The security market in the United Kingdom is valued at $15 billion and is anticipated to keep growing. After all, it is a critical industry - protecting people, property, infrastructures, and businesses is vital for society’s safeguarding.

Governments are cutting policing budgets, and consumers are becoming increasingly security-conscious thanks to the rise of terrorism and economic uncertainty. With an overstretched police force, many are turning to private security firms to monitor their homes or businesses - particularly the wealthy classes, who have high disposable incomes and are willing to spend money on their safety.

With this landscape in sight, opening a security firm becomes a viable option for entrepreneurs, and we are here to guide you on your first steps in this venture.

This article will cover the steps necessary to start a security company, create a viable business plan and discuss other vital aspects to consider.

Decide on a niche

Before incorporating a private security business, you must hone in on a niche and decide whom you wish to target and which security services you aim to provide.

The security industry covers many areas:

Physical security
Cyber security
Mobile patrols
Event security
Close protection bodyguards
Remote surveillance
And many others

Even though it might seem tempting to try and cover all of them, our recommendation is to start small - master one line of business, focus on providing the best security service possible and then expand to other fields.

The chances are that you have some personal experience in at least one of the above security sectors, so run with that and conduct market research to determine the demand levels in your area. You may enter into business security, for example, employing a team of security guards and mediators at offices or retail outlets, or run a house-to-house operation, patrolling neighbourhoods for a fixed fee per household.

The more you know about your sector, the easier it’ll be to run and find success, so don’t try to enter into a market where you have no expertise, as the chances are you’ll be swallowed up by a competitor with more experience and market presence. Craft a business plan and be confident in your ideas before you start investing capital and time in a new venture.

Define your business model and plan

Once you have chosen your niche, it is time to select the business model that fits your needs and capabilities. You can start your own business from scratch, join a franchise or buy an existing business, for example.

This is a subjective decision that will depend greatly on your circumstances, so our best advice is to get in touch with a professional counsellor/ financial mentor so they can guide you through the process.

Crafting a security business plan and securing funding

A defined business plan will help you understand where you are and where you want to go (or where you can get) with your business.

As we mentioned above, there is certain information you need to understand, and that will help you start your venture on the right foot.

Your business plan should at least include the following points.

Market research: understanding the private security industry you’re about to join, and if there is a need in your area that you can cover.
Who your competitors are, their strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities.
Your key partners and how they can help you succeed.
Your value proposition: what will be your key activities, and how will these set you apart from the competition?
The resources you will need to carry out your duties.
Who are your customers, how will you communicate with them, and what support will you provide?
A marketing plan: how you will reach your potential clients and first customers, what will you offer for them to trust you with their business.
Your costs: identify the primary drivers of costs, where you will have to invest to get your business up and running.
Revenue streams: how you plan on making money, what will be your pricing strategy, and the forms of payment you will offer.

The business plan is not something you can (nor should) get done in a few hours - it will take time and a lot of research to complete. But you must take this step seriously in order to succeed.

A well-researched and thorough business plan will play a crucial role in funding your company - it’ll allow you to estimate how much money you’ll need to start off, and it can be presented to investors to gain their trust.

What are the requirements to open a security business in the UK?

Get your licences

If you’ve worked in security in the past, you’ll know that the industry is fraught with licensing and regulations - albeit to protect both businesses and citizens. As soon as you’ve decided you want to incorporate a security firm, reach out to the relevant bodies in your local area to apply for security licences and make sure you’re swotted up on local laws and regulations. It takes time to get to grips with the ins and outs of the law, but if you don’t, you won’t operate legally, and you could face significant fines or even criminal action down the line. Please don’t risk it.

Security businesses in the United Kingdom are regulated by the Security Industry Authority (SIA). This organisation is the one responsible for providing SIA licenses (for individuals working in the security industry) and the Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS), which “provides a framework for setting, improving and monitoring the standards of management and service delivery amongst suppliers of private security services; from licensable operatives deployed on-site through to the executives in the boardroom”.

You and your employees must have the relevant training to carry out your duties and get your SIA licences. And as a contractor, you should get your business approved by the ACS. You can find more information about both application processes on the SIA’s website.

Besides SIA’s licence and approval, there are other accreditations you should get in order to prove your business meets the industry’s standards. Please get in touch with a specialised advisor to find out which apply to you.

Comply with health and safety regulations

For security companies in the UK, Contractors' Health and Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS) accreditation can be advantageous when bidding for contracts with clients who prioritise health and safety in their procurement process. Having CHAS accreditation demonstrates a security company's commitment to maintaining a safe working environment for its employees and clients.

The assessment under CHAS typically includes an evaluation of a contractor's health and safety policies, procedures, risk assessments, training records, and previous safety performance. Successful contractors receive CHAS accreditation, and their details are listed on the CHAS database, accessible to clients seeking qualified contractors for their projects.

