Subscriber Discussion

How Much Do You Charge For A Service/Maintenace Package?

SS
Scott Sheldrake
Feb 23, 2014

We've been in business 10 years and our companies focus is primarily video cameras. We don't really offer a maintenance package, but we are now beginning to do more access control and intrusion, so we are re-evaluating things. What is a typical market-acceptable price to charge for a service maintenance package? Is it decided per camera or per door reader in the case of access? I've heard people say $300 per door per year for maintenance, but I have no idea if this is standard or expensive.

JH
John Honovich
Feb 23, 2014
IPVM

Scott, are you just looking for input on access control? That's perfectly fine. I just want to adjust the title so it's clear for others responding.

SS
Scott Sheldrake
Feb 24, 2014
Both access control and cameras actually. I'm curious to know what acceptable going rates are.
TM
Timothy Mc Pheron
Feb 24, 2014

What are you proposing to include?

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Scott Sheldrake
Feb 24, 2014

I guess what I'm looking for is something industry standard (if this exists) and what a good pricing model is. For example (and I'm just making this up completely) - Maintenance package includes a visit twice a year to clean each camera dome/lens, verify system working correctly, blow out the DVR etc and it costs $XXXXX. Or maybe a maintenance package that includes all your service calls all year (except cost of parts- like replacing a broken camera) for $XXXX.

I'm just wondering if there is some rough standard to go by (ie $$XXX per camera), or what maintenance packages people have had success with. You could undercharge for it and then lose money vs. what you would get billing hourly for service in a year, or you could price it too high and have no interest in the package from the customer.

I'm hoping that there is either some rough "rule of thumb" standard to go by or something that is accepted by the industry (ie - if a customer calls up competitors they will be in the same ballpark). I figured IPVM would be a good place to ask.

JH
John Honovich
Feb 24, 2014
IPVM

Scott, for video, see: Service / Maintenance Contracts Guide.

I'll defer access to Brian.

Avatar
Brian Rhodes
Feb 24, 2014
IPVMU Certified

It's a good question, but the maintenance contracts my integration company proposed never used a 'rule of thumb' percentage.

This might be due to the fact our 'maintenance scope' typically included the door, frame, and existing hardware not just the access control pieces like readers and strikes.

In almost any facility, there are one or two sets of doors that cause more trouble than the others. In the interest of not losing our shirts on rolling a truck to mend the trouble units every month, we would 'trial' a facility for two or three months at a flat rate, or even free if the customer was big enough (rebate the cost into a signed agreement). After that trial, we'd use the service call information to put together an agreement based on actual work/problems, not just a projection.

Let me tell you - large customers love this approach. Rather than extrapolated percentages, they have a 'fair number' based on a real expectation of work. A true 'cost of operation' amount.

For access, if you lead with a line item like "Update all firmware in controllers", end users wonder how much cheaper they could do it themselves. However, if you lead with "Adjust all locking hardware and realign doors to stay locked", they tend to see the value right away.

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Scott Sheldrake
Feb 25, 2014

Thanks for the advice - it seems like 8-12% of the initial install cost is a rule-of-thumb for annual service packages, but I really like the idea of leading with things that show value. Much appreciated.

JS
Josh Snow
Feb 25, 2014

Great question- I think Tim hit it- what are you going to include?

-Break / Fix?

-Firmare ?

-Warranty Extension?

-SLA?

-Tech Support / Fine Tune?

-Training?

-Optmiization?

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