The best maintenance software for food and beverage manufacturing: Comparing the top six platforms

The best way to find the right maintenance software is by reading the experiences of past and present customers. No buzzwords or spin—just the honest words of those who have used the software to achieve the same goals and relieve the same pains as you. That’s why we scoured hundreds of reviews and thousands of words from maintenance and asset management leaders in food and beverage manufacturing to find the best computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). We used this feedback, both positive and negative, to identify:

• Key features of each maintenance software
• The most common gaps that users mention
• What customers like and dislike about each system
• The best maintenance software for food and beverage manufacturing

This article not only compares maintenance software for food and beverage production, but also explores the benefits of a CMMS and must-haves to evaluate maintenance management systems.

Key takeaways

• MaintainX is the best overall choice for maintenance software in food and beverage manufacturing, scoring high marks for its frontline-focused capabilities, ease of use, strong mobile execution, actionable reporting, and compliance tracking features.
  
• When looking for the right CMMS software, food and beverage manufacturers should search for a platform with strong work order automation, clear asset histories, parts and inventory control, mobile execution, and reporting that supports their KPIs and compliance needs.
  
• Evaluating maintenance software starts with building a list of must-haves, then pressure-testing tools across roles, and scoring each platform to find one that drives adoption and measurable outcomes.

Best overall maintenance software for food and beverage manufacturing

What makes MaintainX the best CMMS software for food and beverage manufacturing

• Built for frontline adoption: Reviewers repeatedly describe MaintainX as “super user friendly,” “very intuitive,” and easy to “pick up and run with it with little training,” which helps teams get value quickly, no matter the skill level of the technicians.
  
  
• Fast implementation with strong enablement: Teams report getting set up and operational within just one to two weeks and describe implementation as well-organized and structured with thorough training and hands-on support.
  
  
• A powerful, all-in-one platform for maintenance: Food and beverage users highlight an all-in-one system that centralizes work orders, preventive maintenance, assets, inventory, purchasing, and reporting.
  
  
• Audit readiness and traceability: Reviewers call out the ability to create a clear audit trail, easier documentation, and improved accountability, including using the platform to document all required paperwork for food safety certificates and keep a historical record of work orders.
  
  
• Responsive, high-touch support and continuous improvement: Customer support is described as “top-notch,” “second to none,” and “goes above and beyond,” with multiple examples of fast responses and product updates based on user feedback.

Comparing maintenance software for food and beverage manufacturing: Key features and user feedback for the top six vendors

MaintainX

Key features

• Mobile-first work execution: Customers frequently mention that the platform’s strong mobile app enables technicians to easily receive and complete work in the field.
  
  
• Intuitive work order management and PM automation: Reviewers give lots of praise to MaintainX for making it easy to create, assign, track, and automate recurring work.

• Asset management features that match existing workflows: A lot of feedback centers around the system’s flexibility in organizing assets and asset hierarchies in a way that improves visibility into performance and health.
  
  
• Reporting dashboards that help maintenance drive action with data: Users highlighted KPI dashboards and reporting that could be set up in a single day.

What could be improved

• More flexibility in workflow customization: Some teams want more complex workflows and custom layouts.
  
  
• Stronger filtering: A few users mention needing better filters for scheduling and visibility.
  
  
• Purchase order and inventory refinements: Some teams want tighter PO behavior and reporting accuracy.

What customers think

• “I really like the ability for technicians to receive, complete, and update work orders in real-time from their smartphones, including adding photos and notes.” — Vincentdinho M., Maintenance Technician

• “Creating work orders and loading information into the system is as easy as it comes.” — Neal G, Plant Manager

• “The visibility that MaintainX gave us into asset performance and task completion helped us stay proactive.” - Jack D., Reliability Lead

• MaintainX has allowed us to measure information by area and our KPIs in order.” — María del Cielo P., Maintenance Planner

Fiix

Key features

• Easy adoption for technicians: Reviewers say teams can easily understand how to use the product, which makes for faster onboarding across roles.
  
  
• Strong core CMMS coverage: Fiix is praised by customers for having solid foundational features that maintenance teams need to manage assets, work orders, and spare parts.
  
  
• Clear asset structure and maintenance history: Users highlight an easy to use asset structure and great history on all work orders and changes made to assets.
  
