A well-implemented CMMS software is a game-changer for companies looking to optimize asset life cycles, reduce costs and ensure compliance. Finding the perfect CMMS fit comes from knowing your core maintenance needs and desired features. To help you get started, we’ve compiled the top must-have CMMS requirements you shouldn’t go without.

Get our CMMS Software Requirements Template

What This Article Covers

• Key Requirements
  • AI-Based Capabilities
  • Asset Management
  • Inventory Management
  • Maintenance Request Management
  • Mobile Capabilities
  • Preventive and Predictive Maintenance Management
  • Purchase Orders Management
  • Reports and Dashboards
  • Resource Management
  • Vendors and Customer Management
  • Work Order Management
• Software Selection Strategy
• Next Steps

Key Requirements

You can help your maintenance team optimize their CMMS use by selecting the right solution. Prioritize these functions while looking at CMMS vendors:

1. AI-Based Capabilities

When choosing a CMMS, look for robust AI capabilities. These go far beyond traditional systems, offering advantages like:

• Proactive Maintenance: AI enables you to detect anomalies and predict failures before they happen, preventing costly downtime.
• Efficient Operations: AI helps you optimize scheduling, inventory management and work order grouping, maximizing technician efficiency.
• Informed Decision-Making: Predictive analytics help you forecast maintenance needs and costs. Performance benchmarking allows you to compare your maintenance KPIs against industry standards and find ways to improve.
• User-Friendly Experience: Natural language processing (NLP) lets you interact with your CMMS using everyday language, simplifying queries and data entry.

Forecast your parts needs with Fiix. Source

However, it’s important to remember that, while AI is a powerful tool, it’s not a magic bullet. Success relies on quality data input and careful integration with your existing processes.

• AI-Based Anomaly Detection
• AI-Based Parts Forecasting
• AI-Based Scheduling and Routing
• AI-Based Work Order Insights

2. Asset Management

A robust asset management tool gives you complete control over your assets. Easily visualize asset locations using interactive floor plans, grids or a calendar. Understand how your facility works with asset hierarchies (e.g., building > floor > room > HVAC unit).

You can also track every dollar spent on each asset (labor, parts, services) for better budgeting and decision-making.

Find all asset details in one place with UpKeep. Source

Want precision asset tracking? Look for asset tracking systems. They help you locate your assets with barcode scanning, GPS or RFID tracking.

What does this mean for you?

• No More Costly Errors: Eliminate the guesswork of manual tracking.
• Real-Time Answers: Know where your assets are the moment you need them.
• Responsibility Made Clear: Easily track usage and maintenance history.

3. Inventory Management

Lost parts and stockouts hurt your productivity and bottom line. Inventory management tools ensure you always have the parts you need. This means faster repairs and better profitability.

Stockroom management includes custom-made barcodes and QR code scanning capabilities to help you track inventory levels in real time.

Gain complete control over inventory with real-time data. Source

Your CMMS can streamline inventory management for you by:

• Setting automatic reminders to reorder parts before you run out.
• Performing cycle counting (counting parts throughout the year) to reduce the need for full physical inventories.
• Forecasting demand to help you avoid overstocking or understocking.

Get our CMMS Software Requirements Template

4. Maintenance Request Management

No more delays or confusion when something needs fixing. A well-structured maintenance request management system within your CMMS offers a centralized hub to address equipment issues. This translates to:

• Swift Action: Intuitive request submission and automated routing help you address problems promptly.
• Prioritized Repairs: Target the most urgent tasks to minimize costly downtime and production disruptions.
• Optimized Workflows: Assign work orders, track progress and ensure timely task completion.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Analyze request patterns and trends to improve maintenance strategies and prevent future breakdowns.

Monitor pending work requests with FTMaintenance. Source

Stop equipment problems from disrupting your work. Invest in a CMMS with strong maintenance request management.

• Maintenance Request Approval
• Maintenance Request Form
• Maintenance Request Notifications for Supervisors
• Maintenance Request Portal
• Maintenance Request Status Updates
• Maintenance Request Submission

5. Mobile Capabilities

Empower your technicians with mobile CMMS apps. They’ll be able to view work orders, update tasks, log hours and more, all while directly on the job site. This means faster repairs and improved efficiency.

Track maintenance progress remotely with Fiix mobile CMMS. Source

Why go mobile with your CMMS?

• Information goes straight into the system, reducing mistakes.
• Digital records help eliminate paperwork.
• Technicians don’t need to check in to know what’s next on their list.

6. Preventive and Predictive Maintenance Management

Prevent equipment problems with proactive preventive maintenance. A CMMS provides preventive maintenance tools to help you easily schedule inspections, cleaning and other important tasks.

Choose schedules based on time or how much your equipment gets used. Create detailed work orders and track your equipment’s full history for quick reference.

Review preventive maintenance details, including order status, in a single dashboard using Limble CMMS. Source

Predictive maintenance gives you even more power. You can integrate with sensors to monitor equipment in real time. The system analyzes this data to predict potential failures, allowing you to schedule maintenance before problems happen.

• Condition-Based Monitoring
• Failure Codes
• Lockout-Tagout Procedure Documentation
• Maintenance Checklists
• Maintenance Inspections
• Meter Readings

7. Purchase Orders Management

CMMS can do more than just manage work orders and assets. Many include robust purchase order management capabilities, simplifying your procurement process and improving your financial control over maintenance operations.

Create purchase orders with just a few clicks. Source

A strong purchase order management system provides advantages like:

• Control: Maintain oversight of purchasing activities and ensure compliance with internal policies.
• Visibility: Gain insights into spending patterns for better analysis and decision-making.
• Efficiency: Streamline vendor relationships, reduce costs and minimize errors in the ordering process.
• Inventory Optimization: Link purchase orders to inventory levels to avoid stockouts and overstocking.

