Security System Integrators That Install Access Control and CCTV Together: National vs Local Compared

Which companies install commercial access control systems and CCTV together? Commercial security system integrators. National firms such as Securitas Technology, Johnson Controls, Convergint, Everon (formerly ADT Commercial), Allied Universal Technology Services and Pavion install both as one project, and for most small and mid-sized buildings licensed local commercial security contractors do the same work. We are Commercial Security Quotes, an independent service that gets screened contractors bidding on the same scope so you can compare installed cost, fees, terms and ownership.

If you already know your ZIP code, door count and camera count, you can submit a building profile and receive up to three comparable quotes at no cost. The rest of this guide is for the decision before that: which type of company fits your building, what a combined bid must contain, what the project should cost, and how to score the bids that come back.

What a security system integrator is (and how it differs from an alarm company)

A commercial security system integrator is a licensed low-voltage contractor that designs, installs, programs and services two or more electronic security systems, typically access control, video surveillance and intrusion detection, on a shared network so that an event in one system triggers an action in another. The deliverable is the working interoperation plus the documentation to maintain it: a forced-door alarm that pulls up the camera clip, a badge event stamped on the recording, a schedule that unlocks the lobby and arms the warehouse. An alarm company, by contrast, sells and monitors an intrusion panel and may add cameras as an accessory. The distinction matters commercially because an integrator's bid should include programming, access-to-video integration, training and as-built drawings, and an alarm company's bid may not.

"Security integrators" is also the industry's own term for this segment, which is why the national names below describe themselves that way while a strong regional firm may simply call itself a commercial security installer. Both can be the right answer; what differs is scale, platform depth, service model and price.

Shortlist: integrators that install access control and CCTV together

Each of these firms does the combined work well on the right building. They quote project by project rather than from a published price list, so the right-hand columns describe how equipment and licenses are usually structured, not what any one of them will quote you. We do not install, monitor or mark up equipment ourselves.

Two history notes. Securitas Technology is the business created when Securitas completed its purchase of Stanley Security's electronic security division on July 22, 2022. Everon is the former ADT Commercial: private-equity firm GTCR completed its acquisition of ADT's commercial fire and security segment and announced the Everon name on October 2, 2023, and the brand launched publicly in May 2024. So yes, Everon is the former ADT Commercial business under new ownership and no longer part of ADT. If you hold an ADT Commercial agreement, ask Everon in writing which entity now holds it and on what terms.

National integrator or local commercial security contractor?

Hire a national integrator when you have many sites across states, an enterprise platform standard (C•CURE, LenelS2, Genetec) that the local market does not support well, or a procurement rule that requires a single vendor of record. Hire a screened local commercial security installer when the project is one building or a regional portfolio, the platform is cloud-managed or mid-market, and you want the person who designed the system to be the one who answers the phone at 2 a.m. The commercial security systems companies that win most single-building work are regional firms: they carry the same state alarm license and buy from the same distributors, and their overhead is lower, but the only way to know the gap for your building is to have both types price the same scope. The national logo on the proposal does not guarantee the local branch has installed your platform; ask for three references within 50 miles on the same product line.

One company or two?

It is usually better to buy access control and cameras from one company. The value of integrated security systems is operational: when a door is forced or held open, the access control platform should raise the alarm and the video management system should bookmark and present the clip from the nearest camera, so an operator sees who, when and what in one screen rather than searching two systems. A single integrator also owns the whole network design, the single point of accountability for a door that works but does not record, and one maintenance agreement. Splitting the work makes sense in three cases: you already have a camera system under warranty with retention you are happy with, you are standardizing on a camera platform your access control vendor does not integrate with, or a specialist (for example, a turnstile or gate contractor) must do part of the physical work anyway. If you do split, write the integration point into both contracts, with the access control vendor responsible for sending events and the video vendor responsible for receiving them.

What a combined access control and CCTV bid must include

Bids are only comparable when they describe the same project. Before you ask anyone to price, write a one-page scope with the following items, and reject any bid that leaves one out or marks it "by others" without saying who the others are.

