There is plenty of maintenance software — almost all of it for the contractor. equova is for the other side.
Search for «maintenance software» or «CMMS» and you will find capable tools. But almost all of them are built for the party that carries out the work — or for a corporation's facility management. equova sits on the client side: with the owner and the administrator who outsource the ventilation maintenance of their buildings, are liable for it, and need to know whether the maintenance they paid for was actually carried out.
The difference is not a feature list, it is a perspective. You set the target, control the outsourced work and keep the proof — even when you change the contractor.
Three camps of maintenance software — and what each lacks for the owner
The market falls into three groups. Each is good for its audience. None is built for the owner as the client.
Doer tools: software for the contractor
Example: Hoppe Wartungsplaner. A Windows application for inspection and maintenance documentation on site, sold as a one-off purchase from EUR 195.00 net (starter licence, single seat). According to the vendor, the audience is «everyone who … has to manage inspections and maintenance» — that is, the people carrying out the work and those responsible for occupational safety (source: wartungsplaner.de, hoppe-net.de, retrieved 2026-07-15).
What it lacks for the owner: The tool documents from the perspective of whoever does the work — not whoever commissions and controls it. The proof is created in the executing party's system. The very control and proof layer that must stay with the owner is not its purpose.
Enterprise CAFM/IWMS: platforms for corporate real estate
Examples: Planon, Loy & Hutz / waveware. Planon is an IWMS/CAFM for corporate real estate and facility management; Loy & Hutz offers a modular CAFM suite with more than 80 applications. Both are sold quote-only, with no public prices and no self-serve (source: planonsoftware.com, capterra.com, loyhutz.de, retrieved 2026-07-15).
What it lacks for the owner: These platforms serve corporate and multi-site FM with broad module landscapes and multi-month rollouts. For a single public or professional owner who only wants to control their ventilation maintenance, they are oversized in scope, price and implementation effort.
Inspector and inventory apps: tools for the field
Examples: febry VDI 6022 app, 4-check, Timly. The febry app and 4-check digitise the hygiene inspection under VDI 6022 / SWKI VA104 for the person performing it (no public price found in either case). Timly manages assets and inventory with a maintenance module at EUR 195/month (Essential+) or EUR 495/month (Professional) (source: febry.de, 4-check.com, timly.com/en/pricing, retrieved 2026-07-15).
What it lacks for the owner: The inspection apps are the tool of the person inspecting on site — not of the client who schedules those inspections and demands their proofs. Timly puts inventorying at the centre, not controlling and documenting the outsourced maintenance towards the service provider.
What «the owner's side» means in practice
The owner's side means you steer the outsourced maintenance instead of trusting it. In concrete terms, it is four things that software thinks through from the client's side.
You set the target. The maintenance concept under SWKI BT104 defines which maintenance and inspections are due, on which components, at which intervals. The contractor does not tell you what it has done — you define what is to be done.
You keep control. The dashboard shows, per property and installation, what is open, due, overdue or documented. No due inspection passes unnoticed.
The proof stays with you. For every maintenance step there is a photo proof, assigned to exactly one component, recorded in a revision-proof audit log. If you change the contractor, the history stays with the owner — not with the firm you are meant to be controlling.
Tender instead of trust. Instead of trusting one firm on request, you tender the scope defined in the maintenance concept to several contractors, receive structured quotes and compare them.
equova vs. classic maintenance software
The comparison along the criteria that matter from the owner's side. «Classic maintenance software» stands here for the doer and CAFM categories above; details and sources are given there.
| Criterion | Classic maintenance software | equova |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | the contractor or corporate FM | the client side (owner, administrator) |
| Photo proof per component | if present, from the executing party's perspective | yes, mandatory per maintenance step, assigned to a component |
| Tender & price comparison | usually not the purpose | yes, quotes from several contractors compared side by side |
| Proof stays on contractor change | often lives in the firm's or provider's system | yes, the history belongs to the organization |
| Pricing model | one-off desktop purchase (Hoppe) or quote-only (Planon, Loy & Hutz) | self-serve, in CHF tiered by installations |
| Data hosting | varies by vendor | in the EU, data protection under GDPR/DSG |
Competitor details from publicly available vendor websites (wartungsplaner.de, planonsoftware.com, loyhutz.de, timly.com, retrieved 2026-07-15).
When a doer or CAFM tool fits — and when equova
Honestly, without belittling the alternatives.
A doer tool like Hoppe fits if you are the contractor yourself and keep your own inspection and maintenance documentation — not if you control that of an external firm.
An enterprise CAFM platform like Planon or Loy & Hutz fits if you steer a large, mixed real-estate portfolio across many trades and can and want to carry the rollout of a broad FM platform.
equova fits if you outsource the maintenance of your ventilation installations, are liable for it, and want to control in a structured way whether the maintenance you paid for was carried out on every component — self-serve, in CHF, without a multi-month rollout. For a single installation with no recurrence, equova is deliberately not built; it pays off with the portfolio.
Frequently asked questions
Does equova replace our CAFM?
Is this like Hoppe Wartungsplaner?
Do the contractors need an account?
equova is on your side
There is maintenance software for the contractor and for corporate FM. For the owner who outsources, controls and is liable, there is equova. You set the target, see every due date and keep a revision-proof proof for every component — 14-day trial, no credit card, cancel monthly, export any time.