Making Sense of Your Numbers – Part 3

Blocks that spell out the word health. The block with the H is being turned to show a W. There are coins on top of the blocks.

In Parts one and two, we outlined a simple model that helps to easily understand how you’re doing, and to set minimum sales & margin levels based on your goals. This final post will cover owner compensation, followed by a look at how a “zero overhead” view of your financials can reveal your true margins.…

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Software For Alarm Companies: Little Differences Matter!

Four black gears with question marks in the middle. The largest gear on the right has a lightbulb instead of a question mark.

A question for our security dealer friends–do you agree with this statement? “Your security company is just like any other contractor business.” Nearly all our customers would shout: “NO WAY! Our business is unique!” Cornerstone has served this industry for over 21 years, and we completely agree. In fact, our business probably wouldn’t exist if…

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Alarm Industry Service Software is like a Supermarket

Woman loading groceries onto a conveyer at a grocery store. It is from a Birdseye view.

When was the last time you visited a butcher shop to get your meat and poultry? Then a bakery to get your bread and rolls? Followed by a farm stand visit to stock up on vegetables? If you’re like most people, not recently. Instead, people get nearly all their food at a supermarket. Why? Because…

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Vacation? Stay-cation? No-cation?

Image of a family in the kitchen. In the foreground there is a mother and son looking at a laptop. In the background there is a father and son cooking a meal.

We hope you enjoyed July 4th, especially in a year when most fireworks, parades, and celebrations were canceled. For most people, July and August are vacation season. This year, most of us will need to settle for some version of a stay-cation. Wikipedia defines a stay-cation as “a period in which an individual or family…

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QuickBooks vs. Alarm Company Software: What’s Best for You?

Person putting a blue puzzle piece into a puzzle. The puzzle is backlit.

If your security company mainly uses QuickBooks to manage your subscriber accounts and jobs, you’ve probably asked this question: “Would we be better off with more industry-specialized software?” The answer depends on your company’s situation, and how much friction you are encountering while trying to use QuickBooks to manage things. It’s possible, maybe likely, that…

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Covid Quiet Time: A Silver Lining?

Desk with a laptop, coffee cup, glasses and medical mask on it.

As we navigate this really tough stretch of the Covid crisis, can we at least look for a silver lining? Nearly all of our security dealers have told us that their service and installation work is way down. Many have had to reduce hours or even lay off staff members. There’s just not much work…

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Making QuickBooks Quicker (Webinar)

a close-up of a blue circular button with the text “ENGINE START” written in white letters in the center. The button is on a black background. The text around the image says “Save Time & Money,” “Easier Software,” “Better Billing,” “Faster Payments,” and “Cool Tools!” It also has the company logo and the text “Cornerstone Billing Solutions” written below the logo.

Watch and learn as we dive into the practical ways to use software to help save you time and money. We will discuss the role that QuickBooks plays, and how valuable it is to integrate specialized software with services that make security companies run smoothly. We will show you how to provide great service—better, faster…

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Tips for Collecting Faster! (Webinar)

Ever wish getting your alarm customer to pay on time was an easier process? Seems there is always something getting in the way. Ever wondered… Why didn’t our customers pay on time? Why can’t I seem to reach these slow pay accounts? How am I supposed to keep following up? Listen to Scott MacDougal –…

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Expect More From Your Software (Webinar)

An image of a child crying with the words "That's Not Good Enough" in front of the image. To the right is an orange box with the works "Expect MORE From Your Software."

While no single software package can do everything you want, good customer management software should be helping increase your revenue, while also saving time and money.  In this webinar, Cornerstone’s President, Scott MacDougal, provides several concrete and useful example. Increase Revenue First, good CRM software should help you increase your top line. For example, our…

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