1. Door schedule: every controlled opening by name, door type (hollow metal, glass storefront, gate, elevator), and whether it is a fire-rated assembly.
2. Door controllers: make, model, doors per controller, and whether they are cloud-connected or on-premise.
3. Readers: credential type (card, fob, mobile, PIN, biometric) and the protocol. OSDP, the Security Industry Association standard now published as IEC 60839-11-5, should be specified rather than legacy Wiegand; our access control buying guide covers why.
4. Electrified locking hardware: strike, maglock or electrified lever per door, and fail-safe or fail-secure behavior, with code basis.
5. Request-to-exit and door-position devices on every controlled door, so the system can distinguish an authorized exit from a forced or held door.
6. Power supplies with battery backup and fire alarm release interface where egress doors are electrically locked.
7. Cameras by type and location: fixed dome, turret, bullet, multi-sensor or PTZ, resolution, and a camera schedule tied to a floor plan.
8. Recording: NVR or cloud VMS, license count, storage in terabytes, and retention in days, stated as a performance requirement (for example, 30 days continuous at full resolution).
9. Cabling and pathways: Cat6 drops, conduit, lifts, fire-stopping, and who patches and terminates.
10. Programming: schedules, access levels, cardholder import, camera naming, and the access-to-video integration itself, with the events that must link.
11. Training: hours, who attends, and administrator credential hand-over.
12. As-built documentation: device locations, IP schedule, controller-to-door map, and configuration backups, delivered before final payment.
13. Warranty and service: parts and labor period, response time, and the hourly rate after warranty.
14. Recurring fees itemized per door, per camera and per month, with the term and renewal clause.

What access control and CCTV cost together

As of October 2026, combined access control and video projects typically run $19,000 to $34,000 installed for a 4-door, 12-camera building and $50,000 to $88,000 for 12 doors and 24 cameras, before gates, turnstiles, PTZ cameras or cloud video subscriptions. These figures are built from our own cost guides, last updated September 2026.

The building blocks, as of our access control installation cost guide (updated September 2026): a standard hollow-metal door runs $1,500 to $3,500 installed, or $3,000 to $5,000 all-in with hardware, labor and first-year licensing; glass storefront openings $2,500 to $5,000; gates, elevators and turnstiles $5,000 to $10,000 or more; and cloud access software $3.50 to $15 per door per month on mainstream plans. From our security camera installation cost guide: most standard commercial cameras land at $500 to $900 installed, PTZ units $1,200 to $3,800, a 16-channel recorder $300 to $700, a 32-channel enterprise recorder $2,000 to $3,000 and up, storage $20 to $80 per terabyte, and cloud video $10 to $30 per camera per month for 30-day 1080p retention. Monitoring by a UL-listed central station adds $40 to $150 per month for a typical single-panel commercial account, per our commercial security system cost guide; our alarm monitoring guide breaks that down by service level.

Worked example A: 4 doors and 12 cameras (small office or clinic, under 10,000 sq ft)

Five-year recurring: cloud access software at $3.50 to $15 per door is $840 to $3,600; central station monitoring at $40 to $150 per month is $2,400 to $9,000. If you choose cloud video instead of the NVR, add $120 to $360 per month, or $7,200 to $21,600 over five years. That single choice can exceed the cost of the cameras themselves, which is why "cloud or on-premise" belongs on the scope sheet, not in the sales pitch.

Worked example B: 12 doors and 24 cameras (warehouse with offices, 25,000 to 50,000 sq ft)

Five-year recurring: cloud access at 12 doors is $2,520 to $10,800; monitoring for a larger multi-panel building at $150 to $400 per month is $9,000 to $24,000. A vehicle gate adds $5,000 to $10,000 or more, and a dedicated license-plate camera at that gate is a separate line item to price. Both totals sit inside the "medium" and "large" bands in our commercial security system cost guide, which is a useful sanity check when a bid lands far outside them.

