Introduction

Most town and parish councils continue to rely on manual systems for managing their assets – spreadsheets, paper files, and institutional memory being the most common approaches. While familiar, these methods come with inherent problems that can significantly impact council operations:

• Data fragmentation across multiple files and formats
• Institutional knowledge loss when staff members leave
• Compliance risks due to missed inspections or maintenance
• Inefficient reporting for budgeting, reserves, audit and governance requirements
• Limited visibility into asset conditions and maintenance needs
• Difficulty planning for future asset replacement and budgeting

As councils face increasing governance requirements and limited resources, finding the right asset management solution becomes critical. But with so many options available, which one actually meets the unique needs of town and parish councils?

This guide provides an honest assessment of nine popular asset management solutions, with straightforward ratings and practical insights to help you make an informed decision for your council.

Provider Comparison

Civic.ly ★★★★★

Overview: Civic.ly is a purpose-built asset management system designed specifically for town and parish councils.

Description: Civic.ly is a purpose-built daily operational platform specifically designed for town and parish councils. It seamlessly integrates advanced mapping, comprehensive asset documentation, and intelligent task management into a single, intuitive interface. The system connects all stakeholders—office staff, maintenance teams, and contractors—through a powerful notification engine that ensures critical tasks are never overlooked. With Civic.ly, councils can effectively manage all their assets while maintaining compliance with relevant regulations, all without the complexity of enterprise solutions or the limitations of generic tools.

Pros:

• Designed specifically for town and parish council needs
• Complete management of inspections, maintenance, and defects in one system
• Automated reminders and notifications for critical tasks
• Built-in awareness of all regulations related to health and safety
• Built-in routine and operational checklists for inspections (example)
• Geographical mapping with GPS photo integration
• Serves office staff, maintenance teams and contractors from a single platform
• AI-powered asset classification and visual condition assessments
• User-friendly mobile interface for field work
• Asset lifecycle management with financial planning tools
• Appropriate pricing structure for town and parish councils

Cons:

• Newer to the market than some alternatives
• May have more features than the smallest councils require

Why it's fit for purpose: Civic.ly addresses the specific challenges town and parish councils face in managing diverse public assets across multiple locations. It serves as a true daily operational platform that connects all staff involved in asset management—from office administrators to field maintenance teams to external contractors.

What truly sets Civic.ly apart is its perfect balance of advanced mapping capabilities, comprehensive photo documentation, and smart task management—all tied together with a powerful reminders and notifications system.

Parish Online ★★★★☆

Overview: A mapping system with limited capability to manage the full asset life cycle for local councils.

Description: Parish Online is primarily a mapping and GIS tool for visualising and managing geospatial data. It's good for councils prioritising neighbourhood planning, boundary disputes, public consultations, flood risk assessment and many more geographic queries.

Pros:

• Designed specifically for parish and town councils
• Strong mapping and GIS capabilities
• Extensive Integration with Ordnance Survey data
• Includes map data from Local Authorities (where available)
• Good for planning and consultation purposes
• Appropriate pricing for smaller councils
• Good community of users

Cons:

• GIS-type user interface is not the easiest to use
• No mobile app for field work
• Does not support inspections, maintenance and defects tracking
• No reminders and notifications system
• No understanding of compliance requirements
• Limited asset lifecycle management capabilities
• More focused on mapping than comprehensive asset management

Why it's not fit for purpose as a complete solution: While Parish Online excels at mapping and geographical data management, it falls short as a comprehensive asset management solution. It's designed more as a planning and visualisation tool rather than an operational system for daily asset management. Council staff needing to track inspections, maintenance schedules, and compliance would need to use additional task management systems alongside Parish Online, creating fragmentation and inefficiency.

PSS Live ★★★★☆

Overview: A playground inspection and asset management system focused on play equipment.

Description: PSS Live is a sector-specific solution that specialises in playground safety inspections and asset management for play equipment and recreational facilities.

