Posts by Scott MacDougal
AlarmPayments.com Success Stories
“The Alarmpayments.com portal makes us look much more professional to our subscribers,” says Paul Allen, owner of Protective Security Services.
Read MoreSurcharging for Life Safety Companies: How to Avoid the Hassle
With inflation driving up operating costs recently, more life safety companies are opting to add surcharges to customers that pay by credit card. Surcharges are simply fees that a business can add to recover its merchant fee expenses. Say you have a customer that pays a $100 quarterly monitoring invoice, and your company has adopted…
Read MoreThe Value Of Integrations!
Cornerstone added its first integration about 13 years ago—with the US Post Office site. That was a simple integration that confirmed the address for a newly added account, including zip + 4. Since then we’ve added over a dozen integrations, with central stations, collection agencies, and other software providers. Here’s a partial list: https://alarmbills.com/integrations/ Integrations…
Read MoreReduce Stress: Invest in Expertise for Effortless Collections
Most of the office managers we work with would rather have a root canal than try collecting money from past-due customers! It’s stressful to put pressure on customers you worked so hard to find and win. Well, Cornerstone has a solution that takes the pressure off. Cornerstone’s Solution – Billing Plus! Our Billing Plus service…
Read MoreG/L vs. Alarm Company Software: Why Integration Can Be Risky
In the dynamic world of business technology, the life safety software decisions you make can be the linchpin for your company’s success. One pivotal decision that businesses often grapple with is whether to integrate their General Ledger (GL) with their Customer Management Software (CRM). While the allure of an all-in-one solution is strong, there are compelling…
Read MoreLabor Shortage? DO LESS! With Alarm Software
Not shocking news: we’re in the tightest labor market in over 20 years. Security alarm dealers, and many other industries, are having real trouble finding enough people to get all the work done. What’s a business owner to do? Until the labor market improves, here are some ideas that may help. You’ve heard the adage,…
Read MoreManagement: Many Flavors
To state the obvious: effectively managing your small business is difficult! It’s easy to get derailed. Whether that’s getting hit by a big surprise problem, losing a large customer you thought was happy, losing a key person, battling inflation-driven cost increases, and so on. Management is a very broad term, and it may be better…
Read MoreSafe Streets USA
Company: Safe Streets USALocation: Garner, North CarolinaWebsite: http://safestreetsusa.com Background SafeStreets USA is one of ADT’s oldest, largest, and most experienced Authorized Dealers operating in 46 states across the US. The company does over 50,000 alarm installations annually and about 98% are residential customers The Challenge Like many security dealers, SafeStreets was using a…
Read MoreCRM Software for Security Dealers: A Must Have
A CRM is generally understood to be software that helps you manage your customers and prospects. But when I hear “I really need a good CRM!” the real question is: what are you trying to manage? Lead Management CRM vs. Customer Management CRM Often what they really want is not a customer management system, but…
Read MoreRecurring Credit Card Transactions: Painful to Comply
Over the last few years, the credit card industry has adopted new rules that make it tough for small companies to stay in compliance. Including for recurring payments charged by security alarm companies. IF your company accepts Visa and Master Card for recurring subscription invoices, please review your processes versus the list below. Does your…
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