Keep four different questions separate
A Canadian business address, Canadian data hosting, CAD invoicing and French support describe different parts of a software offering. Evidence for one does not establish the others. Create separate fields in your comparison so a broad “Canadian” label does not hide a requirement that has not been checked.
Start by identifying what your organization actually needs and who is responsible for reviewing it. A preference for local invoicing may belong to procurement, while data-handling requirements may need IT and privacy review. This guide provides questions for that evaluation; it does not determine legal compliance.
Ask about the data that will be stored
Describe the intended records at a useful level: equipment identifiers, maintenance history, staff accounts, attachments and customer information where relevant. Avoid sending confidential operational files merely to obtain a preliminary answer. Ask the vendor to identify the scope of its response and the proposed contract or service configuration.
- Where are primary application records stored?
- Where are backups and disaster-recovery copies kept?
- Which service providers process the relevant information?
- From where can support personnel access the records?
- What export and deletion processes apply when the service ends?
- Which commitments will appear in the proposed agreement?
Read public statements within their scope
Click Maint’s Canadian healthcare page advertises Canadian data centres and CAD billing, while its general pricing page displays USD. MaintainX’s privacy policy describes U.S. hosting and processing of personal data. These examples show why buyers should verify the particular offering and data category rather than infer terms from a brand’s location.
Record the source, date checked and unresolved questions. If a vendor says an option is available, ask whether it is included in the quoted configuration. Hosting in a particular country does not by itself establish that every organizational requirement is satisfied; have the appropriate reviewers assess the evidence.
Test French at the task level
A translated marketing page is not a product demonstration. Ask a French-speaking user to perform the same sample maintenance task used in the English evaluation. Check the request screen, mobile workflow, instructions, required-field errors, notifications and report output.
Click Maint and MaintainX document French interface options. Treat human support, onboarding materials, training sessions and the treatment of user-entered text as separate questions. Ask whether untranslated features fall back to English and how users report translation problems.
| Requirement | Evidence to request |
|---|---|
| French interface | A demonstration of the screens and devices your team uses. |
| French training | The actual materials and delivery arrangements in scope. |
| French support | Supported channels, availability and escalation arrangements. |
| Mixed-language teams | How templates, user text and reports behave across languages. |
Put confirmed requirements into the decision record
Keep confirmed facts, vendor statements and open questions distinct. Do not replace an unanswered question with a negative capability claim. Ask for written clarification on requirements that could change the purchase decision.
Bring the resulting checklist into the quotation review and pilot. Recheck it if the product plan, hosting option or implementation arrangement changes. A short, precise set of verified requirements is more useful than a broad promise that the software is Canadian or bilingual.