How do I sell an alarm monitoring company?

Monthly paying customers are a main thing a buyer of an alarm company will ask about. A buyer will want to see that those customers are real, that they stay, and that the signals keep reaching someone who answers. Start by getting that picture on paper, in a form a stranger can read without your help.

Present the subscriber account base

Build a list of every monitored account, with the start date, the service level, the contract term and how the customer pays. Remove accounts that have already been cancelled or are about to be. A buyer will test a sample against your billing records, so make sure the list and the billing system agree before anyone asks.

Explain cancellations and who owns the equipment

Keep a record of why customers left: a move, a death, a dispute, a competitor. Buyers read that history as a sign of how steady the base is. Also settle who owns the panels, sensors and cameras at each site. Some are sold to the customer, some are leased, and some stay yours. Your contracts should say which, account by account.

Show the central-station arrangement

Many small alarm companies send their signals to a third-party central station. Find out whether that agreement can move to a buyer, and whether the station will keep serving the accounts after the sale. If you run your own monitoring, be ready to describe the staff, the software and the backup plan. A buyer will not want a gap in service.

• An account list that matches the billing records.
• Cancellation notes covering the last few years.
• A schedule of installed equipment and who owns it.
• The central-station agreement and any licences the company holds.

If you also run a guarding business, the guide to selling a security services business covers that side.