Space allocation software answers a question that comes up every reorganisation: which team sits where, on how many desks, and does the floor still fit once the new headcounts are in. It is the assignment layer of a space management system: the inventory of floors, rooms and desks underneath, the allocation of each to a team or a person on top, and the attendance laid over both so the allocation can be checked against what actually happened. This guide walks what space management software has to keep for the allocation to mean anything, what the free worksheets on this site work from your own figures, and how to read the lists of the best space management software, which are written for a buyer with a hundred floors.
The inventory under the allocation
An allocation is a claim about the inventory: this team has these 24 desks on this floor. Space management systems that let the allocation float free of the inventory produce stacking plans that add up to more desks than exist, which is discovered on move day. The test is to allocate one team, change the desk count on the floor, and see whether the allocation complains. Space allocation software that keeps the inventory as the single source under every allocation passes; a slide deck with team names on a floor plan does not.
The arithmetic of a reallocation, worked before the move
A team of 36 at 7 desks per 10 needs 25.2 desk positions, rounded to 26; at 60 square feet a desk with its share of meeting, support and circulation space the office space per person worksheet turns that into a floor requirement. Run every team through the same figures and the stacking plan is a sum rather than a negotiation. The worksheet publishes no standard; the ratio and the allowances are the organisation's own, and the arithmetic shows what they imply before anyone moves.
What space management software free of charge can work
The three worksheets on this site: the office space a headcount needs and the square feet per person it implies, the utilization and the sharing ratio from attendance, and the desks a return-to-office rule needs on its busiest day. They need no account and they are the whole calculation. What the paid plan adds is the inventory, the allocation and the counts kept as a record against the building, for $24 a month for the whole team.
Reading the best space management software lists
The lists rank floor plan rendering, sensor integrations and the number of buildings a product can hold, all of which matter to a portfolio and none of which matter to a manager with two floors. Ask each product whether the allocation is tied to the inventory, whether attendance can be laid over it, and whether all three export as tables. A space management system that answers yes to all three is worth a demo whatever its rank. HardFM publishes no other vendor's figures on this site; read each product's own pricing page.
Questions people ask about space allocation software
What is space allocation software?
The layer of a space management system that assigns the inventory of floors and desks to teams and people, checked against the desks that exist and the attendance that actually happened. HardFM Pro keeps the inventory and the allocation against the building; the free worksheets work the arithmetic of a reallocation.
Is there space management software free to use?
The worksheets on this site are free with no account: the space a headcount needs, the utilization from attendance, and the desks a hybrid rule needs. Keeping the inventory, the allocation and the counts as a record is HardFM Pro at $24 a month for the whole team.
How do I size a team's allocation?
Headcount times the desk ratio is the desks; desks times the area per desk plus the team's share of meeting, support and circulation space is the floor. The office space per person worksheet works it from your own figures, and publishes no standard of its own.