If you're choosing a facilities management provider for the first time (or replacing one), the market can feel opaque. Everyone says they cover every trade, every site, every standard. The pricing is rarely public. The differences only become obvious after you've signed.

This is a practical guide written from inside the industry. What you should be asking, what to look out for, and what should make you walk away.

Step 1: Be honest about what you actually need

FM providers come in many shapes. The right one for you depends on what your property and operations actually require:

  • Reactive only: you mostly need someone to call when things break. Good for smaller portfolios or simple buildings.
  • Reactive + PPM: you also want planned maintenance to prevent things breaking. Most commercial buildings sit here.
  • Total facilities management (TFM): full operational responsibility for the building, often including soft services (cleaning, security). Big estates only.
  • Specific trade focus: you only need electrical, or only HVAC, or only fire safety. Specialist contractors fit.

Don't pay for TFM if you need reactive plus a CP12 once a year. Don't try to manage 20 separate trade contractors if you've got a multi-site portfolio. Match the model to the need.

Step 2: Check what compliance they actually deliver

Compliance isn't a tick box. It's a programme. Ask:

  • What scheme registrations do your engineers hold? NICEIC, NAPIT, Gas Safe, REFCOM, BAFE and FIA are the main ones, depending on the work.
  • Can you produce sample EICR, CP12 or F-Gas records from your platform right now?
  • How do certificates get to me? When? In what format?
  • Where do compliance records live? (Spoiler: not in someone's inbox.)

If they can't show you a live property compliance dashboard within 30 seconds of asking, they're managing it in spreadsheets. That's a risk you carry, not them.

Step 3: Look at their technology stack honestly

There's a spectrum:

  • Spreadsheets and email (no, really, still common in 2026)
  • Legacy CAFM systems: designed for the FM team, not for you
  • Modern FM platform: designed for every stakeholder (client, contractor, engineer, tenant) on the same live view

The differences show up when something breaks at 4pm on a Friday. With spreadsheets, expect WhatsApp updates if you're lucky. With CAFM, expect a ticket in the FM team's queue, status visible to them. With a modern FM platform, expect to see the engineer's ETA on your phone.

For more on this distinction, read FM platform vs CAFM.

Step 4: Understand the contractor model

Most UK FM providers don't directly employ every trade. They subcontract. That's fine and often sensible: it scales, it spreads risk, it brings specialism. What matters is how they manage the subcontractor network:

  • Are subcontractors vetted? How? (Insurance, accreditation, training, references.)
  • Are they consistent across regions, or different per-site?
  • Who's accountable if a subcontractor underdelivers?
  • Do you ever see them by name, or are they hidden behind the FM brand?

A good provider will be open about their subcontractor model. They'll have a vetted network (we call ours Avero FM Approved), and they'll take accountability for delivery regardless of who shows up on site.

Step 5: Test the response model

Ask:

  • What's your reactive SLA for different priority levels?
  • How is a job logged? (Phone? Email? App? Portal?)
  • Once logged, what happens? Who triages? How fast does dispatch happen?
  • Can a tenant or end user log a job directly, or does it go via me?
  • Once it's dispatched, how do I see the status?

If the answers are vague ("we'll respond as quickly as possible," "you can call us anytime") they don't have a real model. They have intent.

Step 6: Ask about pricing transparency

This is where things get murky in FM. Watch for:

  • Vague monthly retainers with no scope clarity. What am I paying for? What's extra?
  • Markup on parts. Common, but should be transparent (typically 10-30%). Ask the question.
  • Engineer time vs travel time. Some providers bill door-to-door, some only on-site. Big difference on remote sites.
  • Out-of-hours rates. What's the multiplier? When does it kick in?
  • Cancellation terms. Annual auto-renew with 90-day notice is a red flag.

A good provider will quote against the scope, transparently, with no surprises in month two.

Step 7: Check geographic coverage

If you have a multi-site portfolio, ask:

  • Do you have engineers based in every region where I have property?
  • Or do you dispatch from a central hub with longer response times?
  • What's your response time variability between London and, say, Newcastle?
  • Is service consistent in standard across regions?

Generic "UK coverage" claims often mean dispatch from a London base. Verify with named contractor locations.

Step 8: References matter, but cases matter more

References are useful but they're cherry-picked. Better to ask for case studies: specific named projects with outcomes documented. If a provider has live work for businesses you recognise, ask to see it. Real case studies beat polished testimonials every time.

Red flags to walk away from

  • "We can do anything" with no specific scheme registrations to back it up
  • Cannot show you a live compliance dashboard for any existing property
  • Subcontracting model not disclosed openly
  • Pricing only available on a long sales call
  • "Industry-leading SLAs" with no actual numbers
  • Slow to answer your enquiry (predicts their reactive response)
  • Cannot tell you who attended your last (hypothetical) job

Green flags worth paying for

  • A real platform you can log into and see your property
  • Named accreditations for the relevant trades
  • Tenant-direct logging option for tenanted properties
  • Transparent pricing with named SLAs
  • Sample certificates available on request
  • A clear answer to "what happens at 4pm on a Friday?"

Why Avero

Avero is software-led. The platform you'll use is the platform our engineers use, our Avero FM Approved contractors use and your tenants will use. The compliance dashboard is live the moment your property is onboarded. Subcontracting is transparent and accountable. Pricing is honest.

If you're evaluating providers, get in touch for a walkthrough. We'll show you the platform with your own property in it.