Beyond the Spreadsheet: A Real System for Equipment Operations

Smartsheet is a powerful work management platform — flexible enough that teams often try to extend it into asset tracking. EZO is purpose-built for the equipment operations loop: native check-in/check-out, preventive maintenance, RFID and GPS, conflict-free reservations, and a full audit trail of every handoff. When equipment readiness drives revenue, the right tool is one designed for the job.

Schedule a Call

Try It Free

Used by Operations Teams Across Asset-Heavy Industries

EZO vs Smartsheet: Head-to-Head on Equipment Operations

Twenty capabilities operations teams rely on daily — and how each platform handles them out of the box.

Solution

Smartsheet

Table Header
Maintenance — Native preventive maintenance scheduling	✔ Built-in PM scheduler	⚠️ Template + automations only
Maintenance — Work order management with checklists	✔ Native, technician-assignable	⚠️ Template-based, no native WO engine
Operations — Asset check-in / check-out workflows	✔ Native, mobile + scanner	⚠️ Manual column updates in sheet
Operations — Reservations with conflict-free booking	✔ Availability calendar, conflict checks	❌ No native equipment reservations engine
Operations — RFID asset tracking	✔ Native RFID reader support	❌ Not natively supported
Operations — GPS / telematics location tracking	✔ Live GPS via integrations	❌ No native GPS tracking
Lifecycle — Full asset lifecycle (procurement to retirement)	✔ Procurement to disposal in one record	❌ Must be assembled in sheets
Lifecycle — Asset depreciation tracking	✔ Native depreciation calculation	⚠️ Manual via formulas
Admin — Purchase Orders, multi-currency & vendor management	✔ Native POs, multi-currency, FX	❌ Spreadsheet-based only
Operations — Custody management & handoff audit trail	✔ Every transfer recorded	⚠️ Activity log on cell, not custody-modeled
Operations — Asset availability calendar	✔ Forward-looking calendar view	⚠️ Calendar view of sheet rows only
Operations — Equipment request portal (self-service)	✔ Native portal, multi-tier approval	⚠️ Forms route to a sheet
Operations — Dispatch / fulfillment center	✔ Native fulfillment view	❌ No equipment dispatch view
Operations — Bundles / kits / cart checkouts	✔ Native bundles & packages	❌ No bundle logic
Admin — Hierarchical groups, locations, sites	✔ Multi-tier groups & locations	⚠️ Workspaces, not asset hierarchies
Admin — Custom roles & granular permissions	✔ Custom roles, action-level control	⚠️ Sheet/row-level, not role-based for ops
Operations — Label designer & print	✔ Built-in label designer	❌ No label designer
Admin — Asset utilization & maintenance reports	✔ Native utilization dashboards	⚠️ Dashboards on sheet data
Integrations — Jira & Zendesk for service tickets	✔ Jira + Zendesk native	⚠️ Jira via paid add-on, no Zendesk
Integrations — QuickBooks accounting integration	✔ QuickBooks Online native	❌ No native QuickBooks integration

Table Header
Maintenance — Native preventive maintenance scheduling
✔	⚠️
Maintenance — Work order management with checklists
✔	⚠️
Operations — Asset check-in / check-out workflows
✔	⚠️
Operations — Reservations with conflict-free booking
✔	❌
Operations — RFID asset tracking
✔	❌
Operations — GPS / telematics location tracking
✔	❌
Lifecycle — Full asset lifecycle (procurement to retirement)
✔	❌
Lifecycle — Asset depreciation tracking
✔	⚠️
Admin — Purchase Orders, multi-currency & vendor management
✔	❌
Operations — Custody management & handoff audit trail
✔	⚠️
Operations — Asset availability calendar
✔	⚠️
Operations — Equipment request portal (self-service)
✔	⚠️
Operations — Dispatch / fulfillment center
✔	❌
Operations — Bundles / kits / cart checkouts
✔	❌
Admin — Hierarchical groups, locations, sites
✔	⚠️
Admin — Custom roles & granular permissions
✔	⚠️
Operations — Label designer & print
✔	❌
Admin — Asset utilization & maintenance reports
✔	⚠️
Integrations — Jira & Zendesk for service tickets
✔	⚠️
Integrations — QuickBooks accounting integration
✔	❌

Legend:

✔ = supported on standard plans

❌ = not available

⚠️ = supported but narrower, manual, or template-based

Why EZO?

Smartsheet is built to organize work. EZO is built to run equipment operations. The difference shows up the moment a crew arrives at a job and the gear is double-booked, unserviced, or unaccounted for — moments a configurable grid was never designed to prevent. EZO closes the operational loop natively: plan, assign, move, maintain, and review, with every handoff recorded. Choose EZO when equipment downtime, loss, or misallocation can stop your work.

increase in operational efficiency

0 %

increase in operational efficiency

0 %

saved per week + 100+ assets recovered

0 hrs

Schedule a Call

What You Get with a Purpose-Built System

Reservations that refuse to double-book

When equipment is promised to two crews on the same morning, work stops before it starts. EZO’s availability calendar and reservations engine check real-time custody, maintenance status, and existing bookings before a request is approved — so gear is never committed twice. Crews show up to work-ready equipment, every shift.

