Are You Tracking Enough Work Orders? Eye-Opening Data from 842 Churches Using Facility Management Software

Every facility team is busy. Things get fixed, tasks get completed, and the building keeps running.

But here’s a question most churches rarely stop to ask: Are you actually tracking everything you’re doing?

As a new year begins, many facility managers reflect on the past twelve months—what went well, what didn’t, and where time and money were spent. What often gets overlooked in that reflection is the data behind the work itself. And when that data is missing, so is a clear picture of how your facility is truly being managed.

The Numbers Don’t Lie: Annual Work Order Statistics

After analyzing data from 842 church subscribers who actively use work order and asset management features, we discovered some revealing patterns about facility management performance.

Average Work Orders Created Annually

The data shows that the average church creates 635 work orders per year, which comes out to about 53 work orders per month. Importantly, this isn’t driven only by large or multi-site churches. Single-campus churches show similar patterns, suggesting that regular work order creation is less about size and more about what gets documented.

The Critical Question: How Do You Compare?

Take an honest look at your own numbers. Are you creating around 53 work orders each month? If your system shows only one or two, it’s worth asking what isn’t being documented. Routine tasks add up quickly—filters, light replacements, door adjustments, minor repairs—are 20 to 30 of those showing up in your records every month?

Here’s the reality: every church performs far more than one maintenance task per month. When work order counts fall well below the average, it’s not a sign of efficiency—it’s a sign that work is happening without being tracked. And that missing data has real costs.

The Preventive Maintenance Gap

While work order creation shows decent activity, the preventive maintenance (PM) numbers reveal a troubling trend that affects long-term facility stewardship.

Preventive Maintenance Statistics

From the same sample of 842 churches, the average organization created just 28 preventive maintenance work orders per year. That works out to roughly 2.3 PM tasks per month, a number that falls well short of what most facilities require to stay ahead of problems.

Why This Number Should Concern You

At first glance, 28 preventive maintenance tasks per year may not sound alarming. But when you compare that number to the baseline requirements most church facilities already have, the gap becomes clear.

Even the most basic preventive maintenance program adds up quickly. Emergency exit light inspections alone require 12 work orders per year for monthly checks. Portable fire extinguisher inspections add another 12 annual work orders, and HVAC filter changes account for at least 4 more, assuming they’re being replaced quarterly. 

That’s 28 preventive maintenance work orders per year from just three routine responsibilities—before factoring in any other systems, inspections, or seasonal tasks. And yet, the average church is logging only 28 PMs annually, barely covering these basics. That figure doesn’t begin to account for the many additional preventive maintenance activities that should also be scheduled and documented each year, including:

• Backflow preventer checks
• HVAC system inspections
• Grease trap cleaning (for kitchens)
• Fire alarm system inspections
• Hood vent inspections (typically twice yearly)
• Vehicle maintenance inspections
• Roof inspections
• Gutter cleaning
• And dozens of other recurring maintenance tasks

The Cost of Not Tracking: What You’re Really Losing

When work isn’t tracked, the consequences aren’t always obvious at first. Nothing feels “broken” in the moment, and the building may continue to function just fine. But over time, the lack of documented data quietly creates problems that affect budgets, focus, long-term costs, and how facility work is perceived by leadership.

1. Budget Planning Suffers

Without accurate work order data, you can’t:

• Demonstrate actual maintenance costs to leadership
• Justify budget increases with concrete evidence
• Plan accurately for the coming year’s expenses
• Show patterns in equipment failures or recurring issues

2. Mental Energy Wasted

When preventive maintenance isn’t systematically tracked:

• You waste mental energy trying to remember what needs doing
• Critical tasks get forgotten until they become emergencies
• You can’t focus on urgent “find it and fix it” issues
• Planning becomes reactive instead of proactive

3. Money Lost Long-Term

Neglected preventive maintenance leads to:

• Equipment failures that could have been prevented
• Emergency repairs costing 3-5x more than planned maintenance
• Shortened equipment lifespan
• Higher energy costs from poorly maintained systems

4. Your Story Goes Untold

If you’re not documenting your work, you can’t prove your value to church leadership. As one facility manager put it: “Are you telling the true story of what you’re accomplishing in your facility as a facility steward?”

How to Access Your Own Data in eSPACE

Wondering how your church compares to these statistics? Here’s how to check your own work order performance:

Step 1: Navigate to Analytics

1. Go to the Work Order & Asset Management section in eSPACE
2. Click on the Analytics tab
3. Your data is automatically collected and ready to view

Step 2: Explore Key Metrics

The analytics dashboard shows you:

• Individual technician performance: Who’s completing the most work?
• Categories breakdown: What types of work dominate your schedule?
• Days of the week trends: When are most work orders submitted?
• Seasonal patterns: What times of year see the most activity?
• Time to completion: How quickly are tasks being addressed?

Step 3: Save Your Views

• Create custom views for the data most relevant to your situation
• Save these views for quick access during monthly or annual reviews

Note: Only 174 out of 842 churches are using saved views—don’t miss this powerful feature.

