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MORE ON SELLING ACCOUNTS OR BUSINESS
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Ken-
    I’d like to respond to the question of what is the difference between selling just your accounts and selling the entire business. 
    What many alarm company sellers do not realize is that there is often not much, if any,  difference in the value of selling their contracted monitored accounts vs. selling their “entire business”.  Your comment on the fact that many buyers do not want to take on the liability of purchasing the entire business is spot on.  Often, sellers believe there to be significant value in their inventory, tangible assets, real estate, employees,  and “blue sky” (name, reputation, phone number) but most often the value lies in the contracted RMR.
    There are several reasons that a seller would want to only sell their accounts:

  • succession plans,
  • pay off debt,
  • buy out a partner,
  • business expansion in new markets (without incurring new debt), etc. and
  • not go out of business.  

    Even if a seller is looking to sell, lock, stock and barrel, they should definitely educate themselves on what the existing valuations are in the industry and what the true value of their company really is.  I would be happy to discuss selling options and valuations at any time. 
Kelly Bond
kbond@alarmcapital.com
888-593-6151
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MORE ON EQUIPMENT RENTAL FROM MARCH 19, 2016 ARTICLE
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Ken,
    While Mr. Robert Kleinman states that he is providing a service and not renting equipment, so is Verizon.  A Verizon bill will have a partial breakdown of its charges which includes the rental of equipment in  addition to the other services being provided (telephone, internet, TV etc.).   I do not believe that the alarm industry should follow suit in such a breakdown but this makes things clearer as to the initial discussion in the rental of equipment with monitoring and service correct?
Yours truly,
Formally Known as Anonymous
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RESPONSE
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    If you have company owned equipment on the subscriber's premises then I think you should be leasing that equipment.  
    This issue is found in both the older Standard All in One sale form and the Standard All in One lease form.
    The latest updated All in One sales form has done away with the alarm company retaining ownership of the communication software, rather, it now provides for the software to be leased.  We received enough comments to change the form in the updated versions so that no equipment ownership is retained by the alarm company in a sales transaction, but the alarm company does retain ownership of all Intellectual Property rights, which includes the system programming.  No provision is made for the leasing, or acquiring, of those rights.
    The Standard All in One Lease has a provision for installation charges and RMR leasing charges which are separate from any RMR services, such as monitoring or repair service.  The lease obviously gives the alarm company the most control and prospects for a continued relationship because the subscriber never acquires ownership to the alarm equipment.
    You can get the latest updated forms at www.alarmcontracts.com or by calling our Contract Administrator Eileen Wagda at 516 747 6700 x 312.
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