MainBoss Maintenance Management Software

MainBoss Maintenance Software is an affordable CMMS system and is priced according to your organization's needs. It is currently in use by many small departments with a handful of workers, and by large organizations with tens of thousands of units to keep track of.

For small systems, MainBoss is usable at no charge—see Free MainBoss System for details. A complete system for a very large site is normally under $15,000—see MainBoss Pricing for details.

MainBoss accesses its data using Microsoft SQL Server. SQL Server comes in a variety of versions in order to provide effective service, no matter how much data you have to handle. (There's even a free version for smaller sites.) SQL Server is also a known quantity to IT departments; you may already have it installed at your site for use with other software packages.

One way to understand the value of MainBoss is to look at typical work flow: how the software would help you to do a typical job. For information, click here.

MainBoss Modules

MainBoss is licensed on a modular basis. You can pick the functionality you need, without getting any extras...but more functionality is ready when you are. You may purchase licenses for the following modules:

Work Order Labor: Managing costs of maintenance workers and contractors
Adds employees, contractors and trades to MainBoss.

Before the job, you can estimate what labor and contractors will be needed. Afterwords, you can record exactly what was used, as well as information such as the cause of the problem, the length of time that equipment was down, and suggestions that might reduce problems in the future.

The Work Order Labor module also provides comprehensive reporting facilities. You can get a quick list of overdue jobs, a summary of all work done on a particular piece of equipment, detailed labor histories, and much more.
MainBoss Service: Two-way communication for workers and clients
Adds the ability, using e-mail, to automatically notify maintenance workers of their work orders, or notify workers of changes in their work orders.

If the Web Access module has been purchased, those e-mails will have a URL to a web page containing the work order.

The MainBoss Service module will automatically process requests that have been sent in by e-mail rather than the manual method build into MainBoss.

Submitters receive automated e-mail acknowledgments at various points in the progress of the work, keeping them informed and in the loop without needing "hand-holding" from maintenance personnel.

The less you have to talk to people on the phone, the more time you have for actual maintenance work.
Web Requests: Submitting work requests via the Web
This facility makes it possible for authorized people to submit work requests through a web site. Submitters specify their e-mail addresses, which are then checked against a list of authorized addresses.

If an address is properly authorized, the web site opens a page that allows the user to submit a simple request consisting of a subject line, a description of the problem, and an optional priority ranking. The resulting request is placed directly in the MainBoss database. Users receive automatic acknowledgments using the MainBoss Service module (discussed above).
Web Access: Giving your workers web access to their work orders
This module makes it possible for workers to view assigned work orders over the web. (If you have the "MainBoss Requests" module, workers can also see assigned requests.)

Workers identify themselves to the web site with a standard Windows login name and password. The workers then see any assigned work orders that are currently open, as well any assigned requests that are classified as "in progress." Clicking the entry for a work order or request will open a web page that shows the most important information from that record: exactly what a worker needs to do on a job.

When a job is finished, workers can use a web page to close the work order. this includes recording the actual time spent on the job, as well as the quantity of materials used (provided that materials appeared on the work order when it was originally written up).

Workers can access these web pages using any web-enabled device. this includes high-end mobile devices (e.g. an iPhone or Android) as well as conventional computers.
Planned Maintenance: Scheduling inspections and preventive maintenance
Scheduling inspections and preventive maintenance is one of the most important functions of a CMMS—you can switch from reactive maintenance (where you're always playing catch-up) to proactive maintenance (where your work is more predictable and things go wrong less often). MainBoss can schedule maintenance jobs by calendar (e.g. "every three months"); by meter (e.g. "every 3000 miles"); or both.
Inventory: Managing spare parts and other materials
Adds materials and storerooms to MainBoss. Equipment now has parts lists. Inventory costs, usage and location are keep track of by MainBoss.

Work orders have an added component to estimate and keep track of materials used in the work order.

Your work depends on the parts and materials you use—if you don't have the parts, you can't do the job. MainBoss has facilities that let you record what you have in every storeroom, letting you find parts quickly. (No more wandering from storeroom to storeroom looking for what you need.)

You can easily get reports on current inventory levels, including a list of materials that need to be reordered. In this way, you can make sure you never run out of the parts you need.
Purchasing: Purchasing and Receiving
Your department uses purchase orders to pay for materials and for the services of outside contractors. The Purchasing module lets you create such purchase orders so that you can track your expenses.

Even if you already have purchase order software, you can use the MainBoss purchasing facilities as a "purchase request" system: an easy way to write up preliminary purchase orders before creating real ones with your existing processes.
Accounting: Dealing with general ledger accounts
The Accounting module adds cost centers to MainBoss and ties the cost centers to your organization's general ledger accounts associated with the various expenses and revenues of your department.

MainBoss Accounting Records can be exported for use by other programs.
MainBoss Requests: Tracking problem reports
When someone reports a problem with your equipment and facilities, you can't let the report fall through the cracks. Work request management lets you record the problem reports you receive and make sure they're being handled. For some organizations, work request management is all you need: simple information on the work you need to do.

The Request Module is the only module included in the Free Version of MainBoss.
MainBoss Users: People who can use all parts of MainBoss
MainBoss can be installed on as many computers as you wish, but only MainBoss users can use the MainBoss program. Theres is no charge for the first MainBoss user.

If your organization works on a network, you can install MainBoss on as many computers as you wish, but only people logged in under the licensed login names can use the MainBoss program.

Click here for a quick introduction to MainBoss's web capabilities.

Pricing

The price of a MainBoss license depends on the modules you choose and the number of people you wish to use the software.

MainBoss licenses must cover everyone who uses the software directly on a Windows system, and also anyone who accesses information over the web through the Web Access module (e.g. workers in the field). For example, if MainBoss will be used by five people inside your office and ten workers out in the field, you will need to license 15 users. With the MainBoss Requests and Web Requests modules, your license must cover the number of people whom you will authorize to submit requests by e-mail and/or by the web. A pricing calculator is available at MainBoss Pricing.

Packaging

MainBoss is distributed as multiple downloads from our web site:

Those who subscribe to our Annual Support Plan can also obtain the latest software and documentation from the Support section of our web site.

Support and Documentation

MainBoss gives you the opportunity of an affordable Annual Support Plan that provides you with both technical support and whatever upgrades/releases become available. In this way, you can stay current with the state of the art, obtaining constant improvements for your operation.

Find out about the specific system requirements for MainBoss.

You can also obtain information about MainBoss by checking out our list of MainBoss features (PDF) and our online documentation pages. These show actual documentation for the software.

For potential customers interested in a VPAT statement (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, often required for U.S. government purchases), here is the VPAT statement for the latest version of MainBoss (Microsoft Word format).

Support for Languages other than English

The MainBoss program currently operates in French and Spanish. The documentation for the program is only in English and we rely on Google Translate to present the documentation in languages other than English.

We do not translate the documentation since the time to do the translation would add delays in releasing MainBoss versions, and Google Translate is getting better and better. The major problem in using Google Translate occurs with menu items and the similar in MainBoss. Google Translate may have chosen a different term the we chose within the program.

MainBoss was designed to support multiple language, and if there is enough interest we can add other languages. To do the translation we need someone knowledgeable in CMMS and the desired language. Contact support@thinkage.ca For more details.