Business Services
Compare business security systems
The install is the visible cost and the monitoring contract is the real one. Most of the money in this industry is in the years after the fitters leave.
Commercial security splits into four products that are usually sold together: intruder alarm, CCTV, access control, and the monitoring service that connects any of them to a response. The hardware has become cheap; the recurring monitoring and maintenance is where the margin sits, and where the contract terms matter.
The other thing to establish early is what you actually want to happen at three in the morning. A bells-only alarm makes noise. A monitored alarm alerts a receiving centre. Only a police-response system, installed to the relevant standards by an inspected company, gets a police unit — and it requires a Unique Reference Number that an uncertified installer cannot obtain for you.
What it should cost
| What you are buying | Indicative UK cost |
|---|---|
| Intruder alarm, small commercial, installed | £800 – £2,500 |
| CCTV, 4 camera IP system, installed | £1,200 – £3,500 |
| CCTV, 8–16 camera system | £3,000 – £10,000 |
| Access control, per door | £600 – £2,000 |
| Alarm monitoring | £15 – £45 a month |
| Remotely monitored CCTV | £50 – £200+ a month per site |
| Annual maintenance visit | £150 – £400 |
Beware of a very low install price paired with a five-year monitoring contract — that is a finance deal, and the total is what matters.
What changes the price
- Site size and number of entry pointsDetector and camera count drives the hardware cost more than anything else.
- Whether you need police responseThat requires certification to the relevant standards and an installer inspected by a UKAS-accredited body such as the NSI or SSAIB. It rules out the cheapest installers.
- Monitored or notAn unmonitored system is a deterrent and an evidence recorder. A monitored one is a service, with a monthly cost and a contract.
- Cabling and infrastructureRunning cable through an occupied building, or across a yard, can cost more than the cameras.
- Insurance requirementsYour insurer may specify a grade of alarm or a standard of lock. Check before you buy, because retro-fitting to meet a policy condition is expensive.
How to compare properly
Take these to every supplier. The answers are usually more revealing than the prices.
- Ask which inspectorate the installer belongs to — NSI or SSAIB — and check the certificate rather than the logo on the van.
- Get the monitoring contract length and notice period, and the price after any introductory period ends.
- Confirm who owns the equipment at the end of the contract, and whether the system can be re-monitored by a different provider or is locked to theirs.
- For CCTV, agree resolution, frame rate, retention period and night performance in writing. "HD" alone means very little.
- Ask what maintenance and callouts cost, and the response time promised.
- Get your UK GDPR obligations addressed for CCTV: signage, a retention period, and a process for handling a subject access request for footage.
Ready to compare business security?
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Common questions
Do I need police response?
Only if the site justifies it and your insurer or risk profile calls for it. It costs more, requires certified installation, and comes with a false-alarm regime that can withdraw the response if triggered too often.
How long can we keep CCTV footage?
Only as long as you have a justified reason. Thirty days is a common default for commercial sites; keeping everything indefinitely is not defensible under UK GDPR.
Do we need to tell people they are being recorded?
Yes. Clear signage is required, and you need to be able to explain why you are recording and what you do with the footage.
Is a wireless alarm as good as a wired one?
For most small commercial sites, yes, and it is far less disruptive to install. Wired remains preferred for larger sites and higher security grades.
Still deciding between options?
Buy or lease a security system?
A very low install price attached to a five-year monitoring contract is not a bargain — it is a finance deal. The question is whether that suits you, not whether it is cheap.
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