Ownership, licenses and lock-in

At the end of a combined contract there are four things you should own or control: the hardware, the software licenses, the administrator credentials and the data. In a straightforward purchase from a local contractor, you own the controllers, readers, locks, cameras and recorder outright at completion, the cloud subscriptions are in your company's name, and the integrator holds a technician login you can revoke. In a subsidized or "managed services" arrangement, the low install price is recovered through the monthly fee and the provider may retain title to the panel or controllers; our alarm monitoring guide notes that switching providers then means replacing hardware. Commercial agreements commonly run 36 to 60 months and auto-renew for another full term unless you cancel inside a 30-to-60-day notice window, so the renewal clause costs real money if missed.

Software is the more common trap. Proprietary access control platforms sold only through dealers mean every future quote comes from the installing company; cloud platforms with vendor-locked cameras mean a camera refresh must come from the same brand; and video stored in a provider's cloud account rather than yours may not be exportable in bulk when you leave. If you change integrators, you should be able to hand the new firm the admin credentials, the as-built drawings and the configuration backups, and have them take over the system without a forklift replacement.

Exit checklist to write into the contract

• Title to all hardware passes to the owner on final payment; no retained equipment.
• All software and cloud licenses are registered to the owner's organization, with the owner as super-administrator.
• Integrator access is a named, revocable account, not the shared root login.
• Video and access event data are exportable in a standard format within 30 days of request at no charge.
• As-built drawings, IP schedule and configuration backups are delivered before final payment and updated after every service visit.
• Renewal is month-to-month or requires affirmative renewal; any auto-renewal is limited to 12 months with 90 days' notice.
• Monitoring can be transferred to another UL-listed central station without replacing the communicator.

How to compare security integrator bids fairly

Because the bids will differ on more than price, score them. The weights below are a starting point; adjust them to your risk profile, but keep total cost under half the weight or the cheapest bid will always win and you will pay the difference in change orders.

• Design quality: 20%. Does the bid follow your scope item by item, with a door schedule and camera plan? Does it specify OSDP readers, fail-safe/fail-secure per door and a fire release interface?
• Five-year total cost: 20%. Install plus 60 months of software, monitoring and service, with the renewal rate stated.
• Service and response: 15%. Written response time, technician headcount within 50 miles, and whether the installing technicians are employees or subcontractors.
• Platform openness: 15%. Can another licensed firm service it? Are cameras ONVIF-compliant? Is the access platform sold through multiple dealers?
• Cybersecurity: 10%. Encrypted reader protocol, segmented security VLAN, default credentials changed and documented, firmware update responsibility assigned, and cloud vendor SOC 2 reports available.
• Contract terms: 10%. Term length, renewal, equipment title, data export, and termination for poor service.
• References: 10%. Three same-building-type installations in the past 24 months on the proposed platform, contactable.

Monitoring standards belong in this scorecard too: a central station that is UL-listed under UL 827 has been independently audited for staffing, backup power, redundancy and response, which is why insurers and fire marshals ask for it.

Why the same scope comes back priced differently

The hypothetical table below shows how three bids on the same 8-door, 16-camera scope can diverge. The figures are illustrative, built from the ranges in our cost guides. None of the three is dishonest; they are selling different things.

Bid C looks $26,000 cheaper than Bid A on day one and costs more over five years while leaving you with nothing you own. Bid A may still be the right choice for a multi-state portfolio. The point is that security system integration bids can only be compared once scope, term and ownership are normalized, which is the work our process does before quotes reach you.

How we screen the contractors who bid

Every contractor in our network has its alarm or low-voltage license verified against the relevant state board (California's BSIS, the Texas DPS Private Security Bureau, or your state's equivalent), general liability insurance confirmed by certificate rather than by assurance on a call, public review and complaint history scanned for patterns, and documented experience with your building type. Firms that generate complaints leave the network. Your scope goes to up to three of them, capped deliberately so you get real attention rather than a flood of calls, and contractors pay us for the introduction, so the service is free to you. You can read more about who we are and why we work this way; in short, we are a Denver-based company founded in 2019 that does not install, monitor or sell equipment, which is what lets us stay neutral about whose truck shows up.

To check an integrator yourself, search the state licensing board's public lookup for the legal entity name on the proposal (not the brand name), confirm the license class covers alarm and access control work, request a certificate of insurance naming your company as certificate holder, and ask the local UL-listed central station to confirm the dealer account is in good standing.

