Is UniAsset a CMMS?
No—and here's why that matters.
CMMS tools are built for maintenance departments. UniAsset is built for organizations that need asset truth, cost intelligence, and accountability—without maintenance workflow complexity.
What a CMMS Is Good At
CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Systems) are powerful tools designed for organizations with dedicated maintenance departments and complex maintenance workflows.
If your organization has: a dedicated maintenance department, facilities technicians, work order routing, or service-level agreements—CMMS is purpose-built for you.
Why Most Organizations Don't Need a CMMS
Complexity Overhead
CMMS assumes you need workforce scheduling, multi-step approval workflows, and service-level agreement tracking. If you don't route work orders daily or dispatch technicians, these features add cost and complexity without delivering value.
Adoption Failure
CMMS tools are powerful but not intuitive. They require training and daily use to justify the investment. Organizations without maintenance departments struggle with adoption—teams find the tool too complex for their actual needs.
High Cost
Enterprise CMMS pricing reflects its comprehensive feature set. For organizations that don't need those features, the cost is difficult to justify compared to simpler, more focused alternatives.
Narrow Audience
CMMS is built for facilities and maintenance teams—not for finance, operations, or leadership. It tracks work orders well but often lacks visibility into total cost of ownership, depreciation, or organization-wide asset accountability.
The Reality Check:
If your organization doesn't have a maintenance department or doesn't route work orders regularly, CMMS is the wrong tool. You need asset visibility, cost intelligence, and accountability—not maintenance workflow complexity.
What a Physical Asset System of Record Is
A Physical Asset System of Record is the authoritative source of truth for what you own, where it is, what it costs, and who's accountable—built for the whole organization, not just maintenance teams.
The Core Difference
CMMS asks: "How do we manage maintenance work orders?"
A Physical Asset System of Record asks: "What do we own, what does it cost, and who's accountable?"
When UniAsset Is the Right Choice
SMB and Mid-Market Organizations
You need structure and accountability without enterprise CMMS complexity and cost.
Asset-Heavy, Not Maintenance-Heavy
You manage hundreds or thousands of assets but don't have a dedicated maintenance department.
Finance and Ops Involved
Both operations and finance need asset visibility—not just facilities or maintenance teams.
Need Truth, Not Tickets
You need to know what you own, what it costs, and who's accountable—without work order complexity.
Audit and Compliance Readiness
You need complete audit trails, historical records, and documentation management for compliance.
Cost Intelligence Matters
You want to track total cost of ownership, depreciation, and make data-driven replace-vs-repair decisions.
UniAsset fits organizations that need: durable asset records, cost visibility, and accountability—without paying for maintenance workflow features they don't use.
When UniAsset Is NOT the Right Choice
We're transparent about fit. UniAsset is not the right tool for every organization.
Large Enterprises with Dispatch Teams
If you have dedicated technician teams, complex workforce scheduling, and service-level agreements, CMMS is purpose-built for you.
Work-Order-Driven Maintenance Organizations
If your operations revolve around creating, routing, and tracking work orders daily, CMMS provides workflows UniAsset doesn't.
Highly Regulated Maintenance Workflows
Industries with strict regulatory maintenance requirements (aviation, nuclear, pharmaceutical manufacturing) need specialized CMMS with compliance certifications.
We believe in fit over features. If your organization matches the CMMS profile above, we'll be the first to say: you need a different tool. UniAsset is built for organizations that need asset intelligence without maintenance workflow complexity.
Quick Comparison
| Capability | CMMS | UniAsset |
|---|---|---|
| Complete asset history & audit trail | ||
| Preventive maintenance scheduling | ||
| Total cost of ownership tracking | Sometimes | |
| Depreciation & financial reporting | ||
| Work order routing & dispatch | ||
| Technician scheduling & workforce management | ||
| Organization-wide visibility (ops, finance, leadership) | Rarely | |
| Setup time | Weeks | 15 minutes |
| Best for | Maintenance departments | Whole organization |
Ready to See the Difference?
Try UniAsset free and see why organizations choose a Physical Asset System of Record over CMMS complexity.
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