Run your own maintenance helpdesk
Fabric gives a multi-site operator the helpdesk a managing agent would otherwise run for them: one place where site teams report faults, the operations team triages and assigns, and contractors update the job, without a management fee or a mark-up on every invoice.
The helpdesk is a phone and a person
In most multi-site food and drink businesses the maintenance helpdesk is one person’s mobile. Faults arrive by call, text and WhatsApp. That person emails contractors, chases them, answers the site’s questions and tries to remember what was agreed. When they are on holiday, nothing moves.
The alternative many groups choose is to outsource it. A managing agent runs a helpdesk, holds the contractor relationships and marks up the invoices. It takes the admin away, but it also takes the knowledge, the contractor relationships and a slice of every job with it, and the group ends up paying for people as well as the software.
Maintenance helpdesk software is the third option. Your own team keeps control of the helpdesk, but the routine work of logging, routing and chasing is done by the system. Site teams report in one place and can see progress. Contractors are told at once and update the job themselves. The operations team manages a queue, not a phone.
A helpdesk your operations team can actually run
Requests from every site
Site managers raise a job from their phone against the site or asset, with photos. No training needed beyond showing them once.
One queue to triage
New jobs land in the helpdesk view with priority, site and asset. Approve, reassign, merge duplicates or ask the site a question, all from the job.
Routing rules
Each site and asset type has a preferred contractor, so most jobs go to the right firm without anyone deciding. The exceptions are the ones the team looks at.
Contractors update by link
Contractors accept, give an ETA, add notes and close the job from a secure emailed link or the free portal. No chasing for updates.
The board
Open, overdue, awaiting parts, awaiting approval, complete. The whole estate on one screen, filtered by site, contractor or priority.
Approvals and invoices
Quotes and extras are approved on the job. Invoices are matched to completed work, so the helpdesk closes the loop on cost as well as the fix.
What you keep when you run it yourself
A managing agent brings a helpdesk and a supply chain, and charges for both. Running the helpdesk in Fabric keeps the contractor relationships, the asset history and the cost data inside your business. If a contractor underperforms, you can see it and change it. If you sell the business, the maintenance history goes with it.
| Managing agent | Fabric helpdesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Who holds the contractor relationships | The agent | You |
| Invoice mark-up | Common | None: you pay the contractor’s invoice |
| Management fee | Monthly, per site or per job | Software only, per site |
| Asset and job history | In the agent’s system | In your Fabric account, exportable |
| Site teams’ visibility | Through the agent | Direct, on the job |
If you would rather keep an agent, or you are an FM provider yourself, Fabric works for that too: see FM service providers.
What a maintenance helpdesk in Fabric gives you
- Every request logged, none lost in a phone
- Jobs routed to the right contractor without a person in the middle
- Site teams who can see progress instead of ringing
- A helpdesk that keeps working when the ops manager is away
- Contractor performance and spend you can see and act on
- No per-user fees, so everyone who needs access has it
Fabric is open now with a free 30-day trial. The helpdesk works with reactive maintenance, contractor management and planned maintenance out of the box.
Common questions
What is maintenance helpdesk software?
Maintenance helpdesk software is where maintenance requests from sites are received, triaged, assigned to contractors and tracked to completion. It gives the people raising requests visibility of progress and gives the operations team one queue to manage instead of a phone that never stops.
Do I need a dedicated helpdesk team to use Fabric?
No. Many groups run their helpdesk with one operations manager, because Fabric routes most jobs to the right contractor automatically. What the team does is approve, chase and decide, not re-key.
Can an FM service provider run a helpdesk for clients in Fabric?
Yes. FM service providers and managing agents can run their clients’ helpdesks in Fabric, with each client’s sites, contractors and data kept separate. See our page for FM service providers.
How do contractors receive and update jobs?
By a secure link emailed to them, with no login needed, or through the free contractor portal. They accept the job, give an ETA, add notes and photos and mark it complete. Everything they add shows on the job for the site and the helpdesk.
Is there a per-user fee for helpdesk users?
No. Fabric is priced per site with unlimited users, so every site manager, engineer and contractor can use it.
How much does Fabric cost?
Fabric Core is £79 per site per month, or £67 a month paid annually, with optional bolt-ons for planned maintenance, compliance, contractors and costs. Fabric Complete, with everything included, is £129 per site per month, excluding VAT. There are no per-user fees and no long contracts.
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Read moreRun your estate on Fabric.
Try it free for 30 days with your own sites. No card needed, and we help you set up.