How Much Should My Security Company Charge

Have you asked the question, ‘ How much should my security company charge?’ Please take your time to read through this blog and you will get your answers. We hope to assist individuals or businesses who are wanting to start their own Security Guard Hire Business to set appropriate hire prices.

This information will use the Australian Security Industry as an example. If you are reading this from an overseas country, this content should be able to help you understand how to charge clients for security officer hire.

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Also, read the following:

Security Guard Pricing Tool (Formula)

To cut a long story short, most business professionals agree that to set a good price for any product or service, you need the following formula (Wages/Product Cost + 45-60% = exact hire amount you should charge).

In other words, check what the Minimum or Award Wage of Security Guards is in your country or state, add 50% and you will get the amount to charge for Security Guard Prices?

If you use that formula, it will help you pay the right wages, pay taxes, cover your running expenses/cost, and also make a good profit.

Don’t Run Yet

Hold on one minute, don’t run with the above formula just yet. Sometimes if you add 50% on top of the employee wages and charge your client, you may lose a lot of business, especially if you are a small start-up security guard business.

My Story: I have committed a considerable amount of time researching the security hire price list (no, it wasn’t by phishing other companies’ prices). I discovered one of the main reasons I lost quite a lot of Security Contracting opportunities was because I wasn’t setting my pricing right. If I had known what I know now, I would have secured very good security guarding contracts which I instead lost.

For a startup company, I will advise you to charge between 45%-50% on top of employee wages, and you should be able to charge your client the minimum amount, pay all your staff the correct wage and make a decent amount of profit, 50%+wages should do.

How Much Should I Charge for Security Services (More Answers)

A breakdown of the 3x Security Hire Templates/Prices. The pay rate mentioned below is the Australian Security Award Wage, Level 1. Note, these prices are subjected to a minimum of 4-5% increase every 1st of July in Australia, and you can set the formula based on your running costs.

Definitions of Words in This Blog:

Margins	Profit
Superannuation	Employee Pension
PH	Per Hour
GST	Government Tax

Casual Formula (46%): Employee Wages + GST + Superannuation + Running Cost + Margin = Rate ( )

GST:			10% (ph)
Employee Tax:			Deduct employee tax directly from their wage
Superannuation:			11% (ph)
Running Cost:			15% (ph)
Margin:			10% (ph)
Employee Current Casual Award Wage – 2023
Mon-Fri 6am-6pm	Mon-Fri 6pm-6am	Sat		Sun	Pub. Holiday
$31.59ph	$37.07ph	$44.22ph		$56.86ph	$69.49ph
What this rate is suitable for
a. Casual one-off ad-hoc events jobsb. Private events, parties, or community events

Casual Security Rates

This particular rate is suitable for small businesses/clients who might hire an emergency security guard (ADHOC) for their site, business, or homes. It is also for clients who might require security guards for private events functions, etc.

You can use this rate when you are not tied to a contract. It helps you charge low, but at the same time, pay the legal casual security guards the right/award wage and make some small profits of about 5-10% of what you charge per hour.

The advantage of this rate is you pay your employees as casual, without the obligation of paying other entitlements that are only reserved for full-time employees.

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2. Full Time Rate Formula (48-55%) : Employee Wages + GST + Superannuation + Leave + Running Cost + Margin = Rate ( )

GST: 10%			10% (ph)
Employee Tax:			Deduct employee tax directly from their wage
Superannuation:			11% (ph)
Annual, Long Service and Sick Leave:			13% (ph)
Running Cost:			10.% (ph)
Margin:			7% (ph)
Employee Current Casual Award Wage – 2023
Mon-Fri 6am-6pm	Mon-Fri 6pm-6am	Sat		Sun	Pub. Holiday
$25.27ph	$30.75ph	$37.91ph		$50.54ph	$63.18ph
What this rate is suitable for
a. Small ongoing security siteb. Casual one-off ad-hoc, events jobsc. A small site with full-time contracts

Full Time and Part Time Rates

This particular full/part-time rate is designed for little margins. This allows you to secure security contracts at a low price/rate but, at the same time, meet your employer responsibilities and pay your employees the correct award/wage.

It also means you will have to engage the guards who will be working for you or at the site as full/part-time employees. The wages paid to full/part-time employees (including annual and sick leave) are lower than what you pay casual staff.