  
• Multi-platform access for field work: Teams like being able to work across PCs, tablets, and phones, and the accessibility for multiple platforms to keep work visible.

What could be improved

• Reporting setup can be complex and less flexible: Reviewers note that reporting configuration is not straightforward and takes know-how. “You have to know how to use the reporting features to be able to set it up properly and…there is not much training on it.” — Joseph, Maintenance Manager
  
  
• Multi-site tools need improvement: Some organizations struggle to set up different sites and standardize work across plants. Quote: “For multi-site use, you cannot limit the list of suppliers, preventive maintenance or task groups to the site users.”  — Olawale, Sr. Global Lean Director
  
  
• Mobile experience gaps versus desktop: Several reviews call out missing functions or issues on mobile devices. “We have problems using the App on Apple based devices.” — Philip M., Maintenance
  
  
• Bulk actions and editing are limited: Admin-heavy workflows can feel tedious without mass edits. “Some areas could use more efficient bulk data input processes.” — Ryan, Facilities Manager

Limble

Key features

• Fast plant-floor adoption across skill levels: Reviewers describe Limble as intuitive and easy to navigate, helping technicians and managers get productive quickly.
  
  
• Asset-centric maintenance history and performance visibility: Teams highlight detailed asset histories, real-time visibility into equipment performance, and downtime tracking.
  
  
• Connected workflows: Reviewers call out how tasks, parts, assets, and purchasing data link together, supporting tighter inventory control and smoother execution.
  
  
• Custom dashboards and flexible reporting: Users emphasize customizable dashboards and reporting that make it easier to monitor KPIs and share insights.

What could be improved

• Search and part lookup can be limiting: Reviewers want more powerful part search, especially partial part number matching. “Searchubg for parts in the system is very cumbersome for me and my staff.” — Ed, Maintenance Manager

• Mobile performance and parity can be inconsistent: Some users report reliability issues, freezing, or differences between mobile and desktop experiences. “There is no offline version. For it to work you have to be online.” — Alex, Assistant technical manager
  
  
• Reporting and dashboards can feel constrained: Some reviewers want more flexible data visualization and easier sharing outside the system. “The reporting widgets are somewhat limited.” — Michael, Corporate Engineering Manager
  
  
• Setup and data entry can take effort upfront: Some teams note the initial build-out of assets and inventory can be intensive, especially for those new to CMMS tools. “Some users might find the initial setup and learning phase a bit challenging.” — Ossama T., Business Excellence Manager

Upkeep

Key features

• Solid work order flow with clear status tracking: Reviewers say Upkeep helps bring order to maintenance operations by making it easy to create, assign, and track work orders.
  
  
• Preventive maintenance scheduling that cuts admin work: Reviewers call out recurring schedules that reduce manual work order creation and keep PMs from being missed.
  
  
• Asset and inventory visibility that supports audits: Users mention tying parts and costs to assets, maintaining equipment histories, and documenting work with pictures to support audits.

What could be improved

• Changes and updates often disrupt maintenance work: Multiple reviewers describe frequent updates that change workflows or introduce new issues, which can be painful for standardized plant routines. “They are constantly rolling out updates. It seems we mostly have problems and issues after an update has been made. — Verified G2 User
  
  
• Work order and PM scheduling flaws: Some reviewers report recurring work orders and scheduling controls that create confusion or require workarounds, which is risky in GMP-driven environments. “I don’t like not being able to move maintenance dates… I had to delete a previous WO just to be able to correct it.” — Elber R., Operations Engineer
  
  
• Limited customization and segmentation makes multi-site operations harder: For organizations running multiple lines, sites, or business units, reviewers want stronger separation and configurable fields to match how plants actually operate. “We wish there was a way to separate our personal, and separate our business tasks. They are all jumbled together, making it disorganized.” — Nicholas, Regional manager

eMaint

Key features

• Configurable to match plant workflows: Reviewers emphasize deep customization, from fields to workflows and tables, so teams can tailor the system to how they actually run.
  
  
• Work order management built for execution: Users highlight creating, assigning, and tracking work orders with notifications and alerts to keep work moving across shifts.
  
  
• Preventive maintenance scheduling with strong traceability: Reviewers call out calendar-based PM and auto-generated work orders that help ensure less frequent tasks do not get missed.
  