The purpose of CHAS is to simplify the process of assessing contractors' health and safety practices for clients, especially in industries where contractors may be engaged to work on client premises or carry out specialised services. By using CHAS, your clients can ensure that contractors they engage have demonstrated a commitment to health and safety standards and are capable of carrying out their work safely.

Apply for insurance

Security is a business that naturally involves risks - this is why getting the right insurance will be crucial to your company.

Licensing and insurance go hand in hand - having the necessary insurance in place not only covers your business against a whole host of potential issues but also means you comply with the law. It offers you peace of mind and serves as a selling point to clients - very few would trust a security firm that wasn’t insured or couldn’t provide the relevant documentation.

Depending on your location, you’ll likely need to take out more than one form of insurance for your business - such as liability insurance and employee insurance. We recommend that you work with an insurance provider who can tailor a package to your new security firm.

Holding an employer’s liability insurance is a legal requirement when you have employees. This will cover the cost of a claim if an employee is injured while on duty.

There are other kinds of insurance available for you - weigh the options and decide which will be helpful for your business.

Market your business

Once your business is set up, it is time to get the word out about your new company.

As with any other industry, it is good practice to start thinking about long-term and short-term marketing strategies. Short-term plans can bring you your actual first clients, while long-term methods will pay off in the long run and ultimately automate most of your marketing efforts.

Here are some ideas to bring in your first customers in the security industry:

Word-of-mouth marketing: or, in other words, getting in touch with your contacts. Let your professional and personal references know about your new business. Give some special offers to those who could be potential customers, and ask others to spread the word in their professional and social networks.
Early offers: new clients will naturally hesitate when hiring a new company for their business. One of the ways to overcome this barrier is through price and urgency - convince your leads to test your services with a limited-time offer; by adding some extra value to your regular services to your first clients. Consider what they would like to receive from you, and get creative.
Ask for reviews: once you have gotten your first clients, it is crucial to get their reviews on your website and review websites such as Trustpilot. Don’t forget to ask for them proactively.

As for your long-term marketing tactics, creating a website and implementing a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy with some paid ads can be an excellent first step.

Investing in digital strategies like these will give authority to your business, and your online presence will make it easier for future customers to reach out to you when they need to hire your services.

Hire the right staff

Now to the nitty gritty - security staff. When you first incorporate a security firm, you might decide that it makes sense to hire experienced people on a temporary or freelance basis to save time, or you might employ inexperienced staffers and train them on the job.

Both are more affordable than advertising full-time experienced security staff (the average security guard earns between $16,000 and $24,000 in the US, and around £24,512 in the United Kingdom, so finding an expert can be expensive before you find clients and agree on contracts).

Be sensible with your labour spending, and remember that starting small and scaling is better than building a team you can’t afford to pay well.

How to manage your security staff?

Once you’ve hired a few security guards, think about managing their workloads effectively to ensure you get the most value for money from them. In this context, implementing staff scheduling software emerges as an indispensable solution.

PARiM Security Staff Scheduling Software lets you schedule and track security guards, their pay and absences, significantly cutting costs and allowing you to scale your business as new staffers enter the fold. Moreover, it features functionalities developed specifically for the security industry, such as automated lone worker check calls and guard tour reports for clients.

Our software is also portable - you can take your management suite wherever you are in the country or even the world, so whether you’re having a well-earned break in the Mediterranean or you’re on-site meeting a new client, it’s easy to see what your staff are doing and how they’re performing.

You can try PARiM’s staff management software for free for 14 days with our free demo today.

1. Create a scalable staff database

Security companies often experience variations in staffing requirements due to fluctuating demand or short-term contracts. With no-per-user pricing, you can freely add or remove part-time or temporary staff members from the database without impacting their subscription costs. This flexibility allows you to scale your own security company up or down as needed, ensuring cost-effectiveness during busy or slow periods.

Reduce administrative burden

As security companies hire and train new employees or remove staff members after a contract's completion, the no-per-user pricing eliminates the need to worry about user limitations. This streamlined onboarding and offboarding process save time and administrative efforts. Without pricing constraints, your security company can maintain a comprehensive staff database, including both active and inactive employees.

Collaborate with managers and supervisors

While at first, you may not need too many managers, if you're planning to schedule, collaboration and access should be kept in mind. Under the no-per-user pricing model, your security company can grant access to the platform to an unlimited number of managers, supervisors, or administrators. This encourages better collaboration and communication within the organisation.

Keep licences up to date

When your workforce increases, it can be cumbersome to ensure that all training programs and certifications, such as Security Industry Authority (SIA) licences or Contractors' Health and Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS), are current. PARiM sends automated reminders for expiring certifications, ensuring that employees' qualifications are up to date. This feature helps your security company to avoid potential legal and liability issues caused by lapses in compliance.

2. Schedule your employees

Having set up your staff database, PARiM provides quick and simple solutions to create employee schedules. Drag-and-drop functionality makes it simple to assign guards to specific shifts and locations. You can create complex shift patterns in seconds and automate the rotation process to ensure 24/7 coverage. And when you have found the working patterns, just let the system automate future schedule creation.

