President’s Message
By Robert Few
Q4 is upon us, and I hope that you and your business have been able to weather the storm that has been 2020. As our economy continues to recover, it is my hope that you can end the year on a strong note and carry that into 2021. I am a firm believer in continuous education to keep us sharp and our businesses on the forefront so that we can be proactive and not reactive. Along the same vein, my goal is to provide even more added value to you, our partners, in the form of ongoing education and valuable tools and resources.
I’m pleased to announce that we will be kicking off a monthly webinar series in
November to bring you additional information to help you better manage and grow your business. Throughout our new monthly webinars, you have our commitment that we will connect you with new products and services, best practices, and general trade craft sharing.
The first webinar will be held on November 15th and will feature Jim Wooster, Jr. with Alarm Financial Services as our speaker. Jim is a wealth of information, and I highly recommend attending to learn more about the financial aspect of our industry from Jim. Our goal will be to keep our webinars to 45 minutes. We will email out webinar invitations each month for you and your team to register in advance, and we will record the webinars and make them available to you in the event that you are unable to attend them live.
Our leadership team has been busy on the professional development path as well! Recently, we have attended the ESA Leadership Summit, TMA Annual Meeting and we are scheduled to go through TMA’s Ops Tech event next month. Our renewed focus on education for our teams is translating into improved metrics all around and serving your business at a higher level. We also kicked off an internal Mentorship Program for our team to ensure we are providing valuable information exchange across our organization along with exciting career development opportunities for our team members.
Finally, we have some exciting announcements to follow in this newsletter around new services and tools for you and your customers. As we continue to set higher standards for GMS and provide you with the best service in our industry, we want to hear from you along the way! As always, please call or email me anytime to discuss ways we may be able to better support your business or how we can help with any specific challenges you are facing.
Sincerely,
Robert Few - President & CEO
General Monitoring Services
(201) 838-0091
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GMS teams up with WorkHorse AlarmCompany.Software
Bringing you an all-in-one integrated experience
for your integration company.
WorkHorse provides a single point of Data Entry for GMS, Alarm.com, Alula, and Quickbooks Online.
Through WorkHorse AlarmCompany.Software, you can see your zones, history, and do your daily functions of On & Off Test, In & Out of Service, Update Emergency Contacts & Codewords, as well as other time-saving tasks.
When you use Alarm.com or Alula with GMS WorkHorse will move your zone information for you. Once the technician installs the equipment, GMS will have the zones entered into the account automatically. Remove the time staking task of adding the zones manually to GMS or having a tech on-site calling in zones instead of moving on to the next job.
Your company can create invoices and take full or partial payments as well as set up recurring invoices. Technicians have the power to collect money from customers while still at their homes or business; managers don’t need to wait for the technician to return their paperwork to the office and then bill out of a separate system. From the WorkHorse dashboard, contacts and company data are intuitively added and managed within a secure, private, Cloud-based processing center.
WorkHorse is your CRM, Field Service Management, Billing System, Data Entry, eDocument System, and much more.
Introducing OneApp by WorkHorse
Get your brand in front of your customers. OneApp is YourApp! For too long, alarm companies have been stuck using antiquated systems and receiving calls for tasks that they can easily handle themselves.
OneApp for GMS: Giving you the power to access an easy-to-use Stages Central Station Automation Plugin. OneApp provides you and your your customers with the availability to Cancel or Verify alarm events via OneApp Portal, which helps reduce false alarms!
OneApp for Alarm Companies: Single source of data entry for GMS, Alarm.com, Alula, and Resideo. With OneApp, you have full control in the field to create and sync accounts with your automation partners and place systems On & Off test and see event history.
OneApp for your Customers: Download your branded app from the app store. Your Customers can arm and disarm their alarm systems, update their personal information, and cancel or verify alarms before a false dispatch even happens.
OneApp is YourApp
We would love to know your level of interest and input on how we can help you and your customers with our all-in-one integrated experience.
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Increase Your RMR!
By: Ken Gresty, Business Development
Multiple recurring revenue generating offerings, sound familiar? In last month’s Newsletter and the month prior, I touched on the fact that GMS has multiple recurring revenue generating services, some you may not be aware of and/or simply have reservations about exploring.
This month I would like to point out just a few and invite you to contact me to review in detail how you can take advantage of these and other services GMS offers to increase your RMR.
Video Monitoring: GMS has multiple Video related monitoring offerings from Video Verification Clips, Live Video, and Virtual Guard Tours. In addition, GMS is offering various back-end AI (Artificial Intelligence) filtering to cut down on Video Event-driven False Alarms. Did you know if you already install local Surveillance Systems, you can offer Video Monitoring and or Virtual Guard Tours with NO additional Equipment? If you are an Alarm.com Dealer, you can send in Alarm.com Video Verification events. We are also capable of receiving DMP Video Events, DSC NEO, and many others!
Internet of Things (IoT): The range of IoT Sensors and Monitoring service offerings is pervasive today, and consumer awareness and demand is growing beyond just enterprise requirements. Digital Health & Care Monitoring, Lone Worker Protection, Smart Agriculture, Environmental, Asset Management & Tracking, Smart Cities, and many, many more. Just imagine, almost any sensor that exists can be monitored within a platform that provides services beyond only an operator response.