What could be improved

• Implementation and enablement takes longer than expected: Several reviewers describe rollout friction driven by change management, training needs, or a slower-than-ideal setup phase. “There is a lot of training that is needed to fully utilize this software.” — Chris, Planner
  
  
• Reporting and data extraction can be hard to configure: Reviewers say building or adjusting reports and forms can be cumbersome without deeper database knowledge, which can slow continuous improvement efforts. “Making edits or changes to existing forms can be cumbersome and definitely requires a level of comprehension ‘slightly above your average user’.” — Matthew, Asset Care Engineer
  
  
• Scheduling at scale is a pain point: For plants that need to load-balance technicians and shift work quickly, reviewers call out limitations in bulk scheduling and large-group assignment. “Creating and scheduling work orders is tedious.” — Dustin G., Maintenance Manager
  
  
• Mobile experience lags behind expectations: Users mention an inflexible mobile view, limited technician-level personalization, and even requests for a dedicated mobile app. “The mobile program is a little inflexible which is frustrating.” — Robert, CMMS Administrator
  

Maintenance Connection

Key features

• Asset and document hub for maintenance execution: Reviewers highlight strong document and asset management, including building bills of materials, attaching technical data and images, and linking everything back to work orders.
  
  
• Maintenance planning that keeps plants on schedule: Users call out PM planning and sorting that helps teams stay organized across urgent work and scheduled tasks.
  
  
• Work order and inventory operations in one system: Reviewers describe solid facility workflows plus inventory tools that help manage internal maintenance work and parts.
  
  
• Support that helps teams get value from the platform: Multiple reviewers emphasize strong support and customer service when rolling out and expanding usage over time.

What could be improved

• Performance and speed issues can slow down daily maintenance flow: Several reviewers describe the system as slow, which can be painful when responding to downtime on the floor. “The system is slow to use and not meeting expectations.” — Upal, Maintenance Manager
  
  
• Usability is a challenge: Some reviewers say it is not intuitive to figure out how to complete specific tasks without help, which can create friction for busy maintenance teams. “Sometimes it is difficult to figure out how to do exactly what needs to be done.” — Verified G2 Reviewer
  
  
• Limited next-generation capabilities: Reviewers point to gaps in AI-forward functionality and faster analysis, which matters when teams are trying to prevent failures instead of reacting to them. “As AI is ramping up, it is not currently set up for the beginning of the new era.” — Jack, Maintenance Consultant

What is maintenance software for food and beverage manufacturing?

Maintenance software for food and beverage manufacturing is a digital platform that allows you to plan, schedule, track, and prove all work needed to keep equipment running safely and reliably. Often called a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) or enterprise asset management (EAM) software, it’s like a command center for your maintenance team. Maintenance software helps you organize work orders, schedule preventive maintenance, and create clear records for audits, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.

At its core, a CMMS helps you move from clipboards and spreadsheets to a single, digital source of truth for assets, parts, and maintenance history. In a food and beverage plant, that can mean fewer surprise line stops, tighter sanitation control, and cleaner documentation for GMP, SQF, or other regulatory compliance requirements.

Common maintenance software features include:

• Work order management: Create, assign, and track corrective work, with photos, notes, and time logs. For example, automatically creating a corrective work order when an inspection of a filler is marked as failed.
  
  
• Preventive maintenance scheduling: Automate recurring PMs by calendar or meter readings. For example, scheduling a weekly conveyor inspection with SOPs.
  
  
• Asset management and equipment history: Create asset hierarchies, store manuals, attach BOMs, and log service history for each machine. For example, track repeat bearing failures on a critical mixer.
  
  
• Parts and inventory control: Link spare parts to assets, set minimums, and streamline reordering. For example, a CMMS can help ensure changeover parts are always stocked.
  
  
• Reporting and analytics: Surface trends like top downtime drivers, PM compliance, and maintenance costs. For example, you can create a dashboard to see which packaging line has the most downtime.

What are the benefits of maintenance software for food and beverage manufacturing?

Maintenance software delivers value in food and beverage plants because it connects day-to-day maintenance work with the outcomes leaders care about most, like compliance, uptime, throughput, and cost control. Here are the 10 biggest benefits teams typically see.

