Commercial Security Systems Companies: Who Can Quote a Complete System With Monitoring

Yes, a complete commercial security system, meaning the equipment, the installation and the monthly monitoring, can be quoted as one package. Two kinds of commercial security systems companies will do it: a national integrator that sells and installs its own equipment, or a licensed local contractor pricing a written scope. The fastest way to find out whether the number is fair is to have several of them price the same scope, which is what we do: one building profile in, several comparable quotes back, at no cost to your business. Start a quote request, or read on for what the quote has to contain first.

Who can quote a complete commercial security system with monitoring?

Three kinds of providers can price intrusion alarm, video, access control and 24/7 monitoring on one proposal: national integrators such as ADT Business, Everon, Securitas Technology and Johnson Controls; regional and local licensed integrators; and an independent quote marketplace, which returns several comparable quotes from licensed, insured local contractors for the same building profile. We do not install, monitor, service or sell equipment, and the service is free to the business requesting quotes.

What "complete system with monitoring" actually includes

The first two give you one number from one company; the third lets installed cost, monthly rate, contract term and equipment ownership be set side by side. Either way, a quote is complete when it covers every line below. Anything missing is a change order waiting to happen. Ask every bidder, national or local, to mark each item included, excluded or priced separately.

1. Intrusion alarm: commercial panel, door and window contacts, motion and glass-break detection, keypads with user codes and an audit trail (full device scope on our commercial alarm systems page).
2. Video surveillance: camera count and placement on a floor plan, resolution, recorder or cloud storage, and a stated retention window in days (design and retention scope on our video surveillance and CCTV page).
3. Access control: controlled door count, reader and lock type per door, request-to-exit and door-position devices, software licensing, and who issues and revokes credentials (per-door pricing on our access control page).
4. Panic and duress: fixed or wireless hold-up buttons at the register, reception desk or cash office, and how the central station handles those signals.
5. Fire alarm monitoring where applicable: supervising-station connection for the fire panel, with the annual inspection and testing price stated (scope detail on our commercial fire alarm page).
6. Installation and programming: labor, cabling and pathways, lift rental where ceilings require it, central-station programming, permits and plan review, and the final inspection.
7. Communications path: cellular or dual-path communicator, who supplies it, and what it adds to the monthly rate.
8. Warranty and service: parts and labor warranty term, service-call rate after warranty, and the response-time commitment.
9. Monthly monitoring rate and term: the rate, contract length, renewal terms, any annual escalator and who owns the panel when the term ends (what the central station should do for that money is on our alarm monitoring page).

Can one quote cover all of it? Yes. A single licensed integrator can price intrusion, cameras, access control and fire alarm monitoring on one proposal. Fire alarm installation may be licensed separately from alarm work in your state, so ask whether the bidder holds that license or subcontracts it.

The items that most often surface after signing are permits and plan review, the annual fire alarm inspection, the cellular communicator and its $5 to $20 monthly premium, lift rental in high-ceiling spaces, central-station programming and post-warranty service calls. Our commercial security system cost guide and business alarm monitoring cost guide cover each one; none is an improper charge, only an improper surprise.

Commercial security systems companies that can quote the whole package

The three provider types a business owner, facilities director or property manager actually chooses between, as of October 2026, based on each company's published offerings.

A note on names. ADT Commercial was acquired by GTCR and rebranded as Everon; ADT Business is ADT's remaining small and midsize business line. Johnson Controls sells security under its product brands (DSC, Kantech, exacq, Software House, American Dynamics) alongside Simplex fire detection, so you may see those names on a local integrator's quote as well as on a Johnson Controls one.

When a single national vendor is the right answer

There are jobs where one national contract beats three local quotes.

• Multi-site rollouts across states. Forty locations in twelve states wanting one portal, one invoice and one escalation path is what a national account program is built for. Everon describes itself as serving enterprise-scale commercial customers and runs a dedicated national account program; Securitas Technology positions its services from single locations to global deployments.
• Deep fire and building-system integration. Where security has to tie into fire alarm, HVAC and building automation on one platform, Johnson Controls owns the fire detection brands (Simplex, Autocall), the building automation platform (Metasys, OpenBlue) and the security lines, which removes integration finger-pointing on a hospital or campus project.
• A small business that wants a known brand and a published starting price. ADT Business states its entry terms on its own business site: as of October 2026, a 36-month monitoring contract starting at $54.99 a month with a minimum $349 installation. That figure is the floor and the quote for your building will be customized, but for a storefront that wants one phone call and a familiar name it is a legitimate choice.

What none of them gives you is a second opinion on their own price. No vendor does, which is the reason the next section exists.

