Let’s face it: choosing a Fire Records Management System (RMS) or ePCR can feel like stepping into a minefield. Vendors pitch polished demos, contracts are full of clauses no one reads closely enough, and once you go live, the system never seems to work the way it did in that 45-minute sales presentation. The sad truth is that many fire departments walk away from the RMS procurement process feeling regret. The system doesn’t meet their needs, costs more than expected, frustrates the team, and ends up underutilized—or worse, replaced.
If you’re responsible for evaluating, recommending, or selecting an RMS or ePCR system for your department, this post is for you. Below are the real reasons agencies regret their decisions, along with the concrete steps you can take to avoid them.
When Speed Replaces Strategy: Why Rushing the Process Backfires
Departments often feel pressure to upgrade due to funding timelines, leadership transitions, or system sunset deadlines. But rushing into RMS procurement without a structured plan is the first misstep. A fast-tracked process often skips foundational steps, like defining your actual operational requirements, gathering stakeholder feedback, and planning for long-term ownership.
We’ve seen departments jump into a vendor contract after just one demo, only to realize six months later that essential reporting capabilities are missing, integration with dispatch systems is clunky, or the user interface frustrates field staff.
Procurement should be a process, not a reaction. Taking time upfront to understand what your department really needs—and how success will be measured—can prevent years of frustration and avoidable costs.
The Demo Trap: Letting Vendors Lead the Conversation
RMS and ePCR vendors are trained to sell their products. They build demos that highlight their strengths and sidestep their weaknesses. If you rely solely on what a vendor chooses to show you, you’re seeing a curated sales pitch, not how the system will actually function in your environment.
Without a neutral advocate or a structured evaluation framework, many departments fall into the trap of letting the vendor lead the process. They walk away impressed by slick dashboards or fancy analytics without digging into the nuts and bolts: how will this system perform during a 3-alarm fire, integrate with CAD, or support data entry on a tablet in the field?
Departments that involve OG Advisors in the process get more than a demo—they get real-world scenario testing, guided evaluation scorecards, and a roadmap that helps them stay in control of the conversation, not the vendor.
Hidden Costs and Budget Surprises: Understanding Total Cost of Ownership
The price on the proposal isn’t the price your department will end up paying. Many departments regret their RMS choice when they realize the true cost goes well beyond licensing. Training, data migration, API access, system integrations, custom reports, and support tiers can all result in added fees.
You also have to consider the long-term implications: Will the system scale with your agency? Will updates break workflows? Are there escalating costs year over year?
A smart procurement process looks at total cost of ownership—not just the upfront number. OG Advisors helps agencies build clear, apples-to-apples comparisons between vendors and align purchases with your actual operational and financial constraints.
The Echo Chamber Effect: When You Don’t Involve the Right People
One of the most common sources of regret comes from not involving enough internal voices early in the process. A chief or IT director may spearhead procurement, but when the boots-on-the-ground users aren’t included—think captains, line staff, QA/QI officers, data analysts—the result is a system that might meet administrative goals but fails in daily use.
The best RMS decisions are made collaboratively. Field staff can help identify workflow gaps. Admin staff can highlight reporting needs. IT can flag security concerns. When departments bring in OG Advisors, we help organize these conversations into a clear, actionable framework—ensuring every voice is heard and that the chosen system actually fits your agency from end to end.
Implementation is Just the Beginning: Why Admin Support Can Make or Break the System
One of the most overlooked reasons departments regret their RMS purchase isn’t about the software at all—it’s about who is (or isn’t) running it. After go-live, departments quickly discover that configuring reports, managing QA workflows, and keeping the system optimized isn’t a one-time task—it’s an ongoing job. And often, it’s a job no one on staff is truly trained for.
We’ve seen captains or battalion chiefs pulled into part-time admin roles, leading to frustration, lost productivity, and eventual turnover. The average tenure for internal RMS admins is under two years, which means departments are constantly retraining and losing institutional knowledge.
OG Advisors solves this problem with fractional system administration. We provide expert-level support without the full-time price tag—so your system stays configured, optimized, and well-managed no matter what staffing changes occur.
You Don’t Have to Make the Same Mistakes
The truth is, RMS regret is preventable. You just need the right guide.
At OG Advisors, we’ve led thousands of software evaluations, sat across from every major vendor, and worked hand-in-hand with fire and EMS departments just like yours. We know where the process breaks down—and more importantly, how to fix it. If you’re preparing to evaluate, select, or replace your fire RMS or ePCR system, now is the time to get expert help.
Don’t make a decision you’ll regret. Fill out the form below and let’s start a conversation about getting it right the first time.
