Cash Flow for Security System Contractors
Commercial security system contractors lose cash to three overlapping gaps: equipment procurement deposits on cameras and access control panels that hit before any SOV billing milestone, GC billing cutoffs that slide draws 30 days when missed, and service contract billings that run on monthly cycles completely disconnected from installation pay app timing. On a $1.5M security contractor, $200K--$300K of working capital can be committed to equipment deposits and pipeline receivables simultaneously.
The cash flow problem for security system contractors is a timing problem in three places at once. Equipment deposits are out the door weeks before installation start. Installation draws come in 45--60 days after submission. Service contracts bill monthly but often collect net 30--45 from commercial clients. When all three run unsynchronized without a 13-week forecast, the bank account provides zero useful information about what is coming.
Why Security Cash Runs Tight
Hardware Costs Hit Before Any Billing Milestone
Commercial security hardware -- access control readers, cameras, panels -- requires deposits 4--8 weeks before installation. On a $400K security installation, equipment deposits run $60K--$120K before the first SOV billing event. A front-loaded SOV line item for equipment procurement billed at contract execution eliminates this gap. Most GCs will approve it. CFOS structures every SOV this way by default.
Miss the Cutoff by One Day -- Wait 30 More
Every GC has a pay app cutoff date. Submit before it and the draw processes on schedule. Submit one day late and the draw slides to the next cycle -- 30 additional days. CFOS tracks every active GC billing cutoff and submits every pay app 48 hours early. One missed cutoff per quarter on a $1.5M installation book is $30K--$50K of unnecessary cash float per year.
Monthly Service Billing Needs Its Own AR Rhythm
Service and maintenance contracts bill monthly. CFOS bills service contracts on the first of every month and follows up at day 20 on anything unpaid -- so service cash lands on a predictable date every month. Installation AR and service AR are tracked separately so neither masks delinquencies in the other.
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- ControlQore setup and job costing
- Full-service bookkeeping
- Monthly job cost reports
- Everything in Core
- Monthly CFO advisory meeting
- Cash forecasting and AR follow-up
- Strategic accountability
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