Step 4: Share with Leadership

Use your analytics to:

• Create visual presentations for executive pastors
• Justify additional staffing or budget needs
• Demonstrate facility team accomplishments
• Identify areas needing improvement

Important: Analytics are only as effective as the data you input. Every task performed should have a corresponding work order—even if you document it after the fact.

The Time Investment Paradox

Many facility managers feel they don’t have time to set up comprehensive preventive maintenance schedules in their facility management software. This thinking creates a harmful cycle.

The Upfront Investment

Yes, building out your preventive maintenance task lists requires time initially. Setting up recurring work orders, defining inspection checklists, and organizing your asset inventory takes effort.

The Long-Term Payoff

It takes time upfront to save time later. Like any investment, the initial cost pays dividends for years to come:

• Year 1: You invest 20-40 hours setting up comprehensive PM schedules
• Year 2+: You save 100+ hours annually by letting the system remind you what needs doing
• Every Year After: Time savings compound as you refine and optimize your processes

The Multiplication Effect

Once you experience the time savings from automated preventive maintenance:

• You’ll add more tasks that you hadn’t previously tracked
• Your facility stewardship becomes more efficient
• You can handle emergencies without putting off planned work
• Your entire operation runs more smoothly

Best Practices for Maximizing Work Order Tracking

Document Everything

Every task performed should have a work order, including:

• Routine maintenance
• Emergency repairs
• Volunteer-performed tasks
• Vendor work (for your records)
• Set up and breakdown for events
• Seasonal preparations

Even if you complete the work first and document afterward, get it in the system.

Set Up Recurring Tasks

Create preventive maintenance work orders for:

• Monthly tasks: Filter changes, safety equipment checks, and landscape maintenance
• Quarterly tasks: HVAC inspections, deep cleaning projects
• Bi-annual tasks: Hood cleaning, specialized equipment servicing
• Annual tasks: Backflow testing, fire system inspections, roof assessments

Use Categories Effectively

Proper categorization helps with:

• Budget tracking by expense type
• Identifying problem areas or equipment
• Assigning work to appropriate team members
• Generating reports for leadership

Review Analytics Regularly

Schedule monthly or quarterly reviews of your analytics to:

• Spot trends before they become problems
• Celebrate accomplishments with your team
• Adjust preventive maintenance schedules as needed
• Plan for upcoming busy seasons

Getting Help to Improve Your Performance

If these numbers highlight gaps in how you’re using your facility management system, that’s not a failure—it’s a common starting point. Most churches don’t underperform because of a lack of effort; they underperform because no one has shown them how to fully use the tools they already have.

Support is available, and it doesn’t require starting from scratch.

Training Resources

Smart Church Solutions provides several ways to strengthen how your team uses work orders and preventive maintenance tools. This includes focused training sessions designed to help teams work more efficiently, hands-on assistance setting up work orders and asset records correctly, and coaching grounded in real-world facility management experience. System reviews can also help identify where small adjustments could unlock better reporting and time savings.

Creative Solutions

Improvement doesn’t always require additional staff or large investments. Many churches see quick gains by involving others in the process. Tech-savvy volunteers—often students—can be highly effective at helping build out digital systems. Data entry can be shared, so the facility manager isn’t carrying the entire administrative load. 

Starting with just the most critical preventive maintenance tasks keeps the process manageable, and expanding over time builds momentum. Most importantly, when the entire facilities team participates in logging work, tracking becomes part of the culture rather than an extra task.

The New Year Challenge: Invest in Better Tracking

As a new year unfolds, make a commitment to better facility stewardship through improved work order tracking.

Your Action Plan

1. Audit your current PM schedule: List all recurring maintenance tasks your facility requires
2. Set up missing preventive maintenance work orders: Don’t let another year go by without systematic tracking
3. Train your team: Ensure everyone understands the importance of documenting all work
4. Review analytics monthly: Make data review a regular habit, not an annual event
5. Invest in training if needed: The cost is minimal compared to the time and money you’ll save

The Bottom Line

For churches already using facility management software, the path forward is clear. The tools are there to reduce mental load, bring order to daily work, and provide leadership with clear, data-backed insight—if you’re willing to invest a bit of time upfront.

For churches still relying on memory, spreadsheets, or paper, this is an opportunity to step back and ask what’s being missed. Scheduling a demo can help you see how work order and preventive maintenance tracking actually function in real church environments.

Don’t leave money on the table. Don’t leave your work invisible. And don’t let another year go by without a clear, complete picture of your facility stewardship.

Conclusion: From Average to Excellence

The statistics from 842 churches reveal that most facilities teams are significantly underutilizing their work order and asset management systems, particularly for preventive maintenance. With an average of only 28 PMs annually when most churches should have 50-100+, there’s enormous room for improvement.

The churches that excel in facility management aren’t necessarily larger, better funded, or more technically sophisticated. They’re simply more disciplined about tracking their work, setting up preventive maintenance schedules, and using their facility management software to its full potential.

When we revisit these statistics next year, our goal is to see dramatic improvements: more work orders logged, more preventive maintenance scheduled, more time saved, and more facility stewards experiencing the benefits of systematic facility management. The question isn’t whether you can improve—it’s whether you will. Start today, invest the time upfront, and watch your facility stewardship ministry transform throughout the coming year.