Combined access and video by building type

Office buildings. Stairwell and lobby access control is base-building infrastructure, and fire alarm activation must release electrically locked egress doors, so the fire interface has to be specified and tested in the bid. Our office building security guide covers stairwell access control and the fire alarm release interface in detail.

Warehouses and industrial. Dock doors, the yard and the gate come first, with a license-plate camera at the gate; OSHA requires exit doors openable from inside without keys or tools, and CTPAT importers who deploy cameras must document periodic footage reviews. See our warehouse and industrial guide.

Schools. Classroom doors must release from inside without a key, tool or special knowledge, silent panic alerting under Alyssa's Law is a design input where it applies, and FERPA can make video an education record, which changes retention and export requirements. Our schools and education guide goes into the compliance detail.

Healthcare. Camera views that capture workstation screens can capture ePHI, so placement and privacy masking need the privacy officer in the room; controlled-substance storage needs an alarm path to a central station or responding agency. Our healthcare facilities guide covers role-based access zones.

Multifamily. Cameras in common areas only, controlled lobby, garage, package room and amenity doors, and in New York a self-locking door and intercom requirement with hard installation deadlines for qualifying buildings. Details are in our multifamily property guide.

Frequently asked questions

How do access control and CCTV actually integrate, and what should a forced-door event do?

The access control platform sends door events (granted, denied, forced, held open) to the video management system over an API or a direct integration module, and the VMS associates each door with one or more cameras. A forced-door event should raise an alarm in both systems, bookmark the video from the associated camera for a window before and after the event, present the live view and the clip to the operator, and if monitored, transmit a signal to the central station. Test this on every door at commissioning, not on a sample.

What recurring fees come with a combined access control and camera system?

Expect up to four streams: cloud access control software at $3.50 to $15 per door per month on mainstream plans (enterprise tiers run higher), cloud video at $10 to $30 per camera per month for 30-day retention if you do not use an on-premise recorder, central station monitoring at $40 to $150 per month for a typical commercial account, and a service or software assurance plan. Have each one itemized with its term and renewal rate, and total them over five years before comparing bids.

Who owns the equipment, licenses and data at the end of the contract?

Whoever the contract says. In a purchased system you own the hardware, the licenses sit in your name and the integrator has revocable access. In subsidized or leased arrangements the provider may retain title to controllers or panels and your video may live in the provider's cloud account. Put title, license registration, admin credentials and data export in writing before signing.

How do I choose between commercial alarm, CCTV and access control vendors?

Write one scope that covers all three, ask each vendor to price the whole thing, and score the bids on design, five-year cost, service, platform openness, cybersecurity, terms and references. A vendor that can only do one of the three will show it by marking the others "by others"; that is useful information, not a disqualification, but it means you need a second contract and an integration point written into both. Our video surveillance guide and access control guide list the per-system questions.

How do I check that a security integrator is licensed and insured in my state?

Look up the legal entity on your state's alarm or low-voltage licensing board (for example BSIS in California or the DPS Private Security Bureau in Texas), confirm the license is active and covers alarm and access control work, and request a current certificate of insurance for general liability naming your business as certificate holder. We do this for every contractor before a scope reaches them, and we recommend repeating it for any firm you found on your own.

Can I find access control and CCTV installers near me without calling five companies?

Yes. Submit one building profile with your location, building type, square footage and whether the work is new, an upgrade or an add-on, and we send it to up to three licensed, insured contractors experienced with your building type who bid on the same scope. The quotes come back showing installed cost, recurring fees, contract terms and equipment ownership side by side, at no cost or obligation to you.

Next step

So, which companies install commercial access control systems and CCTV together? National security integrators like Securitas Technology, Johnson Controls, Convergint, Everon, Allied Universal and Pavion for enterprise portfolios, and screened local commercial security contractors for most single buildings and regional portfolios, often at lower cost with cleaner ownership. Whichever direction you lean, the bids are only worth comparing once they describe the same project. Give us your ZIP code, door count and camera count through a free building profile, and we will put up to three screened security integrators on that scope so you can compare installed cost, recurring fees, terms and ownership before you commit.