IP Delivery of 3rd Party Services: Utilizing 3rd Party Cell providers such as Alarm.com, Uplink, Telguard, SecureNet, Alula, Napco Starlink, and others, you can send from their NOC to GMS over IP versus sending to your Toll-Free Receiver lines as the primary path of communication, this saves you money and provides for faster and cleaner transmission.
In addition to all the compatible industry equipment monitoring services available to help you increase RMR, GMS provides robust back-end signal event processing with automated processing options you may not be utilizing fully today, that could save time, cost, and provide your customers with the best monitoring experience available! Email or call me to set up a time to review how GMS can help you further increase your RMR and bottom-line. We value and sincerely appreciate your business.
Best regards,
Ken Gresty - Business Development
General Monitoring Services
(855) 299-1845
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GMS Staff Achievements and Appreciation |
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We sure do have a lot to celebrate at GMS this month. Let’s kick it off with our Employee of the Month!
Employee of the Month
In addition to being Employee of the Month, Paula McKiness is celebrating her 13 year anniversary at GMS! Paula shows up every day with a smile on her face, brightening up the Central Station while consistently providing excellent service to our customers and reinforcing our company culture. We are very lucky to have Paula a part of the GMS family.
Anniversary Mentions & Promotions
Congratulations are also in order for Richard Drew, Vice President of Dealer Relations, who is celebrating 20 years at GMS! Richard made the move to General Monitoring Services in October, 2000. Having managed the Central Station swing shift team for four years, he made the transition to the Dealer Support department in 2005, becoming Dealer Support Manager in 2007. While continuing to run Dealer Support, Richard took over Accounts Receivables in 2012. Over the next seven years he provided his assistance and expertise to Central Station, tech support, marketing, and even human resources. In October, 2019 Richard was promoted to Vice President of Dealer Relations, tasked with maintaining a strong relationship with our existing client base and supporting them as they grow in our ever changing industry.
Thank You, Richard, for your dedication and hard work!
We are also very excited to announce the promotions of Cynthia Karsh and Angelica Pfingsten.
Cynthia is eager to take on her new role as GMS’ first-ever Advanced Dispatch Operator! We are incredibly excited to see Cynthia embrace her new position.
Graveyards newest Lead Operator, Angelica, has been with GMS for almost three years and has been a treasured member of our Central Station. Angelica's hard work, persistence, and focus will be instrumental in the Central Station’s success.
Congratulations to all of our Superstars at GMS!
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Industry Insider Insights |
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Determining How Much to Pay for RMR Accounts
By: Jim Wooster, Jr., Alarm Financial Services, Inc.
This is the second article in our six-part series outlining the many aspects of making an acquisition and financing that acquisition using the recurring monthly revenue (“RMR”) accounts as collateral. The previous article was titled Finding a Company to Acquire.
This article deals with determining how much to pay for RMR accounts once you have identified a seller. In the alarm industry, we typically talk about the purchase price as a “multiple” of RMR. For example, the purchase of $10,000 RMR for $300,000 would be referred to as a 30-multiple or 30x or 30-times purchase price or valuation. The essential concept to take away from this discussion is that the purchase multiple is how we express value, not how we determine value.
So, how do buyers determine value? Many factors go into the process, but the two main factors are: 1) the profit margin on the RMR being purchased, and 2) the length of time the buyer can expect to keep the accounts, otherwise known as attrition. For example, if I purchase a $35 per month monitoring account, I know I have expenses associated with that account for the central station, cellular provider, and billing. If those expenses are, say, $11, then the profit is $24. And if I expect to keep that account for seven years (a guess, your mileage may vary), then the net profit over the life of that account will be $2,016. So, how much should a buyer pay in return for $2,016? $1,000? - that would be a 28.5-multiple. More? Less?
This is where other variables come into play: Will the accounts provide other revenue sources like test and inspection? Can you sell new services to existing customers? What about the referrals that will come from all the new customers? Estimating the future profits that will come from these and other factors will further help buyers determine the price they are willing to pay.
The excellent news is GMS dealers don’t have to go it alone when trying to figure out how much to pay for RMR accounts. With GMS, you have access to its network of industry professionals – brokers, consultants, lenders like AFS – who can assist.
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One Solution. One Experience.
Alula provides modern, affordable, and easy to use solutions for today’s security professionals. Alula allows the security dealer to deliver the best experience for the needs of today’s modern security customer by providing the hardware, software, and services for a complete, end-to-end professional security system for the professional security dealer.
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Industry News and Tips Links |
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VMS Solutions Evolve to Address Emerging Needs
As the world adjusts to a new normal, security integrators and users must change the way VMS solutions are sold, installed, configured, and used.
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U.S. Households Feel 'Safe Enough' with Smart Home Security Devices
New research finds 60 percent of U.S. broadband households feel “safe enough” with only a professionally monitored home security system while 55 percent report feeling safe enough with only a self-monitored home security system.
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Safety, security, and
emergency communication in
the Age of COVID-19
One of the most significant ways to improve employee health and safety is through effective communication.
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How DIY Security Dealers Defend Themselves
You may assume that DIY security companies are more likely to face liability losses. Legal expert Ken Kirschenbaum explains why that’s not true.
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Silly Criminal Video of the Month |
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Current and Active Dealer Partners will receive up to $1,000.00 in the form of an invoice credit for referring a new dealer to GMS for Monitoring Service Solutions. |
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