Running a security service business is rewarding, but it sure isn’t a walk in the park. Clients are placing the safety of their property and team in your hands, which means you have a lot of moving parts to manage if you want to be successful. You need to build a high level of trust with potential clients to book a job. On top of that, you need to be responsive and act quickly in case of an emergency. Then, as the captain of your own ship, all the paperwork, finances and admin fall on your shoulders. It’s a lot to juggle, to say the least.

Chances are you’re always on call and losing sleep just to get everything done. However, there are ways to make life easier. While security is a 24-hour business, you don’t have to be answering text messages from clients at 3am or losing your weekends to admin. These must-know tips will help you manage your CCTV business more effectively, so you win back free time while continuing to deliver amazing customer service.

Respond faster with the help of technology

When you’re running a security company, your team needs to be alert and ready to go at a moment’s notice. If there’s a break-in or a security breach, you’re expected to react fast to call emergency services so they have the best chance of catching the culprit. On top of this, you need to send a security technician to repair any broken or damaged equipment. Ultimately, an emergency means you spend hours on the phone updating your clients on the whereabouts of your team while, at the same time, telling your team where they need to be. This is where technology helps you respond faster and more efficiently.

Job management software allows you to act quickly in the case of an emergency by making the dispatch process simple and straightforward. Simply create a job in the app, put in all the details and send it to your staff, who receive the notification on their smartphone no matter where they are. With this information, they know exactly where they need to go and what the issue is. Plus, once they accept the job, you receive a notification letting you know they’re on their way. This way, there’s less back-and-forth between you and your team, and your employees get on the job ASAP.

Reassure clients with real-time tracking

You take pride and care building up trust with your clients. After all, they’re relying on you to keep their stuff safe with your CCTV installation, maintenance and monitoring. However, because of the nature of the job, clients need a lot of communication and transparency so they know that your team are there for them when they need it—especially in the case of any unexpected issues.

In the event of an emergency or a damaged system, your clients are often in panic mode. They’re (understandably) worried about the safety of their property or their people, which means they’re constantly calling you for updates on the whereabouts of your team. You then need to call your employees for updates on their location, which delays them en route, then you have to relay the information back to your client. All of this is stressful for everyone involved, but it’s necessary to keep your client calm and to reassure them that your team are on the way.

With real-time tracking technology, there’s an easier way to keep clients in the loop. Real-time tracking gives clients that extra bit of visibility on exactly where your team is through smartphones and GPS technology. Using an app, clients view the current location of your team on Google Maps, eliminating the need to call you for updates. At the same time, you can also use the app to know exactly where your team is at all times. Not only does this reassure them that your team is on their way, but it saves you and your team from the constant back and forth so they focus on getting the job done.

Reduce the time you spend on admin

You already put a lot of time and effort into delivering great service for clients and managing your team. The last thing you want is to pour more time into admin, especially because your daily job is hectic and that means you’re often stuck doing paperwork outside of work hours. Luckily, while there are a lot of things that are out of your control in the security service business, admin isn’t one of them.

Doing taxes, chasing payments and balancing the books is part of the deal of running your own business, but the good news is it doesn’t have to rule your weekends. Accounting and finance apps, like Xero or QuickBooks, help you simplify the money matters. These apps give you one place to create and send invoices and track payments, so you don’t need to gather up all your files from different locations come tax time. They also allow you to send automatic reminders to a client’s email if a payment is overdue, so you don’t need to follow up on any missed invoices. All of this means you get paid on time, have less paperwork on your plate and win back evenings and weekends with your family.

Using these tips, you can use technology to make life easier as a security service business owner (and prevent going prematurely grey from stress!). However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For more ideas on how to run your business more efficiently, take a look at how the Knightguard Protection Group used technology to save time in their security service business.

Running a security service business? Geo is here to help you respond quickly to unexpected emergencies, deliver amazing customer service and build trust with your clients, and reduce the time you spend on admin. Plus, it’s super easy to use.

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