The verdict in three sentences
Beyond 1,000 units under contract, an elevator contractor can no longer prove compliance with the visits every 6 weeks required by the French Building and Housing Code using an Excel schedule and paper logbooks. Custom maintenance software costs between 30,000 and 70,000 EUR excl. VAT in Rennes in 2026, depending on the depth of on-call, billing and integrations. It pays for itself through avoided contractual penalties, technician hours recovered on routes and complete billing of out-of-contract callouts.
The obligations on a Brittany elevator contractor
An elevator maintenance contract requires a periodic visit at least every six weeks, pit and car roof cleaning, an annual report to the owner and an up-to-date maintenance logbook. Property managers and social landlords in Rennes Métropole add contractual response times: often 1 hour for a trapped passenger, 4 hours for a unit out of service, with penalties of 50 to 300 EUR per breach.
| Requirement | Paper / Excel | Business software (2026 order of magnitude) |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of visits every 6 weeks | Paper logbooks, checked after the fact | Time stamp and geolocation, alert at D-7 |
| Late visits across 1,400 units | 4 to 8% | Under 1% |
| Average breakdown response time | 2 h 30 | 1 h 15 |
| Annual contractual penalties | 15,000 to 40,000 EUR | 2,000 to 6,000 EUR |
| Annual report to the owner | 2 to 3 days of data entry per month | Generated automatically |
| Unbilled out-of-contract callouts | 5 to 10% | Under 1% |
Modules and their price in EUR excl. VAT
An elevator contractor needs field-oriented maintenance software, not a generic industrial CMMS. Technicians work on smartphones, often in shafts with no signal, and every unit has its own history, parts and contract.
| Module | Function | Indicative 2026 price |
|---|---|---|
| Units and contracts | Unit record, contract type (basic, extended, full), due dates | 5,000 to 10,000 EUR |
| Route planning | 6-week visits, grouping by area, travel optimization | 6,000 to 14,000 EUR |
| Offline technician app | Checklists, photos, signature, digital logbook | 7,000 to 15,000 EUR |
| On-call and breakdowns | Call intake, dispatch, contractual response timer | 5,000 to 12,000 EUR |
| Parts and quotes | Van stock, repair quotes, property manager approval | 3,000 to 8,000 EUR |
| Billing and accounting | Recurring contracts, callouts, export to Sage or Pennylane | 3,000 to 7,000 EUR |
| Client portal | Property managers and landlords: logbook, reports, requests | 3,000 to 6,000 EUR |
A core version (units, routes, technician app, billing) lands around 30,000 EUR excl. VAT for a 4-month project. The full version with on-call, portal and accounting integrations reaches 55,000 to 70,000 EUR excl. VAT. Hosting and maintenance run 500 to 1,400 EUR per month.
Custom build or off-the-shelf package?
Off-the-shelf CMMS packages for elevator contractors often charge 40 to 90 EUR per technician per month, plus 8,000 to 20,000 EUR in setup fees. For 14 technicians and 3 office staff, that is 9,000 to 18,000 EUR a year, with no control over the roadmap. Custom software makes sense when your contracts carry specific clauses (response times per landlord, tiered penalties) or when you want a branded client portal. Either way, require data portability: unit history, logbooks and contracts must be exportable.
Mini case study
Yann runs an independent elevator contractor in Rennes with 1,400 units and 14 technicians. In 2025 he paid 28,000 EUR in penalties to social landlords and estimates 7% of out-of-contract callouts went unbilled, about 35,000 EUR on 500,000 EUR of callout revenue.
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He invests 52,000 EUR excl. VAT in software with routes, an offline app, timed on-call and billing. In year one, penalties fall to 5,000 EUR and the unbilled share to 1%, i.e. 5,000 EUR. The gain reaches 53,000 EUR, plus around 30 minutes saved per technician per day thanks to grouped routes. After 900 EUR monthly maintenance, the project pays back in about 13 months.
FAQ
Does a digital maintenance logbook count as proof?
Yes, if it is time-stamped, signed and accessible to the owner. Each visit recorded with time, geolocation and photos is far stronger evidence than 1,400 paper logbooks.
How long does deployment take?
Allow 4 months for the core and 6 to 7 months for the full version. Migrating data for a 1,400-unit portfolio takes 2 to 3 weeks.
Does the app work without signal in the shaft?
It must be built offline-first: the technician completes the checklist without a connection and sync happens within a minute once signal returns.
Can on-call response times be timed per landlord?
Yes, each contract carries its own times (1 h, 4 h, 24 h) and the software alerts the supervisor 15 minutes before a breach. This is the module that cuts penalties fastest.
Is the software compatible with our accounting?
An export to Sage, Cegid or Pennylane costs 2,000 to 5,000 EUR excl. VAT. Recurring contract invoices are generated every quarter with no rekeying.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of units, technicians and standard contracts: we will price a scope between 30,000 and 70,000 EUR excl. VAT with a 4 to 7 month schedule. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
