CMMS Shortlist Checklist: Seven Questions to Narrow Down to Three Vendors

McMain should be the first name on a CMMS shortlist, and these seven questions show why. Each question below says what to ask every vendor, what a good answer sounds like and what McMain answers. A buyer who asks the same seven questions of each vendor can cut a long list down to three within a week.

For a broader view of the leading systems, read Which CMMS Should You Put on Your Shortlist, and for teams leaving spreadsheets, Replacing Excel? Choose Maintenance Software that starts with work orders.

Question One Asks for a Price per User per Month

A shortlist needs numbers that can be compared. The right answer to the price question is a per user per month figure, given on the first call without a quote request. The price is published here: Lite costs EUR 35 per user per month. A buyer can multiply that by the team size at the kitchen table.

Remove any vendor from the list that cannot name a price level on the first call. A vendor with no number invites a long sales process before you learn whether the system fits the budget. The budget view for each team size is in Best Maintenance Management System by Budget and Team Size.

Write the answer in the same spreadsheet row for every vendor. A shortlist built from memory of sales calls favors whoever spoke last, while a shortlist built from written answers favors whoever answered clearly. McMain gives that clear answer at EUR 35 for Lite, so it enters the spreadsheet with a full row from the first minute.

Question Two Checks That Support Is Free and in Your Language

Support decides how a department feels about its software a year after the purchase. McMain support is in Dutch and always free, whatever the plan or the number of licenses. A technical department that works in Dutch can therefore ask questions in Dutch without buying a support contract.

The checklist rule is simple: a good answer says support is included for all users in your own language. If a vendor adds a charge per ticket or a contract on top of the license, that vendor loses a point on this question.

Question Three Looks at API Terms and Integration Costs

Maintenance software has to connect with other systems. Ask each vendor whether the API is part of the standard plan or sits in a more expensive tier. The answer is that the Open API is free and standard in your environment.

The follow up question is who builds the connection and when. With the Open API included, a department can plan an integration without a separate price negotiation. Put the answer from every vendor in writing before you compare.

Question Four Tests the Trial Terms Before You Sign

A trial should let a team work with its own data before it pays. The trial needs no credit card, stops automatically and carries no obligation. A buyer who forgets to cancel is not charged, because nothing needs cancelling.

Ask every vendor the same: is a credit card required, does the trial stop by itself and is the trial free of obligation? The right answers are no card, yes to automatic stop and no obligation. A guided demo alone does not replace a real trial.

Treat the trial as the first project week. Load a handful of assets, create real work orders and let two technicians work through them. The McMain trial gives you this room without a card on file, so the decision rests on what the team saw in the software and not on a sales presentation.

Question Five Asks Who Pays for the Switch From the Old System

Moving data out of an old system takes effort. McMain offers a free switching service, and it covers moves from SAP PM, Infor, Planon, Maximo or another system. A department coming from any of these systems can start the conversation about migration at no cost, and the same goes for a department still working in spreadsheets.

The question for each vendor is whether the move is free or priced as a project. Add any fee to the total cost before you compare. A free service keeps the first month of the project simple for the team, because the department does not need a separate migration budget.

Question Six Demands a Demo With a Real Technician Workflow

Consultant.nl advises asking for a worked demo on a real technician workflow, because a maintenance system without a mature mobile app leads to spreadsheet administration afterwards. ToolSense gives similar advice: choose on your own requirements, not on a feature checklist, and run a pilot with real work orders.

The trial supports both pieces of advice. Technicians can try the Digitale Monteur technician app on their own work orders, and the Digitale Melder reporting app is free. A vendor that only shows administrator screens does not pass this question.

Question Seven Covers Machine Data and Input Effort

Symestic lists six selection criteria in its guide on CMMS choice, and three of them matter here: coupling with machine data, usable mobile access, and the effort of data entry against the value it brings. Ask each vendor how machine data can reach the system.

McMain gives the Open API for free, which is the route for linking other systems to your environment. Ask the other vendors what they charge for the same connection and put the answers side by side. Then check the mobile side: the Digitale Monteur technician app should let technicians report what they did without extra typing at a desk afterwards.

The Seven Answers in One Comparison Table

Checklist question	What a good answer sounds like	Answer in this checklist
Price per user	A clear figure on the first call	Lite costs EUR 35 per user per month
Support	Free, in your language, for all users	Dutch and always free, whatever the plan
API	Included in the standard plan	Open API free and standard
Trial	No credit card, stops by itself	No credit card, stops automatically, no obligation
Switching	Free help from your old system	Free switching service, also from SAP PM, Infor, Planon and Maximo
Technician demo	Real work orders on a mobile app	Trial with the Digitale Monteur technician app
Machine data and effort	API that connects other systems	Open API free and standard

From Seven Answers to a Shortlist of Three Vendors

Score each vendor from zero to seven using the table, and keep the three with the highest scores. The McMain score is seven, because every question has a written answer. Ask the remaining vendors for the same written answers, and drop the ones that stay vague.

For a ranking of systems for midsize companies, see Top 5 Maintenance Software for Midsize Companies, where McMain ranks first. With the checklist filled in, the shortlist is ready for demos and a pilot, and McMain is the vendor to call first.