Setting-up Business Queries

If you are reading this, you are either in the trade or thinking about starting up or maybe just curious. Recently on these forums, there have been a lot of questions asked about starting and expanding a business or simply what

Hi everyone, I am thinking about setting up an alarm company in the future, should I start out as a sole trader? Or not? Another thing, I have a very good knowledge of alarm systems and electrical systems.

Yes, I am indeed going to start my own security system installation business called Foxy Wolf Security: Services I will provide: Fire alarms Burglar alarms CCTV systems Servicing Fire alarm testing Burglar alarm upgrades

Hi everyone, just so you are aware I do have quite a high understanding of electrics and alarm systems and I would like some ideas for when I start my own alarm company. Thank you in advance.

Hi, Sooooo as the title suggests, i'm considering starting my own alarm company. Sure i know a lot of people will ask this, and yes i feel pretty confident in my abilities and i have been doing services and installs for people recently which has given me this idea. My question is though, where do i even start? I have business insurance so this is all covered but I would love to try and get some approval but again I have no idea how to go about this. I don't expect to end up like ADT nor do i really want to be. Also any tips and advice to make this work? i know it will be a lot of hard work but i think i can do it. …

Hi All I hope somebody could help me extract my customer database from an old copy of alarm master and hoped to find a way of exporting the customer databse out into excel as we are unable to find the manual any help would be great thanks raj

Hi, I setup a company just over a year ago, I've been doing all my forms and site management via paper and spreadsheets but as we grow I need some proper management software. What software is everyone else using and how are you getting on with it? I know most use either cash, alarm master or winsims but I'm looking for one that's cloud based as I don't have an office yet and me and my business partner both work from home so getting a server installed to run these programs just seems a bit dated now days. I've looked into servicem8 and commusoft but they don't quite do what we need so just wondered whether any one else has found a good system they recommend or how they ha…

Hi does anyone have a template alarm / cctv contract I could take a look at. I'm just writing my own up and need some inspiration.

Hi All I am trying to get SSIAB certified and have run into a couple of items that Im not to sure about and Im hoping you lot can help me 1. When measuring the resistance on the pir / door contact is it just the non active measurement I need or is it the active, non active and tamper measurement ? 2 Battery calculations. I understand that I need to test the current drawn from the battery for both Quiescent and alarm condition to ensure its compliant . I install my fluke inline between the battery and the alarm and turn off the alarm ,How long do I need to measure the current for as it keeps going up and never seems to stop going up ? 3 …

Hi, As I'm new to the forum, I'm interested in what brought you to the security industry? Did you go straight from school into an apprenticeship or did you enter it some other way? I started out as an auto electrician for à few years then ended up getting laid off when the company lost its main contact. Through my old manager I ended up starting with a small security company where I then served my time. For those of you who now work for yourself/own your own company, would you do it again if you had the opportunity to do so now or would you choose a different path? Grant

When you send off your quote, do you give the client just a total price, or is everything itemised? Also, do you show the price of parts and labour separate or is labour worked into the price of each item?

Hi folks. It has always been in the back of my mind to eventually start up on my own. My question is, is it possible to remain a small one man business in this line of work and get enough maintenance contracts to have a comfortable income and keep it that way? Or am I dreaming? Are any of you running a one man business? Grant

Can anyone help? I have tried to register on a website that will send me leads,but, in order to qualify I have to answer 10 questions, I failed the first try at them, being a plumber doesn’t help! I am looking to branch out in my local area and enter the alarm installation business, by using 3 party installers working for me. Looking to register and receive leads prior to engaging with installers in order to see how many leads this site will generate. Any help greatly appreciated. The questions are as follows: 1How do British standards affect the installation and maintenance of security alarms? 2 How would you install …

As I'm growing the business I've started to need extra labourers. For the last 9 months I've been paying 3 trusted people I know to help out as and when (usually 1 day a week). This is mainly clipping cable etc they have no technical expertise, although are learning. I'm paying about £130 for a full day. They cant give much more time than this. Eventually I want to employ but it's too soon. Maybe zero hours for now. I'm going limited this year and hoping to get SSAIB next year. At the moment it's a husband and wife self employed setup. However from reading on here it seems sub contractors are popular. If I can pay a sub to …

Hi Everyone, It's that time of the year again and we need to renew our insurance policies. Traditionally we have used firms like SISS / Suttons / Camberford Law and all have been great. Of course we have never made a claim on any of our policies. Has anyone made a claim on their insurance and if so, how was that process? It's something I've never thought of before but it made me think that even if a premium costs £1k more than the next one, it may be worth the extra expense, if it means there's a higher chance of completing the claim - particularly if it's a big one. If you have any experiences to sha…