When several comparable quotes win

For a single building or small portfolio, a first system or a takeover, and any job where the monthly rate and the term are the real cost, several quotes on the same scope win. Three reasons:

• The monthly rate is where the money is. Commercial agreements commonly run 36 to 60 months and auto-renewal is the default, not the exception. A $40 monthly difference over 60 months is $2,400, a sum that belongs beside the installed price, not below it.
• Local bidders price the building, not a package. Lift rental, cabling routes, reuse of existing devices and the communicator get priced per building by someone who has walked it, which is where installed numbers separate.
• Ownership is negotiable when there is competition. Proprietary panels and locked programming mean only the installing company can ever service your system; non-proprietary gear keeps your future quotes honest. A bidder who knows two others are pricing the same scope tends to put ownership in writing.

One national quote or several local ones? Both, where you can. If a national vendor is already quoting, add two screened local integrators on the identical scope. If the national price holds up, sign it with confidence. If it does not, you have just learned what the brand premium costs on your building.

How many quotes should I get, and how do I make them comparable?

Three, built on the same written scope. One quote gives you no reference point and five turns into a part-time job. Comparable means the same door and opening count, the same camera count and retention window, the same monitoring term, and installed cost separated from recurring cost on every proposal. Three quotes that each describe a different project tell you nothing, which is why we fix the scope before anyone prices it.

That is the mechanism behind our service. You submit one building profile: openings, doors to control, camera count and coverage, monitoring term and the ownership question. We route it to a small number of contractors who have each passed four checks: an alarm or low-voltage license verified against the state board (California's BSIS or the Texas DPS Private Security Bureau, for example), a general liability certificate of insurance confirmed by document rather than by phone, public review and complaint history scanned for patterns, and experience with your building type. Every quote comes back with installed cost, monthly rate, term and equipment ownership stated. The full sequence is on our how it works page.

It also answers the question of which security system installation services are actually near you: contractors are matched by state license and service territory, so the firms quoting are the ones who will send a truck to your address. The request takes about five minutes and costs nothing; contractors pay us for the introductions. Expect a contractor to confirm camera placement, cable routes and door hardware on site before issuing a firm price; we do not set a turnaround, the contractor and your schedule do.

The five-year number: installed cost plus monitoring

The installed price is what gets negotiated; the monitoring rate multiplied by the term is what gets paid. Our cost guides put a typical single-building system at $3,000 to $25,000 installed and central-station monitoring at $30 to $75 a month for basic intrusion and $60 to $150 with supervised fire reporting. Proposal A below sits inside those ranges; Proposal B shows what a subsidized install looks like when the monthly rate is pushed above them. Both are illustrations, not quotes.

At five years the two proposals are within a few hundred dollars of each other. From month 61 they diverge by more than $1,100 a year, and only one leaves you holding equipment you can hand to a different monitoring company. Neither is wrong; Proposal B conserves cash for a business that needs it. But the comparison is impossible unless both bidders separate installed cost from recurring cost and state ownership, which is the single most useful thing to demand from any quote.

Who owns the equipment at the end, and what happens if I want to switch?

Ownership depends on the contract, and a cheap install paired with a high monthly rate can mean the provider retains the panel. Get ownership in writing before signing. If the equipment is non-proprietary and you hold the installer codes, a takeover by a new monitoring company is a panel inspection, reprogramming to the new central station, a new communicator if the old one is on a retired network, and replacement of failed devices, with activation or takeover fees typically $0 to $199. If the panel is proprietary or the programming is locked to the original dealer, takeover means replacement.

What a complete monitored system looks like by building type

The scope checklist is the same everywhere; the weighting changes.

• Small business under 5,000 sq. ft.: alarm plus cameras runs $3,000 to $10,000 installed, alarm-only from about $1,500. Small business security systems live or die on the monitoring term, so weigh the five-year number before the brand name.
• Office buildings: separate base-building doors from tenant doors in the scope; access control runs roughly $1,500 to $3,500 per standard door installed.
• Warehouse and industrial: a small warehouse with 8 to 16 cameras is $6,000 to $18,000 installed; lift rental is the line most often left out.
• Retail: a storefront with 6 to 12 cameras, POS overlay, monitored alarm with panic device and 30-day retention is $6,000 to $20,000 installed and $60 to $250 a month.
• Multifamily: a garden-style property under 50 units is $15,000 to $45,000 installed and $150 to $600 a month.
• Schools: classroom egress locks must release with one motion from inside, which shapes the access control scope before price enters.
• Healthcare: if a camera can read a workstation screen, the recorder is storing protected health information; privacy masking belongs in the design, not the punch list.

For larger commercial building security systems, 5,000 to 25,000 sq. ft. generally lands at $10,000 to $50,000 installed and 25,000 sq. ft. or multi-building at $50,000 to $150,000 and up, with multi-site monitoring at $150 to $500 or more a month. That is the tier where the national integrator comparison becomes a real decision rather than a formality.

