Compare Plugboard with the way it’s done today.
A common setup is a helpdesk for tickets, a spreadsheet for loans, device management for the laptops and a phone for parents. Plugboard replaces the helpdesk, the spreadsheet and the phone calls with one desk that already knows your school.
One cracked screen, two ways.
A cracked screen today
- The repair goes into the helpdesk. Someone types the serial and the student’s name in by hand.
- The loaner is written in a spreadsheet, if it is written down at all.
- The parent finds out when someone remembers to ring, or when the student gets home.
- The loan comes back when the student remembers, because no list says it is out.
- The charge is chased by the office from an email thread.
- The device’s history lives in three systems and one technician’s head.
The same screen on Plugboard
- Lodged at the kiosk with a card tap, against the device record that already exists.
- The loaner is issued in the same flow and linked to the repair.
- Parents see the status, the loan and any charge in the portal or by email, once the school links them.
- Overdue loans show on the desk’s Home page.
- The charge is recorded with who approved it and when.
- One device record, built from your device management, the warranty vendor and every repair.
Start with how you will buy it.
Feature lists look alike. What the price covers, where the data lives and how you get it back out are the differences you can check before you sign.
Buying Plugboard
Priced
Per licensed student, a year
One price covers
Every module, staff account and device
Where it runs
A server per school in Sydney, or your own
Self-hosting
The same price as managed
Onboarding
A one-off line on the quote
The quote
In writing, usually the same working day
Before the invoice
A 30-day trial on your own school’s data
Ask every vendor
- What the quoted price covers, and what costs extra.
- Which integrations are in that price.
- Where the data is hosted, and whether you can run it on your own server.
- What onboarding and the first data import cost.
- The term, the notice period and how your data comes out at the end.
Compare the same scope, integrations and contract term in every quote.
Plugboard vs Incident IQ, Vizor, AssetRemix, GoFMX and SchoolDude.
Basic capability coverage from each vendor’s public material. A question mark means we could not verify it, not that the product lacks it. For a decision, compare the workflow, the deployment options and the quotes.
- Parent portal
Documented for Plugboard. Not verified for the other five.
- Self-hosted option
Plugboard and Vizor document it. GoFMX’s FAQ specifies cloud-based products; the rest are unverified.
| Capability | Plugboard | Incident IQ | Vizor | AssetRemix | GoFMX | SchoolDude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The desk | ||||||
| IT ticketing | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: available | Vizor: available | AssetRemix: available | GoFMX: available | SchoolDude: confirm with vendor |
| Asset tracking | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: available | Vizor: available | AssetRemix: available | GoFMX: available | SchoolDude: available |
| Repairs and loans in one flow | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: not reviewed in this comparison | Vizor: not reviewed in this comparison | AssetRemix: not reviewed in this comparison | GoFMX: not reviewed in this comparison | SchoolDude: not reviewed in this comparison |
| Card-tap kiosk intake | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: not reviewed in this comparison | Vizor: not reviewed in this comparison | AssetRemix: not reviewed in this comparison | GoFMX: not reviewed in this comparison | SchoolDude: not reviewed in this comparison |
| Where it runs | ||||||
| Cloud hosting | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: available | Vizor: available | AssetRemix: available | GoFMX: available | SchoolDude: available |
| Self-hosted option | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: confirm with vendor | Vizor: available | AssetRemix: confirm with vendor | GoFMX: not offered | SchoolDude: confirm with vendor |
| Hosted in Australia | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: not reviewed in this comparison | Vizor: not reviewed in this comparison | AssetRemix: not reviewed in this comparison | GoFMX: not reviewed in this comparison | SchoolDude: not reviewed in this comparison |
| Connections | ||||||
| MDM integrations | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: available | Vizor: available | AssetRemix: confirm with vendor | GoFMX: available | SchoolDude: confirm with vendor |
| Single sign-on | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: available | Vizor: available | AssetRemix: confirm with vendor | GoFMX: available | SchoolDude: confirm with vendor |
| MFA, passkeys and SCIM | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: not reviewed in this comparison | Vizor: not reviewed in this comparison | AssetRemix: not reviewed in this comparison | GoFMX: not reviewed in this comparison | SchoolDude: not reviewed in this comparison |
| Parents | ||||||
| Parent portal | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: confirm with vendor | Vizor: confirm with vendor | AssetRemix: confirm with vendor | GoFMX: confirm with vendor | SchoolDude: confirm with vendor |
| Trust and control | ||||||
| Audit row written before the command | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: not reviewed in this comparison | Vizor: not reviewed in this comparison | AssetRemix: not reviewed in this comparison | GoFMX: not reviewed in this comparison | SchoolDude: not reviewed in this comparison |
| Full data export, any time | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: not reviewed in this comparison | Vizor: not reviewed in this comparison | AssetRemix: not reviewed in this comparison | GoFMX: not reviewed in this comparison | SchoolDude: not reviewed in this comparison |
| AI actions that need approval | Plugboard: available | Incident IQ: not reviewed in this comparison | Vizor: not reviewed in this comparison | AssetRemix: not reviewed in this comparison | GoFMX: not reviewed in this comparison | SchoolDude: not reviewed in this comparison |
| Verified, of the 7 reviewed for every vendor | 7 of 7 | 5 of 7 | 6 of 7 | 3 of 7 | 5 of 7 | 2 of 7 |
Sources and comparison notes
Vendor pages checked 5 September 2026; GoFMX integration and single sign-on details updated 13 September 2026. Select a tick or cross to open its source. Modules and plan requirements may apply; check current features and pricing with each vendor.
