Guide for security guard companies

Managing a security guard company means the daily coordination of guards, guarded sites, client contracts and security incidents — from signing the contract to preparing the monthly billing. This guide walks through the stages of onboarding a new site, shift scheduling, patrols, equipment management, incident reporting and the recurring billing basis.

The stages of onboarding a new guarded site

1. Site assessment and contract. Assessing the site's risk, determining the number of posts needed, and signing the service contract, under Law 333/2003.
2. Security plan. Drafting the site's security plan, with the posts, staffing needs, checkpoints and post orders. Police approval is required for armed guarding; for unarmed guarding the plan is submitted electronically within the legal deadline.
3. Guard assignment. Selecting guards with a valid certification and the required qualification (armed/unarmed), based on the site's specifics.
4. Checkpoint and equipment setup. Defining patrol checkpoints, each with its own code (from the Plus plan), and assigning equipment — radios, uniforms, response vehicles — with the handover recorded with name, date and time (from the Pro plan).
5. Shifts and dispatch go live. Starting the shift roster, with the dispatch board open: you see the shifts running now, who has checked in at the post, who is late and which post has no named guard.
6. Reporting and billing. Periodic client reports, based on logged incidents and (from the Plus plan) checkpoint scans, followed (from the Pro plan) by the billing basis for the month; the invoice itself is issued in 4invoices.net.

What managing a security guard company means

Managing a security guard company is the process by which a dispatch team coordinates guards, sites and contracts so every contracted post is covered, every incident is reported correctly, and billing reflects exactly the services delivered.

In practice it means three things: a shift roster with no coverage gaps, a patrol system with time-stamped checkpoint scans, and a billing basis calculated from contracted and worked hours. In 4guards, patrols are available from the Plus plan and the billing basis from the Pro plan.

On the operations team, the dispatcher follows the running shifts on the dispatch board, the site supervisor checks that the security plan is followed, and the contract manager tracks contract terms and, from the Pro plan, the monthly billing basis.

Details: How do I calculate the number of guards needed for a site?

How guard shifts are scheduled

Every site has a post roster, with the time windows required for full coverage.

From the Plus plan, when a roster is saved the system checks overlaps, daily rest, maximum shift length and, as a warning only, hours worked over 7 days, against the thresholds set in the account. Weekly rest is not checked, and the check is a planning aid, not legal advice or a compliance guarantee. The coverage report lists the intervals where fewer guards are planned than the posts required and, separately, shifts with no named guard; you open it when you need to find a replacement.

Details: How do I schedule guard shifts with no coverage gap?

Details: How do I manage shift handover between security guards?

Details: What must a security guard do when taking over a post?

How patrols are managed

Patrol rounds run along fixed routes, with checkpoints placed at the site's critical points.

Each checkpoint has a unique code, and a scan is recorded from that code — entered in the panel or sent through the API — with its time. The missed-checkpoints list compares the last scan with the current time for every active route that has an interval set, and also shows points never scanned; it is a list you open, not an alert that is sent. The code identifies the checkpoint, not the person, so it is a time-stamped record, not proof of presence. Patrols are available from the Plus plan.

Details: How do you monitor security guards through patrol rounds and checkpoints?

Details: How do I track equipment assigned to security guards?

Which documents to track

A security guard company operates under a strict legal framework, with mandatory documents to track continuously for every site and every guard:

• The security company's operating licence, under Law 333/2003.
• A valid professional certification for every assigned guard.
• The site's security plan (with police approval for armed guarding).
• The service contract and its technical annexes.
• The site's shift register and incident reports.

Details: What documents does a security guard company need in Romania?

Details: How do I check if a security guard's attestation is valid?

Details: What must a security plan for a guarded site contain?

Details: What are the general and particular post orders (consemn) of a security guard?

How incidents are reported

Any event that affects the site's safety is logged in the panel, with category, severity, a description and a status, as close to the moment it happens as possible.

An incident has an escalation status that you update manually and can be closed or reopened, and the panel provides statistics and a per-site history; nothing is sent automatically to the client or the site manager — you send the report yourself.

Details: How do I report a security incident to the client?

How security contracts are billed

From the Pro plan, for each calendar month and contract, 4guards calculates the billing basis from contracted and worked hours at the contract hourly rate, plus overtime and the night premium. The basis is frozen in a run (draft, confirmed, exported) and exported as CSV.

4guards does not issue invoices: the fiscal document, series and number belong to 4invoices.net, and the data is not transferred automatically — you use the CSV export.

Details: How do I invoice monthly guard hours?

Details: What should a security contract with a client include?

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