Tracking building service and maintenance schedules: spreadsheet or software?
Short answer
Yes, a spreadsheet works as a service schedule and contractor log, and for a building with a handful of systems and one person in charge it is enough. It stops working when the person who knows the schedule leaves, when due dates pass unseen, or when the contracts, certificates and history of each item are scattered over inboxes and folders.
The lift, the boiler, the fire alarm, the pumps: each has a service interval, a contractor and a paper somewhere. A sheet with one row per item and a next-due date is the usual start.
The task: know what has to be serviced and when, who does it, and what was done last time.
A service schedule you can copy
Use one row per piece of equipment and service task, with the date it was last done and the interval. The next due date is calculated, so it cannot drift away from the other two.
| Equipment | Location | Service task | Contractor | Last done | Interval (days) | Next due | Contract or certificate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger lift | Entrance 1 | Technical inspection | Lift contractor | 2026-05-12 | 180 | 2026-11-08 | Service contract on file |
| Gas boiler | Boiler room | Annual service | Heating contractor | 2026-03-20 | 365 | 2027-03-20 | Certificate 2026 |
| Fire alarm | All entrances | Panel test | Safety contractor | 2026-08-01 | 90 | 2026-10-30 | Test report |
| Water pumps | Basement | Check and oil | Caretaker | 2026-09-05 | 120 | 2027-01-03 | None |
Paste into cell A1 of a new sheet (tab-separated):
Equipment Location Service task Contractor Last done Interval (days) Next due Contract or certificate Passenger lift Entrance 1 Technical inspection Lift contractor 2026-05-12 180 =E2+F2 Service contract on file Gas boiler Boiler room Annual service Heating contractor 2026-03-20 365 =E3+F3 Certificate 2026 Fire alarm All entrances Panel test Safety contractor 2026-08-01 90 =E4+F4 Test report Water pumps Basement Check and oil Caretaker 2026-09-05 120 =E5+F5 None
Next due = Last done + Interval (=E2+F2), formatted as a date. Sort by Next due and colour the rows that fall within the next 30 days. Keep each contract and certificate in one folder named after the equipment, and put the file name in the last column.
Signs you have outgrown the sheet
A schedule is only as good as the person who looks at it.
- 1
One person holds the schedule
If the dates live in one head or one file, a holiday or a resignation leaves the building without a schedule.
- 2
Due dates pass unseen
A sheet does not tell you that a service is due. Someone has to open it, sort it and look.
- 3
The history is scattered
Contracts, certificates, photos and acts sit in different inboxes and folders, and a new contractor starts from zero.
- 4
You do not know who is responsible
A name in a column is not an assignment. When a task is missed, nobody was asked.
- 5
Faults and service are separate lists
A breakdown reported by a resident and the planned service of the same boiler live in two places, so the history of the equipment is never in one view.
- 6
A warranty runs out unnoticed
A warranty end date typed into a notes column is found after the warranty has ended.
The same task in Unitify
Start on the Free plan ($0 / apartment / month). A plan, not a trial. No card, no expiry. The pricing page lists which plan includes the equipment register.
- 1
One card per piece of equipment
Name, engineering system, manufacturer, model, serial number, install date, warranty end and status, placed in a building, section, floor or unit. Each card names a primary and an additional responsible employee, and equipment can be nested, such as a bearing under a pump.
- 2
Contracts, manuals and photos on the card
Upload files to the card and mark each as a photo, manual, contract, certificate or other.
- 3
A maintenance plan per item
Add a plan with the task and the interval in days, and create a ticket for the equipment from it with one button. The screen does not yet take the date a service was last done, so it does not calculate the next due date; keep that date in your sheet. You can import an equipment list from an Excel or CSV file.
- 4
Faults on the same card
A request can be linked to a piece of equipment, and the card lists its related tickets, so planned service and breakdowns sit in one history.
The pricing page lists which plan includes the equipment register: Free is $0 / apartment / month, Base is $1 and Pro is $3. Prices follow the live pricing page, which shows euro excluding VAT in Europe.
What Unitify does not do here
- Unitify does not remind you when a service is due and does not yet calculate the next due date on screen. Creating the ticket on time is your step.
- There is no register of contractors. The responsible person on a card is an employee of your organization, so name the contractor in the plan’s task text or file the contract on the card.
- It does not replace the inspections your law requires or an official building record. The interval is the one you enter, from your law and your contracts.
- It is built for owner-occupied buildings run by an association or a management company.
Service schedule: questions
Can I keep a building maintenance schedule in Excel or Google Sheets?
Yes. One row per piece of equipment and service task, with the date it was last done, the interval and a calculated next due date, is enough for a building with a few systems and one person in charge.
What should a service schedule contain?
The equipment, where it is, the service task, who does it, the date it was last done, the interval in days, the next due date and the contract or certificate that goes with it.
Does Unitify remind me when a service is due?
No. The plan stores the task and the interval, and you create the ticket from it. Keep the due dates in your sheet for now.
Can I attach contracts and certificates to the equipment?
Yes. Files go on the equipment card and are marked as a photo, manual, contract, certificate or other.
Can I import my equipment list?
Yes, from an Excel or CSV file. Equipment can be placed in a building, a section, a floor or a unit.
Keep reading
Try it on one building
Sign up for the free plan, add one building and move one task over. Or book a demo if you want to see it on your own building first.