Fixray is your maintenance spreadsheet — on a phone, with photos and alerts.
A shared sheet gives you a list. Fixray gives your team the same list they can fill from their phone in seconds — with photos, push alerts, assignments, and a history that doesn't reset every month.
| Capability | Spreadsheet | Fixray |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free with Office 365 / Google Workspace | Free on the Log plan, unlimited reporters |
| Report an issue from your phone | Needs the file open on a computer; painful on mobile | Photo + AI-written description in seconds, mobile-first |
| Photos & video on each issue | Cells hold text, not images | Before/after photos and video on every issue |
| Automatic alerts | None — someone has to notice the new row | Push to the fixer's phone the moment an issue is logged |
| Assign & track who's on what | Manual columns, easily overwritten | Assignment, status and SLA due dates built in |
| History that doesn't reset monthly | New tab each month; no cumulative view | One continuous, searchable record |
| Reporting & root-cause dashboards | Build your own pivot tables | Resolution time, cost and recurring-cause dashboards out of the box |
| Cost & parts tracking | Possible if you build it | Log time, parts and cost on completion |
| Multiple editors, safely | Shared workbook = version clashes, accidental edits | Role-based access (reporter / fixer / manager) |
| Everyone already knows it | Universal — zero new tool to learn | ~5-minute learning curve |
| Works fully offline | A desktop Excel file does | Offline caching on the roadmap; needs a connection to sync today |
| Total free-form flexibility | Any column you like | Structured maintenance workflow |
Accurate as of July 2026.
Fixray is best for you if…
- Staff report from the floor, rooms or grounds — not a desk
- You want photos, push alerts and a running history without building it
- A manager wants resolution-time / cost / recurring-cause dashboards on tap
- More than one site or team (maintenance + housekeeping) and a single sheet is creaking
A spreadsheet is best for you if…
- One person tracks a handful of issues from a desk, never from a phone
- Total custom-field freedom matters more than mobile, photos or alerts
If reception already logs every issue into a shared sheet, you've done the hard part — you've built the habit. Fixray just moves it onto a phone, with photos and alerts, and stops the history resetting every month.
Not ready to switch? Start with the free template.
Grab our free maintenance log template for Excel and Google Sheets — dropdowns, worked example rows and a dashboard built in. It's the manual version of everything Fixray automates.
Switching questions
- Can I import our existing spreadsheet?
- You don't need to migrate the whole thing. Load the currently-outstanding items in once, then log everything new straight into Fixray. Keep the old file as an archive of closed jobs.
- Do all my staff need logins or licences?
- Reporters are free and unlimited on the Log plan — no per-seat cost like adding another Office or Workspace user. You only set up the people who fix and manage.
- Is it harder to use than a spreadsheet?
- For the people reporting, it's usually less work: take a photo, let the AI write the description, pick a location, submit. No typing into cells, no finding the right row.
- What happens to our months of history?
- Keep the old workbook as-is for the record. You only carry the open issues across, so there's nothing to re-key.
- Does it work offline?
- Not fully yet — offline caching is on the roadmap, so today it needs a connection to sync (same as a cloud spreadsheet). A desktop Excel file will still open offline; that's one thing a local sheet does that Fixray doesn't, yet.