat on a schedule? Check how many repeating jobs the free or cheapest plan allows. Several cap them.
- Do you track parts and stock? Parts inventory and purchase orders often start one plan up.
- Do you invoice from the job, and do your books live in QuickBooks or Xero? Check which plan connects to your accounting software.
- Do jobs need checklists, photos or a signature?
- Who asks for work? If staff or tenants send requests, check whether those people need a paid login. On MaintainX and UpKeep they don't.
Maintenance software (CMMS)
MaintainX
MaintainX has a free Basic plan with unlimited work orders and unlimited requester users. Its limits sit elsewhere: 2 active repeating work orders, and images on 5 work orders a month. Essential costs $20 per user a month billed yearly, or $25 monthly, and lifts both limits. Premium, at $65 a user a month billed yearly or $75 monthly, adds parts inventory, purchase orders and time and cost tracking. MaintainX counts a user as anyone with their own login in the app; people who only send requests are free.
Fiix
Fiix has a free plan that covers work orders, the mobile app, unlimited assets, parts and supplies inventory, and 25 active preventive maintenance tasks, for a limited number of users and without a credit card. Basic costs $45 per user a month and removes the limit on preventive maintenance. Professional, at $75, adds several sites, purchasing and inventory cycle counts. You can pay month to month or yearly, and Fiix says there are no setup or hardware fees.
UpKeep
UpKeep has no free plan, only a free trial. Essential is listed at $24 per user a month with unlimited work orders and locations. Preventive maintenance scheduling, custom checklists and parts inventory start on Premium at $55. UpKeep also sells setup packages, from $500 for training to $1,500 for setup, data import and training. View-only users, requesters and outside contractors on a shared link don't need a paid license.
Limble
Limble doesn't publish prices. Its pricing page has a calculator and a quote form. The Standard plan includes the mobile app, unlimited work orders and preventive maintenance, and unlimited requesters; spare parts and purchase orders come with Premium+.
For a team of five, the maintenance tools work out like this: MaintainX Essential $100 a month billed yearly, UpKeep Essential $120 at its listed price, Fiix Basic $225.
Field service software
Jobber
Jobber prices by plan and team size, in US dollars, with three ways to pay. Core, for one user, is $29 a month billed yearly, $39 with a one-year commitment paid monthly, or $49 with no commitment. It covers online booking, quotes, invoices and online payments. Connect starts at $99 a month billed yearly for one user ($139 with no commitment) and adds QuickBooks Online sync, automatic reminders, checklists and time tracking. Connect with 5 users is $149 a month billed yearly. Extra users cost $29 a month each. The free trial runs 14 days on the Grow plan, without a credit card.
Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro's Basic plan is $59 a month billed yearly, or $79 monthly, for one user, with scheduling, estimates, invoicing, payments and a price book. Essentials, at $149 a month billed yearly or $189 monthly, includes 5 users and adds QuickBooks Online sync, checklists and photo reports. Max, at $299 a month billed yearly or $329 monthly, includes 8 users, charges $35 a month for each extra one, and adds recurring service plans. The free trial runs 14 days, without a credit card.
BlueFolder
BlueFolder charges per user with a minimum number of users: Pro at $62.50 a user a month for at least 2 users, Pro Plus at $92 for at least 3, and Enterprise at $110 for at least 5. Every plan has unlimited work orders, invoicing and signature capture. Recurring jobs are capped at 5 on Pro and 10 on Pro Plus. Equipment tracking and service contracts start on Pro Plus, and the QuickBooks and Xero integrations come only with Enterprise. There are no setup fees or long-term contracts.
ServiceTitan
ServiceTitan prices per technician and only on request, so you can't compare its cost from its website. Ask for a quote with your team size before a demo.
The tools compared
| Kind | Free plan | Paid from | Watch for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet | Either | Yes | Free | No updates from the field, no reminders |
| MaintainX | Maintenance | Yes, 2 repeating work orders | $20 a user a month, billed yearly | Parts and purchase orders from $65 |
| Fiix | Maintenance | Yes, limited users, 25 active preventive tasks | $45 a user a month | Several sites and purchasing from $75 |
| UpKeep | Maintenance | No, free trial | $24 a user a month | Preventive maintenance and parts from $55 |
| Limble | Maintenance | No | On request | No published prices |
| Jobber | Field service | No, 14-day trial | $29 a month for 1 user, billed yearly | QuickBooks sync from Connect, $99 |
| Housecall Pro | Field service | No, 14-day trial | $59 a month for 1 user, billed yearly | QuickBooks sync from Essentials, $149 |
| BlueFolder | Field service | No | $62.50 a user a month, 2 users minimum | QuickBooks and Xero only on Enterprise |
How to choose in an afternoon
Answer the first question above, and drop the kind that doesn't fit. Shortlist two tools of the right kind and put the same week through both: ten real jobs, one job that repeats, one job that needs a photo or a signature, and, for field service, one invoice that goes all the way into your books. Then ask the person who does the work, not the person who hands it out, which one they would rather use every day. They are the one who has to keep it up to date.