You want to start an alarm company, but you don’t know where to start or what needs to be done. Here are some simple steps to help you get going.
- Find out about your state’s licensing (or city, or county) and apply for a license.
- Find a contract you trust. You are entering a very litigious industry. Expect to get sued. Get Ken Kirschenbaum’s contract.
- Call us and sign a dealer agreement.
- Call your local telephone provider. Get a phone number with unlimited local and long distance service. It will come with five additional features. Ensure that one of those features is call forwarding. Call Com-Linq Central Station and obtain a DID to call forward your local number. Once the phone line/number is installed in your home or office, forward your phone number to our DID.
- Call AT&T, or a ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Provider) and get a reverse billed phone number (800, 888, 877, 855, etc.). Have them point the 800 number to YOUR local phone number obtained in step 4. Do step 4 and 5 even if you NEVER plan on tying an alarm system to a phone line. Even if you plan on using only cellular or network communicators, someone will ask you to take over monitoring / servicing their legacy system. You should be prepared.
- Find a way to control your own IP accounts. A popular provider of this services is KeepYourIP. We have heard mixed reviews, so we suggest shopping for other providers as well.
- Contact as many cellular service providers as you can and sign agreements. You will be asked to use services with which you are unfamiliar. It is best to already have a contract with all of the them. They may include, but not limited to: Alarm.com, Connect24, Telguard, and Up-Link.
- Continue the learning. Most manufacturers have free training available. Our industry changes rapidly. Make sure you keep up!