Pros:

• Specialised for playground inspections and compliance
• Mobile inspection capabilities
• Good documentation for safety audits
• Specific to EN1176 and EN1177 standards
• Risk assessment tools
• Evidence recording for insurance purposes

Cons:

• Only focused on play equipment rather than all council assets
• Limited capabilities for managing buildings, open spaces, and other infrastructure
• Narrower scope than comprehensive asset management solutions
• Less suitable for councils with diverse asset portfolios beyond play areas

Why it's partially fit for purpose: PSS Live excels at managing play equipment safety but has a narrower focus than what most councils need for comprehensive asset management. It's excellent for its specific purpose but may require complementary systems for managing other types of council assets.

SafetyCulture ★★★☆☆

Overview: A safety and quality management platform with inspection capabilities.

Description: SafetyCulture is a CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System) solution primarily focused on safety inspections and compliance checks. It offers comprehensive inspection templates and tracking.

Pros:

• Strong inspection and checklist functionality
• Easy to use Mobile app for field work
• Document storage capabilities
• Good photo documentation features

Cons:

• Limited asset lifecycle management
• Charges per a user, which makes it expensive to roll out to staff, contractors and volunteers
• Not specifically designed for council assets
• Lacks dedicated mapping capabilities for dispersed assets
• Requires custom setup for council-specific compliance
• Limited financial planning tools for asset replacement
• Primarily focused on inspections rather than full asset management

Why it's not fit for purpose: While SafetyCulture excels at inspections, it lacks the comprehensive asset management capabilities councils need. It's like having an excellent safety inspector without the systems to track what happens with those inspection results over time or plan for future asset needs.

MaintainX ★★★☆☆

Overview: A maintenance management system used by various industries.

Description: MaintainX is a CMMS solution designed for maintenance teams to manage work orders, preventive maintenance, and asset tracking. It's primarily targeted at industrial and facility management.

Pros:

• Comprehensive work order management
• Preventive maintenance scheduling
• Team communication tools
• Mobile application for field work
• Digital procedure documentation

Cons:

• Designed for manufacturing, hospitality and facilities, not public infrastructure
• Lacks geographical mapping for dispersed outdoor assets
• Charges per a user, which makes it expensive to roll out to staff, contractors and volunteers
• Requires significant configuration for council-specific needs
• Not pre-loaded with council compliance requirements
• Limited long-term asset planning capabilities
• Interface complexity requires substantial training

Why it's not fit for purpose: MaintainX works well for factories and warehouses with equipment maintenance needs, but council assets operate in a different regulatory environment with unique public safety requirements. Using MaintainX for council asset management is like using hospital management software to run a school – the core functions don't align with the specific needs.

Trello ★★☆☆☆

Overview: A general project management tool that some councils adapt for asset tracking.

Description: Trello is a what we call a "DIY solution" that offers customisable boards, lists, and cards for organising information. While not designed for asset management, its flexibility allows basic tracking of assets and related tasks.

Pros:

• Low cost (free tier available)
• User-friendly interface
• Good for task management
• Easy collaboration capabilities

Cons:

• Not designed for asset management
• Lacks geographical mapping for council assets
• No built-in compliance frameworks
• No automated scheduling for inspections
• Limited reporting capabilities for council requirements
• Requires significant customisation to adapt for council use

Why it's not fit for purpose: While Trello works well for project management, it simply wasn't built for the complexities of council asset management. Without features like compliance tracking, asset lifecycle management, and geographical mapping, councils must create extensive workarounds that ultimately prove inefficient and incomplete.

Everything I Own ★★☆☆☆

Overview: A personal asset tracking solution occasionally used by small organisations.

Description: Everything I Own is a basic asset tracker designed primarily for personal use. It provides a digital inventory system with basic categorisation and photo storage capabilities.

Pros:

• Simple interface
• Photo documentation capabilities
• Basic inventory management
• Low cost

Cons:

• Designed for personal use, not organisational asset management
• No task or maintenance scheduling
• Lacks compliance frameworks needed for council assets
• No mapping capabilities
• Limited reporting options
• Not built for multi-user collaboration

Why it's not fit for purpose: This solution lacks the features councils need for regulatory compliance and maintenance tracking. It's equivalent to using a personal checkbook to manage council finances – technically possible, but missing critical functionality and controls required for public asset management.

