Security Sales & Integration October 2022 - 42

Management
Selecting Operations
Software
make to the unified service provider.
So now that you know why it is essential
for all your information to talk to each other
through a unified software solution; which way
is best for your business?
Start with identifying needs, analysis of reHaving
the right
infrastructure in
place can allow a
company to grow
to thousands of
subscribers.
quirements and a custom-tailored solution for
your company. When evaluating your choices,
it is important to take into consideration the
soft costs and not just hard costs such as labor
time, software licenses and IT efforts.
Purpose-Built Vs. Off-the-Shelf
An off-the shelf solution won't work for the security
industry, which has some very different
requirements than other industries. As well, security
companies vary in size, location, types of
installs and whether they also do monitoring.
Some of the special requirements for security
companies are differed revenue, recurring
monthly revenue, technician scheduling, project
management, contract management, and a
variety of proposals needed to deal with fire requirements
from state to state and city to city. To
make the right decision, it is important to take
into consideration all these factors and more.
When you're thinking about choosing an
operational/business management system to
KEY SECURITY BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FEATURES
▶ ACCOUNTING
Automating your billing processes, compiling financial statements and
managing accounts payable and receivable.
▶ INVENTORY CONTROL
Tracking stock levels, managing sales orders and generating purchase orders.
▶ EMPLOYEE SCHEDULING
Streamlining the process to allow managers to schedule employees for their
shifts based on availability and other requirements.
▶ LEAD MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Helping sales reps track prospects from initial contact through close of the
sale. This prioritizes leads that are most likely to convert into customers.
▶ CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGEMENT (CRM)
Allows businesses to track customer communications in one place from
initial contact through purchase and follow-up. This type of software may
include marketing automation tools to help businesses target prospects
more effectively over time and gain more insight.
streamline processes and improve standards
across your organization, it's worth thinking
about the issues you are experiencing and what
you really need from a solution.
The goal is to have a unified system with
various modules for each area of your business,
which will ensure that each program talks to
each other. An example of this is a specific module
for the sales and marketing team, one for the
operations staff, a specific accounting solution,
a monitoring platform and service program that
all work together to get the best results for your
business. The choice will depend on your specific
business activities and the challenges you face.
Why Modular Makes Sense
One special need for security companies is to
keep the integration company and monitoring
station linked with the one software. That's why
the monitoring part of the integrated system is
so important. If it is an installing dealer with
a central station, it becomes easier as the one
company is using the one platform and all the
information is synced. If not, it would be advantageous
for the monitoring station to be
using the monitoring software, which is part of
the operations and business management platform.
The integrator does not need the monitoring
part but as part of the same package,
there will not be a need to re-enter information.
Taking it a step further, as a security company,
it is vital to interact with customers. One
module is a customer portal. This way, clients
have the capability to use the system to pay
bills, add or change contact lists. The information
from the portal would be entered into
the accounting slice automatically. Of course,
what is allowed can be limited but it provides
dealers, a centralized way to other modules
as an extension to their central station, either
their own or a third party.
It is time to re-evaluate the tools you are
using to manage and run your business. By
selecting the right unified solution your company
will achieve greater operational/organizational
benefits that will elevate efficiency, effectiveness,
RMR opportunities, profitability and
perceived company value. Your company will
grow united across all departments including
sales, systems design, installations, monitoring,
service calls, marketing, accounting and
customer care. SSI
AVI LUPO is Co-President of DICE Corp.
42
Security Sales & Integration OCTOBER 2022
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http://www.securitysales.com
Security Sales & Integration October 2022

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