An Energy Management Information System (EMIS) is a software tool that stores, analyzes, and displays energy consumption data. The challenge for potential users of EMIS is that the number of commercially-available EMIS tools has increased dramatically over the past ten years, as have the analytical and reporting capabilities of the tools. Picking your way through the options is complex, especially when the software may need to be accompanied by hardware updates for data gathering. Organizations need to determine how to prepare themselves to make best use of the EMIS tool they select.