What is CAFM software?
CAFM stands for computer-aided facility management – facility management supported by software. A CAFM system replaces the mix of spreadsheets, binders, emails and paper notes that many organizations still use to manage their buildings. It answers three questions at any time: What do we have? (buildings, rooms, assets), What needs to be done? (maintenance, inspections, breakdowns) and What has been done? (records, hours, costs).
The term is often used interchangeably with "facility management software." Related, but narrower in scope, is the CMMS (maintenance management software), which focuses mainly on maintaining machinery and equipment.
Which features a CAFM system needs today
Vendor feature lists are long. For most organizations, though, six building blocks decide whether the software gets used day to day – or whether spreadsheets are back in charge after three months.
1. Property and asset register
Buildings, floors, rooms and equipment in a clean hierarchy. Every item needs documents, photos, manufacturer data and maintenance data. Nothing else works without this register – it is the foundation.
2. Maintenance and inspection planning
Recurring maintenance by interval (for example every 6 months) and ideally also by meter reading (for example every 500 operating hours). Due tasks must be created automatically and escalate when nobody reacts. Legally required inspections should be flagged as such.
3. Breakdown and ticket management
Reports from users, tenants or employees land as a ticket with a status, priority and assignee – instead of in one person's inbox. Particularly effective: QR codes on equipment and rooms that let anyone report a problem without logging in. The ticket then already knows which piece of equipment is affected.
4. Mobile use on site
The work happens in the basement, on the roof and in the mechanical room – not at a desk. A CAFM system has to work as well on a smartphone as on a PC: open a ticket, log time, attach a photo, close it.
5. Records and documentation
Who did what, and when? After damage or during an inspection by an insurer or authority, a complete audit trail is what counts. Good systems log changes automatically and generate reports at the click of a button.
6. Roles, clients and service providers
Maintenance technicians, engineering, property management, outside contractors and owners need different permissions. If you look after several properties or customers, you also need separate client accounts.
Checklist: comparing CAFM vendors
| Criterion | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Getting started | Can you start without a consultant or a project phase? Is there a demo that doesn't require a sales call? |
| Ease of use | Can a maintenance technician find their way around without training? Let the future users test it themselves. |
| Mobile | Does everything work in the browser on a smartphone? Can the application be installed as an app? |
| Data import | Can existing spreadsheets (rooms, equipment) be imported? |
| Pricing model | Cancelable monthly or a multi-year contract? Setup fees? Cost per user or per property? |
| Data protection | Where are the servers located? Is there a data processing agreement (DPA)? |
| Integrations | Webhooks or an API to connect other systems (for example ERP or accounting)? |
| Growth | Can you add more buildings, clients and modules later without buying again? |
How to implement CAFM software in 6 steps
Most CAFM projects fail not because of the software, but because of the attempt to model everything perfectly on day one. Work in small, usable steps instead. Using Maintably as an example:
- Start with one building. Under Buildings (Gebäude), create a single property – the one with the most breakdowns. Add floors and rooms only as far as you need them for reports.
- Capture the 20 most important pieces of equipment. Heating, ventilation, elevator, fire protection systems, gates: under Equipment (Geräte), a name, location, manufacturer and a photo of the nameplate are enough. Completeness can come later.
- Set up maintenance plans. Under Maintenance plans (Wartungspläne), enter the interval for each piece of equipment – or choose a meter reading as the trigger. Flag legally required inspections. From now on, due dates appear in the Maintenance calendar (Wartungskalender).
- Print and attach QR codes. Under QR codes (QR-Codes), print labels for equipment and rooms. Anyone who scans a code lands directly in a report form – the ticket is linked to the right piece of equipment.
- Invite the team and assign roles. Maintenance technicians and engineering get tickets and maintenance tasks, property management sees reports, and outside service providers see only their own work orders.
- Expand after four weeks. Only once the team works with tickets and maintenance every day should you add more buildings, key tracking, meters, cleaning schedules or inspections.
How much does CAFM software cost?
The range is wide. Classic on-premise systems from large vendors quickly run into five-figure amounts for licenses and implementation, plus support contracts. Cloud solutions (SaaS) are usually billed monthly – by user, property or feature set. Besides the list price, watch for hidden costs: setup, training, data migration, integrations and minimum contract terms.
For smaller portfolios, it is worth looking at vendors where you can start without a contract and test the software with real data before any money changes hands.
CAFM for small and mid-sized organizations
For a long time, CAFM was considered a topic for large corporations and big property managers. That has changed: property management companies, housing cooperatives, schools, hotels, medical practices and commercial businesses have the same obligations – operator responsibility, inspection deadlines, documentation – but neither the time nor the budget for an implementation project. What counts for them: quick to get started, easy to use and affordable.
Maintably is built for exactly that: a CAFM system in the browser, with tickets, maintenance plans, QR codes, key tracking, meters, inspections and documents – multi-client capable and with no installation.