1. Improved compliance and audit readiness: A CMMS centralizes PM records, sanitation-related maintenance, calibration logs, and asset documentation so you can quickly prove work was completed, who completed it, and when they completed it.
   
   
2. Reduced downtime and increased production capacity: Maintenance software allows you to execute better preventive maintenance  planning and faster response to breakdowns so you can reduce unplanned stops, help lines run longer, and hit production targets more consistently.
   
   
3. Increased asset lifecycle: Maintenance teams can use a CMMS for consistent preventive maintenance, condition tracking, and collecting complete service history to help extend the useful life of high-value equipment like ovens, mixers, and refrigeration systems.
   
   
4. Standardization across tasks, shifts, and sites: Standard procedures, checklists, and required fields can all be created in maintenance software to keep work consistent, whether it is done on the third shift at a plant across the country.
   
   
5. More efficient maintenance: Automated scheduling, clear prioritization, and mobile execution reduce administrative overhead and keep technicians focused on wrench time, not paperwork.
   
   
6. Lower maintenance costs: A CMMS helps maintenance teams achieve fewer emergency repairs, less overtime, and better planning of labor and contractors, which typically translate into a lower cost per unit produced.
   
   
7. Deeper insight into KPIs for data-driven decisions: Dashboards and reports in maintenance software can surface trends like PM compliance, mean time between failures, top downtime causes, and maintenance cost by asset or line.
   
   
8. Digital knowledge capture: Photos, notes, and standardized failure codes preserve tribal knowledge so fixes do not live only in someone’s head.
   
   
9. Improved safety: Lockout-tagout steps, safety checklists, and incident-related work orders are easier to enforce and document, reducing risk for technicians and operators.
   
   
10. Parts availability and tracking: Asset-linked BOMs, min and max levels, and usage history help ensure critical spares are on hand, avoiding delays because of missing parts during a line stop.

How food and beverage manufacturers can find the best maintenance software for their company

1. Start with your must-have use cases

Create a list of top-fives, which include your top five:

• Workflows, like changeovers, sanitation work orders, PMs on critical assets, or  parts checkout for critical spares. 
• Targets or KPIs, like planned maintenance percentage, mean time to repair (MTTR), downtime, or maintenance costs.
• Challenges, daily pains, and/or roadblocks to success, such as unstandardized work, delayed response for reactive work, or a lack of visibility into reporting.
• Compliance and audit requirements, like audit trails, documentation, and sign-off capabilities.
• Integrations and connections, such as to PLCs, MES software, and ERP platforms.

Use these lists to create a comprehensive rundown of your must-haves and use it as an anchoring point when evaluating whether maintenance software can impact these areas.

2. Pressure-test your options with multiple stakeholders and scenarios

Talking to vendors, looking at reviews, and reading a list of features are all necessary parts of researching maintenance software. But the most valuable way to evaluate your options is to use them. Most vendors allow you to pilot their platforms. Have multiple stakeholders, from managers and technicians to operators and planners, test the system using real scenarios from their day-to-day. Often, the truest indicator of whether a software is a fit is its ease of use, which boosts adoption.

3. Compare vendors with a simple scorecard and a pilot success plan

Once multiple stakeholders have tested real scenarios, turn that feedback into a decision you can defend. Create a lightweight scorecard using your must-have use cases, then score each vendor based on what your team experienced. Your criteria might include:

• Ease of adoption: How quickly technicians and operators could complete work orders, log downtime, and close PMs without help.
  
  
• Fit for your process: Whether the tool supports how your plant runs today without workarounds.
  
  
• Data quality and visibility: How reliably it captures the information you need for KPIs, and how easy it is to pull that data back out for reporting.
  
  
• Admin effort: How much time it takes to set up assets, PM templates, user permissions, and parts workflows.
  
  
• Scalability: Whether it can handle additional lines, sites, or more complex approvals and permissions as you grow.

The final word: Finding the right CMMS software for your food and beverage facility

There is lots of room for error in maintaining equipment at a food production facility. Unplanned downtime, missed PMs, and weak documentation can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or lead to heavy fines and safety risks. But choosing the right CMMS can help you avoid all these challenges. 

The right CMMS is the one your technicians actually use, every shift, because it makes work easier and makes results visible. Start with your must-haves, test platforms in real scenarios, and choose the tool that proves value quickly.