Publish open shifts

Sometimes, it's more efficient to let your employees fill certain shifts for you. With PARiM, you can publish open shifts to all relevant employees whose skills and qualifications match the ones that the open shift requires. Staff members can apply to open shifts on a first-come-first-serve basis, and you can ensure that shifts will get filled quickly.

Manage workloads and forecast

PARiM ensures that scheduling practices comply with labour regulations and union agreements with the option to enforce mandatory rest periods between shifts and help avoid violations of overtime rules. On the other hand, you can analyse scheduling data to forecast future staffing needs and optimise workforce management.

3. Track Time

After arriving at the scheduled job site, your employees can clock in and out using various methods, using the PARiM app to prevent time fraud and ensure accurate payroll calculations. Geofencing guarantees that clocking in can be done only at the job site. Supervisors and managers can monitor employees' clock-in and clock-out times in real time through PARiM's dashboard. This feature allows for prompt response to any attendance issues and helps maintain optimal staffing levels and avoid conflicts with clients.

Automate timesheets

The software automatically generates timesheets based on the clock-in and clock-out data. These timesheets reflect the actual hours worked by each employee, including regular hours, overtime, and breaks. For shift differentials, you can set up custom pay rates for each shift. All salaries are calculated automatically. You can just export the timesheets in bulk to your payroll provider, avoiding any human errors, or manual workload and ensuring that your employees will get paid on time.

4. Provide guard tour reports to your clients

If your security company provides a service that involves patrolling, your clients will want guarantees about regular guard tours on their premises. With PARiM, you can set up NFC or iBeacon tags as checkpoints and let your security guards use the PARiM app for checking in. You can export timestamped information about guard tours to your clients, or you can provide client access to PARiM for your clients to receive guard tour reports in real-time.

5. Ensure lone worker safety

If your security company has many locations with lone security guards, it can be troublesome to confirm that they are safe. With PARiM, you can set up intervals for guards to check in on their app. If a check-in is missed, they will receive automated check calls. If these calls are unanswered, managers will be instantly alerted, who can then contact the police.

6. Manage absences

Your employees will also need to take vacations, and however healthy they are, from time to time, they will probably need to take sick leaves. With PARiM, you can eliminate all the headaches from managing absences. You can set up custom absence types in the system, and your employees can make requests from their mobile apps. Managers receive requests instantly and can quickly approve or reject them.

Accurate leave balances

The software maintains accurate records of employees' leave balances, allowing both employees and managers to view available vacation days or other types of leave at any given time. This feature prevents overbooking and ensures that employees take their entitled leave without exceeding their limits.

Security companies often have specific leave policies in place, such as minimum notice periods for requesting time off or restrictions during peak operational periods. PARiM can enforce these policies by notifying employees of any policy violations and alerting managers to potential conflicts in the schedule.

Forecast and plan

By tracking employee absences, PARiM can provide valuable data for workforce forecasting and planning. Managers can identify patterns of absence, seasonal trends, or recurring leave requests, enabling them to plan for adequate staffing and minimise disruptions caused by absences.

PARiM typically provides reporting and analytics tools that offer insights into employee absenteeism trends and patterns. These reports can help identify potential issues, such as excessive absences or recurrent absenteeism, allowing managers to address the root causes and improve overall workforce management.

Track absence pay

Absence data recorded in PARiM ensures that employees' leave balances and time off are accurately reflected in their paychecks for all paid and unpaid leaves. This integration streamlines payroll processes and prevents payroll discrepancies.

7. Bill your clients

And now, to the business side of things – billing your clients. First, you need to ensure to have a business bank account for receiving bank transfers. Secondly, you need to invoice your clients with the correct amounts. This can be a very laborious process, resulting in human errors and higher overhead costs when having dedicated employees managing this process.

Just like with custom pay rates, PARiM also provides you with the features for custom bill rates for each scheduled shift. The system automatically calculates the invoices for you. You can provide additional transparency to your clients by showing them individual shift bill rates in the client portal.

How much does it cost to start a security company?

The million-dollar question: how much does it cost to start a security company? Unfortunately, the answer is that we can’t tell you! It all depends on what sector of the security industry you will enter, the staff you hire on day one, and how much you spend on marketing your business. You can effectively incorporate a security business on your own, apply for licences and build your website for less than $100 (£80). Still, you’ll struggle to juggle so many plates - especially if you’ve got to find your clients on top.

However, if you’re sensible, bootstrap wherever possible to save money and consider your new security company as a long-term venture.

It is certainly possible to break even or turn a profit in your first year - work hard, find the right staff, and rely on experts and software to plug the gaps in your knowledge.

Whatever you decide to do, we wish you the very best of luck! We know that setting up a new business may be daunting initially, but taking the leap and getting started on your own allows you to become your boss, compete locally and nationally, and reap the rewards.

How to start a security company in the UK: how much it costs and what you need