Warning: When you use this rate, it may not leave you room to pay for overtime, etc. So, you must watch the roster and make sure no one does over time (above 38 hours per week)

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3. Advance Contracting Rate Full Time Rate Formula (65%): Employee Wages + GST + Superannuation + Leave + Running Cost + Margin = Rate ( )

GST:			10% (ph)
Superannuation:			11% (ph)
Employee Wages: Also deduct Employee Wage Tax from the wages			Deduct employee tax directly from their wage
Annual, Long Service, and Sick Leave:			15% (ph)
Running Cost:			15% (ph)
Margin:			14% (ph)
Employee Current Casual Award Wage – 2023
Mon-Fri 6am-6pm	Mon-Fri 6pm-6am	Sat		Sun	Pub. Holiday
$31.59ph	$37.97ph	$44.22ph		$56.86ph	$69.49h
What this rate is suitable for
a. Sizeable long term security site/contractb. Risky ad-hoc events jobsc. Large multinational companies of Government Tenders with full-time contracts

Advance Contracting Rates

This particular rate is suitable when quoting for big corporate, government, and company contracts/tenders. Such entities can afford quality security guards and pricing won’t be much of a concern. Such sites/contracts may require you to provide quality and well-trained security guards with your company uniforms, etc.

Take note that most contracting sites will require security guards to perform duties of between Level 2 and 4 Security Guards. So, you will need to re-adjust how much you charge your client based on the level of Security Guard duties at the site and pay the guards accordingly. If you are unsure what level of Security Guard duties is at the client site, please click on this NES link.

These contracting rates may look high, but remember this; when you are looking to provide professional security guard hire services to large businesses, Government, etc. you must meet your responsibility as an employer and if you provide them with a low bid/price, it may scare them off.

Also, read:

Some of your employer responsibilities include paying the right security guard wages, allowances (annual, sick, long-service leave, overtime, first aid allowance, firearm allowance, higher duties allowances, etc.). So, this particular security contracting rate will help you cover those costs if you make an adjustment based on the Security Officers duties/levels, pay grade and other business/cost factors.

An advanced full contracting rate like this will afford your security company the ability to sub-contract security work to other companies during busy times of the year. In turn, the subcontracting company can afford to pay their security guards the right/award wage too.

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Note: Make sure you lock the client into a minimum 12 months contract.

Vital Tip: You may choose to adjust the price/% based on what works for your company, however, always charge rates that will allow you to pay your employees the correct wage. You wouldn’t want to be dragged to the Fair Work Ombudsman or Court in the future for paying incorrect wages.

It is essential to read more on the National Employment Standards (NES) in regards to security guard’s entitlement wages, etc. It will help you meet your responsibility as an employer towards your employees.

Also, read the following:

Security Award Wage

To learn more about National Security Award Wage in Australia, please Google the term ‘Security Award Wage’, and this line may come up first (Security Services Industry Award 2020 [MA000016] Pay Guidewww.fairwork.gov.au › Article Documents › security-services-industry). Click on it to obtain a copy of the Security Services Award Wage document.

We Offer For Sale Security Hire Price Templates

If you don’t have time to create Security Hire Price Templates for your business/client, please send us an email, and we will create 2-3 Security Services Hire Templates exclusive to your business. These templates will be in Word format so your clients can fill it in using their mobile phone, tablet or computer.

We can also assist you in creating Price Templates specific to Security Tenders/Contracts that you are going for.

Alternative Price

You can choose to create an approved/registered Enterprise Agreement between your employees and your business. A lot of businesses find such Fair Work Commission Registered Agreements to be less complicated to operate and cheaper for their businesses. Click on the link to learn more about the Registered Agreement.

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To purchase our custom design Personal Protection Standard Operating Procedures or to purchase our Security Starter Pack (SOPs, Security Employment Contract Letter, Security Training Manuals, Security Hire Prices and Proposal Template) and instant download, please click on the button below:

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Also, see:

Conclusion

Your security business is unique, so only use Security Hire Price Templates that are designed specifically for your business. Charge clients based on the value and quality of service your security company can offer. If you believe your company, guards and service are premium, then charge accordingly. Don’t forget to charge correctly, so you can cover your costs, employee entitlements, and your margins.