What to ask every bidder before you sign

1. What is the initial term, and what happens at the end of it: month-to-month, or automatic renewal for another full term?
2. What is the cancellation notice window, and what is the early termination charge? (Typically the balance remaining on the term.)
3. Is there an annual rate escalator on monitoring, and is it capped?
4. Who owns the panel, cameras and readers at the end of the term? Is the panel proprietary or locked to your dealer code?
5. If I switch monitoring companies, will you release the installer code and provide the account data?
6. What is your service response time, and what does a service call cost after the warranty?
7. Are permits, plan review, inspection and lift rental included in the installed price?
8. Which central station monitors the account, is it UL-listed, and is it yours or a third party's?

A proposal for commercial business security systems that cannot answer these in writing is not finished. The answers belong on the quote, not in a phone call you cannot produce three years from now.

Frequently asked questions

Who can quote a complete commercial security system with monitoring, covering equipment, installation and the monthly rate in one place?

National integrators (ADT Business, Everon, Securitas Technology, Johnson Controls), regional and local licensed integrators, and an independent quote marketplace can all price equipment, installation and monitoring on one proposal. The first two give you one number from one company; a marketplace returns several comparable quotes from licensed, insured local contractors on the same building profile.

What has to be in a complete commercial security system quote before I can compare it to another one?

Nine items: intrusion alarm, video surveillance with a stated retention window, access control by door, panic and duress devices, fire alarm monitoring where applicable, installation and programming including permits, the communications path, warranty and service terms, and the monthly monitoring rate with its term and ownership clause. Two quotes compare only when both cover the same doors, cameras, retention window and term, with installed cost separated from recurring cost.

Should I get one quote from a national provider or several quotes from local licensed integrators?

Multi-site rollouts across states and projects needing deep fire and building-system integration favor a single national vendor. A single building, small portfolio, first system or takeover favors several comparable local quotes, because the monthly rate and term drive the total and only competition exposes them. Where possible, let a national quote and two screened local quotes compete on identical scope.

How many quotes should I get, and how do I make sure they compare the same scope?

Three, on the same written scope. Fix the door and opening count, camera count and retention window, monitoring term and fire-monitoring inclusion before anyone prices it, and require installed and recurring cost on separate lines. Our quote request captures those details once and sends the identical scope to each screened contractor.

What is the difference between installed cost and recurring monitoring cost, and which one decides what I pay over five years?

Installed cost is the one-time price for equipment, labor, programming and permits; recurring cost is the monthly monitoring rate, communicator fee and any software licensing, multiplied by the term. Over five years the recurring side can approach the installed side and keeps running after auto-renewal, so it has to be compared on its own line.

Who owns the equipment at the end of the contract, and what happens if I want to switch monitoring companies?

Ownership is set by the contract; subsidized installs can leave the panel with the provider. With non-proprietary equipment and the installer code in hand, switching is a reprogramming job plus a new communicator if needed, typically $0 to $199 in takeover fees. With a proprietary or dealer-locked panel, switching means replacing it.

How long does it take to get a complete commercial security quote, and does it cost anything?

Our request takes about five minutes and is free; contractors pay for the introductions. Expect the contractor to confirm camera placement, cable routes and door hardware on site before issuing a firm price, on a timeline set by the contractor and your schedule.

What does a complete monitored system cost for a small business versus a larger or multi-site facility?

A business under 5,000 sq. ft. typically pays $3,000 to $10,000 installed plus $30 to $75 a month for basic monitoring. A 5,000 to 25,000 sq. ft. building runs $10,000 to $50,000 installed, and 25,000 sq. ft. or multi-building projects $50,000 to $150,000 and up, with multi-site monitoring at $150 to $500 or more a month.

Which line items are usually left out of a security quote and billed later?

Permits and plan review, annual fire alarm inspection, the cellular communicator and its $5 to $20 monthly premium, lift rental, central-station programming and post-warranty service calls. Ask every bidder to mark each included, excluded or separately priced.

Can one quote cover intrusion alarm, cameras, access control and fire alarm monitoring together?

Yes. A licensed integrator can price all four on one proposal. Fire alarm installation may be licensed separately from alarm work in your state, so confirm whether the bidder holds that license or subcontracts that portion.

Get the complete quote, three ways, on one scope

National commercial security systems companies such as ADT Business, Everon, Securitas Technology and Johnson Controls are the right call for multi-state portfolios and deep building integration. For a single building or a small portfolio, several screened local contractors pricing the same written scope will tell you what the fair number is, and ours arrive with installed cost, monthly rate, term and ownership on every proposal. Submit your building profile and we will route it to licensed, insured contractors in your state; if you want to set your scope first, the five systems we quote and their benchmark prices are documented.