Symology ★★☆☆☆

Overview: An enterprise-level asset management system used by larger councils.

Description: Symology is an enterprise solution offering comprehensive infrastructure asset management for highways and public infrastructure. It provides sophisticated tools for asset lifecycle management and maintenance.

Pros:

• Comprehensive asset management capabilities
• Strong GIS and mapping functionality
• Detailed reporting and analytics
• Regulatory compliance features
• Designed specifically for public infrastructure

Cons:

• Prohibitively expensive for most town and parish councils
• Extremely complex implementation requiring dedicated IT resources
• Very steep learning curve with extensive training needed
• Functionality vastly exceeds what smaller councils typically need
• Significant ongoing consultancy costs for configuration and support
• Resource-intensive to maintain and operate
• Interface designed for technical specialists, not general council staff
• Requires dedicated staff just to manage the system

Why it's not fit for purpose: Symology is designed and priced for county and unitary authorities with extensive infrastructure and dedicated technical teams. For town and parish councils, it's massively over-engineered and unaffordable – like buying a commercial airliner when you need a family car. The system complexity creates more problems than it solves for smaller councils, as staff would spend more time managing the system than managing actual assets.

Archibus ★☆☆☆☆

Overview: A leading enterprise facility management platform used globally for building and workspace management.

Description: Archibus is one of the most established facility management platforms, primarily designed for large organisations managing extensive building portfolios. It focuses on space optimisation, building systems management, and workplace services.

Pros:

• Comprehensive building and space management
• Strong workplace services modules (room booking, move management)
• Detailed maintenance scheduling for building systems
• Energy and sustainability tracking capabilities
• Capital project planning tools
• Extensive reporting and analytics
• Integration with building automation systems
• Mobile capabilities for building inspections

Cons:

• Enterprise-grade pricing starting at £15,000+ annually
• Designed for corporate real estate, not public infrastructure
• Primary focus on indoor spaces rather than community assets
• Complex implementation requiring 6-12 months and specialist consultants
• Requires dedicated technical administrators
• Steep learning curve with extensive training required
• No pre-configured templates for town and parish council compliance
• Limited functionality for managing dispersed outdoor public assets
• Resource requirements far exceed typical town and parish council capabilities

Why it's not fit for purpose: Archibus excels at helping large organisations optimise their built environments, but its focus, complexity, and cost make it entirely unsuitable for town and parish councils. While it offers sophisticated building management, it lacks the specific functionality needed for public infrastructure and community assets. Using Archibus for a town council would be like using an enterprise-grade architectural design suite to sketch a garden shed – dramatically overengineered, prohibitively expensive, and ultimately counterproductive.

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Conclusion: Finding the Right Solution for Your Council

When selecting an asset management solution, councils should consider:

• Asset Portfolio: The variety and number of assets your council manages
• User Capacity: Technical expertise of staff who will use the system
• Budget Reality: Initial and ongoing costs relative to your resources
• Integration Needs: Requirements to connect with existing systems
• Growth Projection: Future asset management needs as your council evolves

For most town and parish councils, the choice ultimately comes down to whether to piece together a solution using general-purpose tools with significant customisation or implement a purpose-built system designed specifically for council needs.

While general tools like Trello or basic asset trackers might seem cost-effective initially, the hidden costs in staff time, customisation, and potential compliance gaps often outweigh the license savings. Similarly, enterprise solutions like Symology and Archibus offer powerful capabilities but at a price point and complexity level inappropriate for most town and parish councils.

Sector-specific solutions, particularly Civic.ly with its comprehensive asset management capabilities, offer the best balance of functionality, usability, and value for most town and parish councils. By choosing a solution designed specifically for council asset management, clerks, maintenance staff, and councillors can ensure public assets are properly maintained, compliant with regulations, and effectively managed throughout their lifecycle.

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