Choosing dispatch software in Quebec: the checklist

The field-service management (FSM) software market is dominated by solid American products — but none were designed for a business operating in Quebec. Before signing an annual contract, ask these ten questions.

The 10 questions

• 1. Does it calculate GST and QST correctly? Many tools offer a single "tax rate" field. QST at 9.975% calculated independently from GST is non-negotiable for Revenu Québec.
• 2. Does the interface exist in French? Not just for you: your technicians and clients see it too. Bill 96 governs the language of documents intended for Quebec clients.
• 3. Where is the data hosted? Law 25 requires you to know your processors and hosting locations. "Somewhere on AWS" is not an answer.
• 4. Is pricing in Canadian dollars? A US$349 plan quickly becomes CA$480 with exchange and fees.
• 5. Does it handle Quebec payroll? QPP, QPIP, Quebec statutory holidays, CNESST holdback on subcontractors — or will you recalculate everything by hand?
• 6. Does the RBQ licence appear on quotes? Mandatory for construction work.
• 7. Does it separate paid hours from billed hours? Travel time paid to the employee isn't always billed to the client. One single stopwatch = disputes.
• 8. Does GPS tracking respect consent? Locating employees requires a clear policy (Law 25 applies to your employees too).
• 9. Do client reminders exist by SMS and email, in French?
• 10. Can you export your data? Accounting (Acomba, QuickBooks, Sage), full CSVs, documents. If the answer is vague, it's a retention trap.

Our position, transparently

MainteQC was built precisely around these ten answers — it's why we exist. Compare for yourself: the features page details every module, and the free trial lasts 14 days.