Maintenance built in, not bolted on

Operations teams cannot run readiness on a maintenance schedule built from formulas and reminder rules. EZO’s native preventive maintenance scheduler, work-order engine, and service history are wired into the same asset record as custody and reservations. Equipment cannot return to active duty until it’s serviced, signed off, and ready.

Teams That Outgrew Spreadsheet-Based Asset Tracking

Efficient Tool Tracking

EZO has simplified our tool management, enabling us to track the exact location and availability of our tools in real-time across different sites. The check-in/check-out process is quick and easy, which means our team spends less time looking for equipment and more time on the job.

A powerful tool to organize assets and inventory

Ease of carrying out custody confirmation, where a user can indicate that they are in possession of a piece of equipment and the general state of conservation, allowing maintenance to be planned in advance.

Easy to use, with many great features. The days of "Who knows where the XYZ is?" emails are over.

Ease of use; seemingly limitless breadth of items that can be tracked in it [with] details; simple…UI makes it very easy to update and encourages the team to actually use it frequently and consistently.

Easy to use inventory management software for media production department

EZO has made it easy to browse, find, and reserve any of the thousands of pieces of equipment in our Media Production program, big and small. The use of keywords, tags, and pictures allows users to find equipment even if they don’t know the exact name of it.

Top-Rated for Equipment Operations Across G2, Capterra & GetApp

Operations teams across warehousing, events and AV, manufacturing, field services, higher education, and government rely on EZO to run their equipment day after day.

Ready to Run Equipment Operations on a Real System?

When equipment downtime, loss, or misallocation can stop your work, the right platform is one engineered for it. EZO gives operations teams one system for every step of the equipment loop — planned, assigned, maintained, and accounted for, every shift.

Try It Free

Frequently Asked Questions

1.
What’s the headline difference between EZO and Smartsheet for asset management?

Smartsheet is a work management platform built around a configurable grid — equipment tracking is one of many use cases its templates and automations can support. EZO is purpose-built for equipment operations: every step from planning and reservations through custody, maintenance, and retirement is native to the platform. If your team needs preventive maintenance, RFID, GPS, conflict-free reservations, and a full custody audit trail working out of the box, EZO will deliver where Smartsheet requires you to build.

2.
How does EZO pricing compare to Smartsheet pricing for asset and maintenance management?

The two products price for different categories. Smartsheet prices per licensed user across its work management plans, with premium add-ons like the Jira Connector, Resource Management, and Data Shuttle billed separately. EZO prices per item tracked and per user, with CMMS, RFID, GPS integrations, and dispatch capabilities included in the relevant EAM plans rather than scattered across paid add-ons. Total cost depends on asset count, integration depth, and feature scope — but with Smartsheet, several capabilities core to operations are premium upgrades.

3.
Does Smartsheet have native preventive maintenance and work orders, or do you have to build them?

Smartsheet offers maintenance and CMMS templates with automation rules, but the platform does not have a native preventive maintenance scheduler or work-order engine. Customers configure recurring tasks, alerts, and reminder rules on top of sheets. EZO has a built-in CMMS: PM schedules, technician-assigned work orders with checklists, service history, and downtime tracking are first-class objects tied to each asset record — not formulas you maintain.

4.
Which industries fit EZO better than a Smartsheet-based asset setup?

EZO is built for equipment-centric operations: warehousing and logistics, events and AV/media production, manufacturing, field services, higher education AV and labs, healthcare equipment ops, and government. Any team where equipment moves between people, sites, or projects, requires maintenance, and must be ready before work starts will hit ceilings on a spreadsheet-based approach faster than they expect.

5.
Can EZO scale across multiple sites and large operations teams the way Smartsheet does?

Yes. EZO supports hierarchical groups, multi-location structures, custom roles with action-level permissions, multi-tier approval workflows, SAML SSO, and SCIM user provisioning with Okta and Azure AD. Mid-market and enterprise operations teams running hundreds to thousands of assets across dozens of sites use EZO as their system of record. Smartsheet scales for work management; EZO scales for equipment operations.

6.
What integrations does EZO offer that Smartsheet doesn’t for asset and maintenance teams?

EZO integrates natively with QuickBooks Online for asset accounting and depreciation, Zendesk and Jira for service ticketing tied to specific assets, Okta and Azure AD for SSO and SCIM, and major GPS and telematics providers for live equipment location. Smartsheet’s Jira Connector is a paid premium add-on focused on project sync, not asset-level service tickets. For operations teams, EZO’s integration footprint is built around the asset; Smartsheet’s is built around the project.

7.
Can I try EZO before committing to Smartsheet or another asset tool?

Yes. EZO offers a free trial that lets operations teams import assets, configure check-in/check-out, set up preventive maintenance schedules, and test mobile barcode and RFID scanning in their own environment before committing.