What charge point management software is
Charge point management software is the cloud platform your EV chargers connect to. The charger reports its status and every charging session; the platform decides who may charge, at what price, collects the money, sends the invoice, and lets you monitor and control the hardware remotely. The industry uses several names for the same thing — CPMS (charge point management system), CSMS (charging station management system), charging back-end, back office, or "the network". A charger without one is a socket with a screen.
The connection uses OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol), an open standard maintained by the Open Charge Alliance. Version 1.6J is what most installed chargers speak; 2.0.1 is the current one, with better security and smart charging. Any charger that speaks standard OCPP can be pointed at any platform that speaks it — which is why the software decision is separate from the hardware decision, and why it can be revisited.
What it does, in the order you'll use it
- Connect and monitor. Each charger appears with its live status (available, charging, faulted, offline), the energy meter, and alerts when it drops off.
- Decide who charges. Free for everyone, RFID cards or app for known users, QR-code payment for walk-ins, roaming cards from other networks — or a mix per charger.
- Set the price. Per kWh, per minute, per session, combinations, time-of-day, per customer group. Idle fees if you want to free the bay.
- Take the money. Card payment at the charger or by QR, monthly invoicing for fleets and businesses, roaming settlement with other operators.
- Invoice and comply. Receipts to drivers, invoices to companies, and wherever the law requires it, filing with the tax authority (in Spain: Verifactu, and TicketBAI in the Basque Country).
- Manage power. Cap the site's total load so ten chargers don't trip the main breaker; follow solar production or hourly prices if the platform supports it.
- Operate remotely. Reset, unlock a cable, start or stop a session, update firmware, read diagnostics — without sending anyone to site.
- Report. Energy, revenue, utilisation per charger and location; exports for accounting.
What it costs: the four pricing models
| Model | How it works | Who uses it | Where it bites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per charger / per port | A monthly fee for each connected point, often with a platform fee on top | Monta (Advanced: €5 AC / €8 DC per socket + from €500/month), most North American vendors | Cost scales with the network; 30 chargers is 30 fees |
| Percentage of charging revenue | The platform keeps a share of every paid session | Monta Starter (5%), Virta (revenue share on request) | The better your chargers do, the more you pay |
| Enterprise licence | Setup fee + platform fee + per-point fees + modules, quoted | AMPECO, Driivz, ChargePoint, EV Connect | Minimums and a sales cycle; oversized below ~100 points |
| Flat rate | One monthly fee regardless of charger count; a small fee on card payments only | askacharge.com (€20/month, 2% + €0.25 per driver payment); Plugchoice (free core, no payments yet) | Fewer enterprise services; check what's not included |
Most vendors don't publish prices at all. In our comparison of eleven platforms only three do — Monta, Plugchoice and askacharge.com — and everything else online is an estimate from a directory. A useful rule: on a small network with paid charging, the percentage on payments is most of the bill, so compare that before the software fee. If your charging is free (workplace, residents), the software fee is the whole bill.
How to choose: eight questions to ask every vendor
- Is it standard OCPP, and can I change the server URL on my chargers myself? If the answer is no, you are buying the hardware and the software together, forever.
- What is the price, in writing, before the demo? Per charger, per session, platform fee, setup, minimum term. A vendor who won't put it in an email before a call will not get cheaper after one.
- Can a walk-in driver pay without installing an app? Hotels, restaurants and shops lose the customer at "download our app".
- Whose brand does the driver see? Yours, or the platform's? Does white label cost extra?
- Where does the money go? Into your payment account with the platform's fee deducted, or into the vendor's account with a payout later? The second means the vendor holds your cash.
- Does it handle my tax rules? In Spain that means Verifactu / TicketBAI on every receipt. Elsewhere, at minimum, VAT-correct invoices.
- Can I try it with a real charger before signing? A trial with one charger through a full cycle — start, charge, pay, invoice — tells you more than any demo.
- What happens if I leave? Export of tags, tariffs and history; and the server URL unlocked.
Switching platforms
Because the protocol is open, moving chargers between platforms is a configuration change, not a hardware change: export your data from the old platform, register the chargers on the new one, point one charger at the new server URL, run a full cycle, then move the rest. The situation is harder only when the manufacturer has shut down its own servers and locked the URL — that case is covered in your charger manufacturer shut down: how to get back in control.
Where askacharge.com fits
We are one of the platforms in this market, so here is our place in it rather than a sales pitch. askacharge.com is charge point management software for small and medium operators — 1 to about 100 chargers —, installers who resell it under their own brand, and businesses with parking. Flat €20/month with unlimited chargers, driver payments at 2% + €0.25 with card processing included, OCPP 1.6J and 2.0.1, OCPI 2.2 roaming, QR payment without an app, an API and MCP server for AI agents, and automatic tax filing in Spain. Sign-up is online with a 30-day trial. It is not the right choice for a network of hundreds of points with an enterprise tender, for buyers who need a native driver app, or — today — for operators who need the management dashboard in a language other than Spanish. Prices · Technical documentation.