Short answer: choose a CMMS (computerised maintenance management system) on five things:
- Preventive maintenance scheduled by both calendar and meter readings (run-hours, cycles or output).
- A mobile app technicians can use offline.
- A clean asset register with full history.
- Spare-parts inventory linked to work orders.
- Reporting on PM compliance, MTTR and MTBF.
Everything else is secondary. Then run a two-to-four-week trial with your own technicians before you sign.
New to the term? Start with what a CMMS is and how it differs from an EAM.
Signs you have outgrown spreadsheets
- Preventive tasks are missed because nobody saw the reminder.
- The same breakdown happens again and nobody can find what was done last time.
- Technicians wait for parts that were "definitely in stock".
- You cannot answer "how much did this machine cost us in maintenance last year?"
- Audits mean days of chasing paper work orders and signatures.
The must-have feature checklist
| Feature | Why it matters | What to test in the trial |
|---|---|---|
| Preventive maintenance scheduling | Prevents the breakdowns that cause most unplanned downtime | Create a task due every 30 days or 500 run-hours, whichever comes first |
| Work orders | The core record of what was done, by whom, with which parts | Raise, assign, complete and close a job from a phone in under two minutes |
| Mobile and offline | Plant rooms, ships and basements often have no signal | Complete a job in airplane mode, then sync |
| Asset hierarchy and history | Find every past job on a machine in seconds | Import 20 of your real assets with parent/child structure |
| Spare parts and inventory | Stops waiting for parts and over-stocking | Consume a part on a work order and watch stock and reorder alerts update |
| Meter readings | Enables usage-based and condition-based maintenance | Enter a run-hours reading and see the next due date move |
| Reporting and KPIs | Proves the system works and guides budget | Run PM compliance, MTTR and MTBF for a test period |
| Permissions and audit trail | Needed for ISO, safety and regulatory audits | Check who changed what, and when |
The KPIs your CMMS must report
- PM compliance: the share of scheduled preventive tasks completed on time. This is the first number to improve.
- MTTR (mean time to repair): how long it takes to restore equipment after a failure.
- MTBF (mean time between failures): how long equipment runs between failures. It should rise as preventive maintenance improves.
- Planned vs unplanned work ratio: more planned work means fewer emergencies.
- Maintenance cost per asset: the basis for repair-or-replace decisions.
- For production lines, connect maintenance data to OEE.
How CMMS pricing works
| Model | How it is charged | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Per user per month | Each named technician or planner pays a seat fee | Read-only and requester users charged as full seats |
| Per asset or site | Price scales with equipment count or locations | Costs jump when you add a site |
| Tiered plans | Features unlocked by plan level | Preventive maintenance, inventory or the API locked to top tiers |
| One-off licence or custom build | Upfront cost, then support | Who maintains it, and how upgrades work |
Ask every vendor for the total yearly cost for your real user count, asset count and sites, including implementation, data import and training. Comparing headline seat prices is misleading.
Questions to ask every vendor
- Can preventive tasks trigger on run-hours or meter readings, not just dates?
- Does the mobile app work fully offline, including photos and signatures?
- Will you import our existing asset list and maintenance history, and at what cost?
- Is there an API, and is it included in our plan?
- Where is our data hosted, and can we export all of it if we leave?
- What does onboarding include, and how long until technicians are live?
A rollout plan technicians will actually use
- Start with critical assets only. Take the 20% of equipment that causes 80% of downtime, rather than everything at once.
- Load preventive tasks from manufacturer manuals and your team's own experience.
- Train on phones, on the floor, with real jobs, not in a classroom.
- Make the CMMS the only way to request work. No more side-channel requests.
- Review PM compliance weekly for the first three months.
Off-the-shelf or custom?
Most small and mid-sized teams should start with an off-the-shelf CMMS. A tailored system is worth it when you need maintenance tied to your ERP, regulatory regimes such as class-society or safety-management rules, offline-first operation in remote locations, or multi-site fleets with unusual asset structures. ZetsApp offers ZetMaint CMMS with calendar and run-hours scheduling and an offline technician app, and builds custom maintenance platforms for complex operations.
Frequently asked questions
What should I look for in CMMS software?
Prioritise preventive maintenance scheduling by calendar and meter readings, a mobile app that works offline, an asset register with full history, spare-parts tracking linked to work orders, and reporting on PM compliance, MTTR and MTBF.
What is the difference between CMMS and EAM?
A CMMS focuses on maintenance execution: work orders, preventive maintenance, parts and technicians. An EAM covers the full asset lifecycle, including procurement, financial depreciation and disposal, and is usually larger and costlier.
How much does CMMS software cost?
Pricing is usually per user per month, per asset or site, or by plan tier. Compare the total yearly cost for your real users, assets and sites, including implementation, data import and training, rather than headline seat prices.
How long does it take to implement a CMMS?
A small team that starts with its critical assets can be live in a few weeks. Larger multi-site rollouts with data migration and integrations typically take two to six months.
Do small businesses need a CMMS?
If you maintain equipment whose failure stops revenue and you are tracking maintenance on paper or spreadsheets, a CMMS usually pays back through fewer breakdowns, faster repairs and less wasted inventory.
