Should You Protect Your Small Business With a Burglar Alarm?

Small businesses lose thousands if not millions of dollars each year to theft and vandalism. These losses are not limited to theft of inventory, merchandise, and equipment. Losses can also include theft of personal information that employees and customers have entrusted to you. Thefts, break-ins, and work flow interruptions can be avoided by installing a small business burglar alarm.

Simply put, a burglar alarm system helps to detect unauthorized access to your company’s premises. When an intruder is detected, the small business burglar alarm signals a central monitoring service, which dispatches police to your business premises. These security monitoring services provide 24/7 surveillance.

There are a number of myths about burglar alarm systems, and the biggest has to do with cost. Many small business owners think that burglar alarm systems are too expensive. However, today, burglar alarms for small business are quite affordable. In fact, a basic system can be purchased for a few hundred dollars. Installation fees and monthly monitoring fees are reasonable as well.

Another myth about burglar alarm systems is that they are complicated. These days, burglar alarm systems are extremely user friendly, and can be as easy to use as inputting a few numbers that comprise your pass code. They can also be installed quickly. Most burglar alarm systems for a small business can be installed in a single day — some in as little as four hours.

Some small business owners worry about protecting their merchandise, inventory, and sensitive employee and customer information in the event of an electrical power outage; they worry that the burglar alarm system will also fail to protect against theft and break-ins during a power outage. This is another myth because today’s burglar alarm systems come with a built-in battery back-up that kicks in immediately should the power go out or connection fails.

While business insurance is critical to replace lost, damaged, or stolen property, a burglar alarm system helps to protect your company against the possibility of having your customer confidential personal data stolen, which ultimately could impact your company’s reputation unfavorably.

Although the hope is that you will never have to use a small business burglar alarm, the cost of having one pales in comparison to the losses that could be sustained due to a theft or break-in.