From spreadsheets to your first CMMS: a small city’s guide

Almost every small public works team starts the same way: a spreadsheet for work orders, another for the equipment list, a shared drive of inspection photos. It works — right up until it doesn’t.

When spreadsheets stop working

The tipping point is usually a question you can’t answer: how much did we spend on that lift station this year? Which hydrants haven’t been inspected? Where are repairs clustering? Spreadsheets hold data but not history, location, or accountability — so the answers aren’t in there.

What your first CMMS should — and shouldn’t — be

It should be configurable by your own staff, fast to stand up, and built on the GIS you already have. It shouldn’t be an enterprise platform that needs a dedicated administrator and a six-figure implementation. The point of a first CMMS is to get organized, not to take on a second job.

Migrating without the pain

You don’t have to move everything at once. Start from your GIS — it already holds your assets — and bring over the operational data that’s actually useful: open work, active equipment, current materials. The years of spreadsheet history can stay archived; what matters is that from day one, new work has a home with location, cost, and a record behind it.