Plugboard
Tickets, devices and people, with each device’s loans and repairs, plus portals, in one desk. Managed hosting in Australia or self-hosting. Product Security How pricing works
Incident IQ
Documents IT ticketing, school asset workflows, cloud hosting, MDM connections and SSO. Self-hosting and a parent portal were not verified in this review. Platform Jamf integration
Vizor
Documents service desk and asset modules, cloud and on-premises deployment, and MDM and single sign-on integrations. Product FAQ Integrations
AssetRemix
Documents cloud-based IT asset management and help desk software. Confirm self-hosting, MDM systems and SSO with the vendor. Product overview
GoFMX
Documents IT ticketing, device tracking, loaner workflows, MDM integrations and single sign-on. Its FAQ specifies cloud-based products when asked about on-premises deployment. Products and FAQ
SchoolDude
The linked Brightly Asset Essentials source covers cloud-based asset operations. Legacy SchoolDude products vary; confirm the specific product. Brightly datasheet
Leaving is easy, so choosing is low-risk.
Whichever way you decide, you should not be trapped by the choice. This is what we put in writing.
Your data leaves with you
Everything exports in a machine-readable format, whenever you want and after you stop.
Managed or self-hosted
The same software runs on your own server, and the export is the same either way, so you can move between them.
Short notice
Thirty days' written notice before the end of the term. Invoiced yearly, or monthly if you prefer. The terms
Moving over is a short list.
Three steps, and you can stop after any of them.
A 15-minute demo
We cover your devices, your student system and the desk you run today.
A 30-day trial
On your own school’s data, before the first invoice.
Onboarding and import
We set up the desk, your supported connectors and a standard data import. Onboarding is a one-off line on the quote, and anything bigger is quoted first.
Questions we get on this page.
Not here? Email hello@plugboard.app.
What happens to the helpdesk we use today?
Plugboard replaces it. Tickets, devices, people, loans and repairs run in one desk, so your team works from one queue. In the demo we look at what you run today and plan the move across with you.
Can Plugboard be self-hosted?
Yes. The same software runs on your own server, at the same price as managed hosting. Vizor also publicly offers on-premises deployment; check each vendor’s supported platforms, prerequisites and contract.
How is Plugboard priced?
It is priced on your enrolment, with every module and every staff account included. Onboarding is a one-off line on the quote. Request a demo for a written quote, or see how pricing works.
Does Plugboard’s AI send data to an external provider?
With hosted AI, yes, and names, emails, phone numbers and IDs are pseudonymised before every call. Cloudflare runs the embeddings and decisions, and chat uses Anthropic’s Claude, processed in the United States. A self-hosted school can use the bundled local model instead, any school can switch AI off, and Where AI runs and the data-processing page have the detail.
How does Plugboard compare with facilities products?
Plugboard is a school IT service desk first, with a campus operations module for facilities, departments and administration desks. FMX and Brightly are built around maintenance and facilities operations; FMX also supports IT tickets and device tracking. Weigh the workflows and hosting options that matter to your school.
Bring your shortlist to the call.
Tell us what you are comparing against. We will show the same workflow on Plugboard and give you a straight answer on fit.
We reply within one working day.