How to Choose a Commercial Facility Maintenance Vendor: The 12-Point Checklist

Short answer: score every commercial facility maintenance vendor on six capability items (trade breadth, geographic coverage, self-perform labor, SLA commitments, reporting, contract terms) and six risk items (insurance, bonding, licensing, safety record, verifiable references, exit terms). Rate each from 1 to 5. Anything under 40 of 60 is a liability, no matter how low the bid. Anything above 50 goes on the short list.

The checklist below is the one we use when a portfolio is being rescued from a vendor that looked cheap on paper.

The Six Capability Items

1. Trade breadth under one contract

Ask: Which trades do you self-perform, which do you subcontract, and who is accountable when a subcontractor fails? Good answer: A named list of trades in-house, a defined subcontractor approval process, and one account manager accountable for every trade. Bad answer: "We have partners for everything" with no names attached.

2. Geographic coverage in your actual metros

Ask: Who is the closest technician to each site, and what is the travel time? Good answer: Named local offices, technicians inside a 60-minute radius, and a stated response time per site. Bad answer: A national call center with no local presence and dispatch routed through a third party.

3. Self-perform versus brokered labor

Ask: What percentage of work is performed by your own W-2 technicians? Good answer: A percentage above 70 percent, with background checks, drug testing, and trade licensing on file. Bad answer: 100 percent brokerage with a margin stacked on every invoice.

4. SLA commitments in the contract, not the brochure

Ask: What are the response and resolution times for emergency, urgent, and routine work? Good answer: Written SLA with emergency response under 2 hours in major metros, resolution targets, and credits or remedies when missed. Bad answer: "We respond as fast as we can."

5. Reporting you can hand to ownership

Ask: Show me the dashboard a client actually uses, and how PM completion is tracked. Good answer: Per-site work order history, PM completion percentages, spend by asset, and download-ready reports. Bad answer: Paper tickets and a monthly email with a total.

6. Contract terms that let you leave

Ask: What is the term, auto-renewal, and termination notice? Good answer: Month-to-month or annual with 30-day termination, no auto-renewal traps, no exit fees. Bad answer: Multi-year auto-renewal with a 90-day notice window and cancellation penalties.

The Six Risk Items

7. Insurance limits

Ask: Certificates for general liability, auto, umbrella, and workers' compensation. Good answer: $1M/$2M general liability, $5M umbrella, workers' comp in every state you operate, and you named as additional insured.

8. Bonding and licensing

Ask: Surety bond, and trade licenses in each state where sites sit. Good answer: Bond certificates plus state-by-state license numbers you can verify independently.

9. Safety record

Ask: OSHA recordable rate, last three years of incidents, and your safety program. Good answer: EMR below 1.0, documented toolbox talks, and a fall-protection program for roof work.

10. Verifiable references

Ask: Three clients with similar portfolios, with phone numbers, in the last 24 months. Good answer: References that match your building types, not a single-site office reference for a 12-site portfolio.

11. Financial stability

Ask: How long have you operated, and how are technicians paid during slow months? Good answer: Local payroll stability, no 1099 technician model, and a clear answer about technician retention.

12. Exit and transition terms

Ask: What happens in the first 30 days if we leave, and who owns the asset data? Good answer: Written turnover of asset lists, PM history, and documentation with no data hostage clause.

The 60-Point Scoring Matrix

Score each item 1 to 5 and total:

• 50 to 60: short list. Contract terms are usually negotiable and the risk profile is clean.
• 40 to 49: workable, but get the weak items in writing before signing.
• Under 40: walk away. The gap shows up as emergency calls and finger-pointing within 90 days.

Weight trade breadth and self-perform labor highest if you manage multiple sites or more than four trades.

The Five Questions That Expose a Weak Vendor Fast

1. Give me the tag number and last service date of every rooftop unit at one site, right now.
2. Who is the technician assigned to each site, and how long have they worked there?
3. What are your response times in writing for each metro we operate in?
4. Show me a completed work order with photos from last week.
5. What is your termination notice, and what happens to our documentation?

A vendor that answers all five in one call is organized. A vendor that needs a week to answer two of them will run your portfolio the same way.

Where Single-Vendor Contracts Fit

If you operate more than one site, the vendor question is really a portfolio question. Consolidating five trade vendors across four buildings means replacing 20 relationships, 20 invoice streams, and 20 escalation paths with one. That is worth reading about before you write the RFP:

• Single-source facility solutions: why one vendor beats many
• Integrated facility management: the complete guide

MKMaintX self-performs HVAC, electrical, plumbing, janitorial, lighting, and general maintenance under one contract, with local crews in Massachusetts, Texas, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire and coverage across 35+ states. See all services or start a scored comparison with a written proposal: request a quote.