Let’s be real for a second – most software demos are theater. Agreed? You sit in a boardroom, watch a salesperson click through beautiful dashboards showing revenue spikes and green "Online" indicators, and you sign the contract. Six months down the road, you’re standing in a muddy parking lot in the rain, staring at a $100,000 DC Fast Charger that’s offline for the third time this week, realizing your fancy dashboard can’t tell you if the technician has the right Torx driver to open the cabinet.

Welcome to the "maintenance gap".

In 2026, the REAL challenge of the energy transition is keeping the machines running. With federal NEVI mandates requiring 97% uptime and "clawback" penalties looming for non-compliance, operation and maintenance (O&M) is no longer a back-office afterthought – it’s your entire business model.

If you’re a charge point operator (CPO) or an electrical contractor, you don't need another billing platform. You need an operating system for your field crews. Here’s the no-nonsense guide to choosing software that actually fixes broken chargers.

"Brains" vs "Hands"

Before we look at features, we need to clear up the biggest misconception in the industry: Your CPMS is not a maintenance tool.

Think of your technology stack like a human body:

• The Brains (CPMS): Platforms like ChargePoint, Driivz, or AMPECO. They handle the digital decisions: user authentication, payment processing, energy load balancing, and remote diagnostics. They are brilliant at telling you that a charger is broken (e.g., "Error 404: Connector Lock Failure").
• The Hands (FSM): Dedicated field service management platforms. They handle” the physical execution:
  
  • dispatching the certified technician
  • tracking the spare cable in their van
  • enforcing safety checklists.

Trying to fix a 480V cabinet using only your CPMS is like trying to repair a car engine using only the check-engine light on the dashboard. You need a mechanic’s toolset. To hit 97% uptime, you need a dedicated execution layer that integrates seamlessly with your CPMS.

What are the "must-have" features for EV maintenance software?

If you’re evaluating software vendors, ignore the shiny UI and ask about these five specific capabilities.

1. "Van-Level" Inventory Visibility

• The Problem: The leading cause of extended downtime isn't a lack of technician skill; it's a lack of parts. Industry data suggests that a massive percentage of truck rolls result in a ‘first-time fix fail’ simply because the technician didn't have the specific spare part in their vehicle.
• The Requirement: Your software must track inventory inside the technician's van. It's not enough to know you have a spare CCS1 cable in your central warehouse. The dispatch algorithm needs to know that "Tech A" has the specific replacement screen for a Tritium PK350 in their truck before it assigns them the ticket. 

Bottom line: If you can't see what is in the truck, you’re just guessing. And guessing costs hundreds of dollars per truck roll.

2. Mandatory Safety Logic (The "Kill Switch")

• The Problem: EV chargers are high-voltage industrial assets. Sending a generalist facilities worker to open a 480V DC fast charger is a liability nightmare and a violation of strict safety standards. 
• The Requirement: Skill-Gating. The software must physically block a dispatcher from assigning a high-voltage ticket to a technician who lacks a valid, unexpired certification, such as the EVITP (Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program)

Bottom line: Your schedule should act as a digital liability shield. If the cert is expired, the software shouldn't let the technician touch the job.

3. Native NEVI Compliance Reporting

• The Problem: The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program doesn't just ask for uptime; it demands a complex mathematical proof. You have to calculate uptime using a specific formula where you must separate "T_outage" (your fault) from "T_excluded" (grid failure or vandalism). If you can't separate these variables, you lose your funding. 

• The Requirement: The software must force technicians to select standardized "Cause Codes" (eg Hardware Failure, Vandalism, Utility Outage) before they can close a ticket. This granular data allows you to auto-populate your quarterly NEVI reports without spending three weeks in Excel.

4. Asset Genealogy (The "cradle-to-grave" log)

• The Problem: When a power module fails two years after installation, how do you prove it’s still under warranty? If you moved that module from Station A to Station B six months ago, most systems lose that history. 
• The Requirement: Immutable History. The system must track every serial number swap. If you pull a module from one unit and install it in another, the software must preserve that lineage. This is critical not just for warranty recovery, but for the upcoming EU Battery Passport regulations that require a digital lifecycle record for every battery cell.

5. Offline-First Mobile Architecture

• The Problem: Where are chargers usually located? In the back corners of parking lots or deep inside underground concrete garages – places where 5G signals go to die.
• The Requirement: Your technician's mobile app must be natively "offline-first". They need to be able to view schematics, complete mandatory safety checklists, and log parts usage without a data connection. The moment they drive back to surface level, the app should automatically sync that data to the cloud. If your software spins a "Loading..." wheel when the internet cuts out, it is useless in the field.