• Purchase Order Creation
• Purchase Order Receipts
• Purchase Order Request Approval
• Purchase Order Request Generation
• Purchase Order Request Notifications
• Purchase Order Status
• Purchase Returns

Get our CMMS Software Requirements Template

8. Reports and Dashboards

Business intelligence tools are becoming more ubiquitous even as you read this. You may think you don’t need anything as fancy as BI data, but you might be surprised by its usefulness.

Reporting tools help provide a snapshot of the everyday ongoings of your business and can offer valuable insights. Do you want to know how cost-efficient your assets are? Generate an asset cost usage report. What about assets’ failure analyses? Reporting can do that too.

Access work orders, assets, predictive maintenance, repair reports and more with Maintenance Connection. Source

Some CMMS platforms offer industry-specific reporting capabilities; others leave the ball in your court by offering custom reporting and dashboard features, allowing you to specify the report type you want to generate based on specific KPIs. Reporting is the place to start if you want to work smarter instead of harder.

• Custom Dashboards
• Custom Reports
• Export Reports and Dashboards
• Predefined Dashboards
• Role-Based Access
• Schedule Reports
• Predefined Reports

9. Resource Management

Get the right people on the job, every time. A CMMS tracks your team’s skills and certifications, making it easy to find who’s qualified for each task.

That way, your team works smarter, not harder. Consider who’s available, their workload and the skills needed on the job.

For big jobs, the system can help you find enough people, including overtime options if needed.

MPulse’s resource planning module. Source

Additionally, you can track equipment usage, helping you identify underused resources or potential bottlenecks during maintenance scheduling.

• Assign Craft Codes
• Employee Records
• Labor and Material Cost Tracking
• Labor Certifications Tracking
• Labor Time Tracking
• Maintain Accident Codes

10. Vendors and Customer Management

A CMMS enhances your vendor management and customer administration processes for smoother operations and stronger relationships.

It provides a centralized database to help you track vendor details, performance histories and contracts, making informed vendor selection and ongoing partnership management easier.

Add custom fields to vendor cards with Limble CMMS. Source

Similarly, it stores customer information, purchase histories and support interactions, giving you the insights to personalize service and boost satisfaction.

With easily accessible list views, your team can quickly reference essential vendor and customer data, resolving issues swiftly and proactively addressing needs.

• Contract Records
• Customer Records
• Customers List View
• Rate and Review Vendor’s Performance
• Vendor or Supplier Records
• Vendor or Suppliers List View

11. Work Order Management

Work orders are the hub of any maintenance management system. In addition to providing a digital form to replace traditional paper-based work orders, work order management tools act as the central component of your maintenance database.

Track and manage work orders. Source

You can associate work orders with asset and equipment information, including documents, ID tags, equipment images, spare parts details and more, making it an agile communication tool in your maintenance department.

Get our CMMS Software Requirements Template

Software Selection Strategy

The way you manage maintenance has a direct impact on your company’s success. Don’t rush into choosing a CMMS. A well-planned selection strategy will help you find the perfect system to solve your current challenges and unlock new levels of efficiency and profitability.

Ease of Use

• Intuitive Interface: A user-friendly interface is paramount for quick adoption and minimal disruption. Look for clear navigation, well-organized menus and minimal clicks to complete tasks.
• Customization: The ability to tailor dashboards, reports and fields to match your specific processes ensures a system that works for you, not against you.

Mobile CMMS Capabilities

• Offline Functionality: Ensure the mobile app stores data and syncs it seamlessly when the connection is restored.
• Platform Compatibility: Make sure the mobile version works flawlessly on your teams’ devices (iOS, Android, etc.).
• Field-Specific Features: Look for features like barcode/QR code scanning, image and document uploads, and GPS integration to make on-site maintenance operations more efficient.

Reporting Modules

• Customizable Reports & Dashboards: The CMMS should allow you to generate reports tailored to your KPIs, such as asset downtime, maintenance costs and work order trends.
• Data Export: The ability to export data in standard formats (CSV, Excel) allows for further analysis and integration with other business systems.
• Visualizations: Charts, graphs and other visual representations help you quickly identify trends and areas for improvement.

Scalability

• Adapting to Growth: As your business and assets expand, the CMMS must grow with you. Consider the pricing models and licensing structures of different options.
• Handling Data: Ensure the system can efficiently handle increasing volumes of maintenance data without performance slowdowns.
• Using Modular Systems: A modular CMMS lets you purchase only the features you initially need with the option to add more modules as your business evolves.

Strong Services and Support

• Research Vendor and Partner Reputation: Research the vendor’s track record, read reviews and consider working with an experienced implementation partner to guide the process.
• Prioritize Comprehensive Training: Comprehensive training ensures your team gets the most out of the system, offered through various methods like in-person, online or self-paced options.
• Assess Responsive Support Channels: Ask about support availability (phone, email or ticketing system), response times, and if there’s a knowledge base or community forum for users.

Get our CMMS Software Requirements Template

Next Steps

The best CMMS platforms are always improving to keep up with the latest trends. While work order management, preventive maintenance and asset tracking are the basics, modern systems go further with advanced features, easy-to-use interfaces and web-based access.

These are essential features, but there’s even more a CMMS can do! Understanding the full range of benefits will help you choose the system that perfectly fits your team’s needs.

Our free CMMS requirements template lets you prioritize which software modules and features you care about so you can easily find products that are the best match.

Did you find this list helpful? What’re the features you didn’t expect to see? Did we miss any? What would be on your list of CMMS requirements? Let us know in the comments!