The verdict in three sentences
A plant with 180 employees managing 600 assets in Excel loses several days of output every year to unplanned downtime. A SaaS CMMS at EUR 50 to 120 per user per month is enough if your maintenance routines are standard, while a custom CMMS at EUR 45,000 to 110,000 excl. VAT makes sense when it must connect to the ERP, PLCs or specific quality processes. Either way, the payback comes first from 20 to 35% less downtime and 15% less spare parts inventory.
What Excel costs you today
The spreadsheet has no license fee, but it hides three losses: missed preventive tasks, parts ordered twice and technicians hunting for a machine's history instead of fixing it. In a Berlin plant, from precision engineering to food processing, these losses add up fast.
| Item | On Excel | With a CMMS (2026 estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| Unplanned downtime per year | 120 hours | 78 to 96 hours (-20 to -35%) |
| Cost of one hour of line stoppage | EUR 2,500 to 8,000 | Unchanged |
| Spare parts inventory | EUR 400,000 | EUR 340,000 (-15%) |
| Data entry time per technician | 45 min per day | 10 min per day (mobile) |
| Preventive work done on time | 60 to 70% | 90 to 95% |
| Preparing an ISO or customer audit | 3 to 5 days | 1 day |
With one hour of downtime at EUR 4,000 and 30 hours avoided, the gain exceeds EUR 120,000 a year, before counting inventory.
SaaS or custom: the comparison
For 180 employees, the maintenance team usually has 12 to 15 users: technicians, planners, storekeeper, manager. That headcount drives the SaaS price.
| Criterion | SaaS CMMS | Custom CMMS |
|---|---|---|
| Entry cost | EUR 5,000 to 15,000 (setup, migration) | EUR 45,000 to 110,000 excl. VAT |
| Annual cost for 15 users | EUR 9,000 to 21,600 | EUR 8,000 to 16,000 (maintenance, hosting) |
| Time to launch | 6 to 10 weeks | 4 to 7 months |
| Technician mobile app | Standard, sometimes an add-on | Built around your workflows, offline |
| ERP link (SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, proALPHA) | Limited or paid connector | Custom API |
| Automatic machine counters | Rare | Possible via PLCs or IoT sensors |
| Ownership of data and code | Vendor | You |
Over 5 years, a SaaS at EUR 90 per user costs about EUR 91,000, a custom CMMS at EUR 70,000 about EUR 130,000 including maintenance. Custom only pays off if it delivers what SaaS cannot: deep ERP integration, automatic counters, quality workflows specific to automotive, aerospace or medical devices.
A realistic version 1 scope
| Module | Content | Indicative budget |
|---|---|---|
| Asset register | 600 machines, hierarchy, QR code per machine | EUR 8,000 to 14,000 |
| Preventive maintenance plans | Calendar and meter-based frequencies | EUR 10,000 to 18,000 |
| Requests and work orders | Mobile creation, photos, signature | EUR 10,000 to 20,000 |
| Spare parts management | Minimum stock, reservations, purchasing link | EUR 8,000 to 16,000 |
| Dashboards | MTBF, MTTR, preventive rate, costs | EUR 6,000 to 12,000 |
| ERP and sensor integration | Items, suppliers, counters | EUR 8,000 to 30,000 |
Mini case study
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Sophie, maintenance manager at a components plant in Berlin (180 employees, 600 assets), logged 120 hours of unplanned downtime in 2025, at EUR 3,500 per hour of lost output. She gets a quote for a custom CMMS at EUR 72,000, with an offline mobile app and a SAP Business One link, plus EUR 11,000 a year of maintenance. Conservative assumption: 25% less downtime, or 30 hours and EUR 105,000 a year, plus EUR 60,000 of inventory freed once. The project pays back in under 8 months; even with only 15% of downtime avoided, payback stays under 14 months.
FAQ
How long does it take to roll out a CMMS across 600 assets?
Budget 4 to 7 months for a custom build, including 4 to 6 weeks to inventory and tag the machines. The asset census often takes longer than the development itself.
Does the mobile app work without network on the shop floor?
Yes if it is designed offline-first: work orders sync once Wi-Fi is back. Plan EUR 3,000 to 6,000 extra for that mode.
Can machine counters be collected automatically?
Yes, through PLCs (OPC UA, Modbus) or IoT sensors at EUR 80 to 300 each. Preventive work is then triggered by actual running hours, not by the calendar.
Does a CMMS help with ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 audits?
Yes: the time-stamped history of every job cuts audit preparation from 3 to 5 days to about 1 day.
What downtime reduction is realistic in year one?
A range of 20 to 35% is a 2026 order of magnitude for a plant starting from Excel. It depends mostly on technicians' data entry discipline during the first 3 months.
Let's scope your project. Send us your number of assets, your ERP and the cost of one hour of downtime: we will price a CMMS fitted to your shop floor, with an ROI calculation and a rollout plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