Generalist FSM vs EV-specific software

A common question I get from operations directors is, "Can't we just use the field service platform we already have?"

The short answer is: No. A 150kW DC Fast Charger is not a boiler or a sprinkler system.

Generalist field service management (FSM) platforms are built for "trades" where the asset is simple, but the scheduling is hard. They treat every piece of equipment as a generic "Asset ID". To a generalist platform, a 480V Tritium charger is effectively the same as a toaster. It doesn't know that the charger has five internal power modules that can be swapped independently, or that the technician needs a specific expired EVITP certification to open the cabinet safely.

When you use generic tools for high-voltage infrastructure, you’re relying on manual workarounds to handle critical safety and compliance tasks. Here is the operational reality of where those tools break down:

Implementation: The API integration strategy

You don't need to "rip and replace" your existing systems to fix this. The smartest engineering teams use an API strategy.

Dedicated FSM software acts as the "action layer" that sits seamlessly underneath your CPMS.

1. Detection: Your CPMS (eg ChargePoint) detects a fault.
2. Trigger: The API instantly triggers a work order in the FSM.
3. Dispatch: The FSM checks which technician has the right certification and the right part in their van, then dispatches the ticket.
4. Resolution: The tech fixes the issue using offline-ready checklists.
5. Closure: The FSM pushes the repair data back to the CPMS, clearing the error and logging the uptime event.

‘Boring but reliable’ software wins

In the gold rush of the energy transition, the winners won't be the companies with the flashiest consumer apps or the sleekest marketing. The winners will be the ones with the most boring, reliable operations.

You need software that works when it's offline, that prevents your technicians from making safety errors, and that handles the messy reality of physical inventory.

At FieldEx, we call this the "operating system for distributed energy resources". We built it specifically to handle the high-voltage complexity that generic tools ignore. If you’re ready to stop managing critical infrastructure with spreadsheets and start automating your NEVI compliance, it might be time to look at a dedicated execution layer.

Want to see FieldEx in action? Book a free demo today, or just reach out with your queries. We’re here to help.

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Frequently asked questions

1. What is the difference between CPMS and O&M software?

A CPMS (Charge Point Management System) handles the "digital" side: payments, user access, and remote monitoring. O&M (Operations & Maintenance) software, or FSM, handles the "physical" side: dispatching technicians, tracking spare parts, and documenting safety compliance.

2. Why can't I use my billing software (CPMS) to manage repairs? 

While some CPMS platforms have basic ticketing, they lack critical field features like van-level inventory tracking, complex asset genealogy (tracking part swaps), and offline mobile capabilities for technicians working in underground garages.

3. What software features are required for NEVI compliance?

To comply with NEVI, your software must track downtime with extreme precision, categorizing outages into specific buckets like "T_outage" (hardware failure) versus "T_excluded" (grid outages or vandalism) to calculate the 97% uptime formula accurately.

4. Can I use a generic CMMS like ServiceTitan for EV chargers? 

Generic CMMS platforms are great for plumbing or HVAC but often struggle with the specific regulatory requirements of EV infrastructure, such as EVITP certification tracking, NEVI reporting codes, and the complex parent-child relationships of charger modules.

5. How does software help with EV charger warranty claims? 

Specialized software tracks "Asset Genealogy" – an immutable history of every part. If a power module is swapped from one station to another, the software preserves its history, allowing you to prove to the manufacturer that the specific serial number is still under warranty.

6. What is "Asset Genealogy" in EV maintenance? 

Asset Genealogy is the digital record of an equipment's life. It tracks every maintenance event, part replacement, and location change for every component (down to the serial number) from installation to decommissioning.

7. Do I need offline capabilities for EV charger maintenance software? 

Yes, absolutely. EV chargers are frequently installed in connectivity "dead zones" like underground parking garages or remote highway corridors. An offline-first app ensures technicians can still access safety checklists and complete work orders without a signal.

8. How does software improve First-Time Fix Rates (FTFR)? 

Software improves FTFR by ensuring two things before a truck rolls: 1) The assigned technician has the correct certification (e.g., EVITP), and 2) The specific spare part required for the repair is currently in their van stock.

9. Is it possible to automate dispatch for broken EV chargers? 

Yes. By integrating your CPMS with FSM software via API, you can automate the entire workflow. When the CPMS detects a specific error code, the FSM can automatically create a ticket and route it to the nearest qualified technician without human intervention.

10. What are the top safety features to look for in EV field service software?

Look for "Skill-Gating" (preventing uncertified techs from receiving dangerous jobs) and "Mandatory Logic" (forcing technicians to complete Lockout/Tagout checklists before they can proceed with a repair) to ensure compliance with NFPA 70E and NFPA 855.