A Simpro alternative for service visits, not projects

What is Simpro, and who is it for?

Simpro is job management software for trade contractors. According to their website it covers estimating, project management, job costing, inventory and invoicing, and it is strongest with electrical, plumbing, fire and security contractors who run projects. Pricing is quote based. Onboarding is an implementation project with training, as you would expect from a system that touches every part of the business.

Maintivo is an iPhone app, plus a web app for Android and any browser, for UK sole traders and small trade teams (the owner plus up to five engineers). It does the inspection, the record and the report. It does not estimate, cost or manage a project. The question this page tries to answer is which of those two things your firm actually does all day.

How do Simpro and Maintivo compare?

Simpro details from their public website, September 2026.

When Simpro is the right choice

• You price work from an estimate and need to know the margin on each project as it runs.
• You manage multi-day or multi-week jobs with stages, variations and subcontractors.
• Most of your work is electrical, fire or security, where Simpro has deep roots and Maintivo has no forms at all.
• You buy materials against jobs and need inventory tied to costing.
• You have an office team to use the system every day, and budget for an implementation.

If that is your business, an inspection app will not replace Simpro.

When Maintivo is the right choice

• Your work is visits, not projects: services, safety records, leak checks, commissioning, planned maintenance.
• You are a sole trader or a small team (the owner plus up to five engineers) and nobody has a week spare for an implementation.
• You want the customer to have the report before you have left the drive.
• You work in plant rooms, basements and roof spaces with no signal.
• You want published pricing and the ability to cancel next month.
• You do not want engineers seeing prices, invoices or margins.

Do you run projects, or do you do visits?

This is the split that matters. A project has an estimate, a budget, stages and a final account. A visit has an appointment, a checklist, some readings and a record the customer needs in their inbox. Simpro is built around the first. Maintivo is built around the second.

Most small gas and HVAC firms do visits. A boiler service, a CP12, a quarterly leak check on a VRF system, a fan coil clean. The job takes an hour or two and the paperwork drags into the evening. Job costing does not help with that. A form that is already the right shape, with the calculations done, does.

If you do both, Maintivo will handle the services and the commissioning record. It will not price the boiler replacement.

How long until your first report goes out?

With Simpro, according to their website, onboarding is an implementation with training. That is sensible for a platform that will hold your pricing, stock and projects. It is also somebody's time before the first job runs through it.

With Maintivo the set-up is an afternoon. Download it or open the web app, add your logo, set the engineer names, and open a form. The customer signs on the phone, the branded PDF is ready to send before you leave, and the record sits in the asset register with its next-due date. During the free trial, send the first one to yourself.

Which forms come ready made?

The Boiler Gas Safety Record (CP12) with premises and landlord, appliance details, the reg 26(9) safety checks and combustion analysis. Benchmark commissioning and a warning notice. The Split AC/VRF F-Gas leak check and Chiller service, which convert the refrigerant charge to tonnes CO₂e and set the next leak check due. HVAC service, fan coil, AHU, MVHR and a general work inspection. In the iPhone app every one is captured offline, with photos, and signed on the glass. There is no electrical form.

What does Maintivo not do?

No estimating, quoting or job costing. No project management, scheduling or dispatch. No stock, CRM or accounting. No EICR and no Electrical Installation Certificate. No Play Store app: Android phones use the web app, which needs a connection. Maintivo produces and stores the record, and the owner sends it. The engineer signs it and remains the competent person. Maintivo never certifies anything.

The short version

Maintivo is a cheaper alternative to Simpro for sole traders and small gas, heating, HVAC and refrigeration firms (the owner plus up to five engineers) whose work is service visits rather than costed projects. It is an iPhone app, with a web app for Android and any browser, by Boroto Ltd with ready-made CP12, F-Gas leak-check and HVAC service forms. It works fully offline in the iPhone app and keeps engineers away from prices and invoices. It costs £34.99 a month plus engineer seats from £8.99, with no contract, no onboarding fee and no implementation. It has no estimating, job costing, project management, stock or electrical forms, so contractors who need those should stay with Simpro.

Simpro is a trademark of its respective owner and we are not affiliated with them. Their features, pricing and terms change over time, so check their current details directly before you decide.