Field notes
Practical writing on running a guard company — operations, accountability, and keeping clients happy.
How do you know your security guard is actually there?
A timesheet can be perfect and still hide a guard who left, a guard who fell asleep, or a guard who collapsed alone on a 3 a.m. post. Here's why the clock can't tell you, and what can.
Security guard license requirements in California (2026)
What California actually requires for unarmed guard cards, armed guards, batons and tear gas, and the Private Patrol Operator license that lets you employ them — training hours, deadlines, fees, insurance, renewals, and the pitfalls owners hit, sourced from the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services' own pages.
Watchbill vs. TrackTik and Silvertrac — an honest comparison
TrackTik and Silvertrac are two tiers of one company now. Here's what they do well, the year-one arithmetic for a 25-guard, 6-site company, what Watchbill still doesn't do, and the nine questions that decide it.
Do you need guard software if your security team is in-house?
Every page on our site says 'guard companies.' Corporate, campus, and facility security departments read that and wonder whether any of it applies to them. Here's the honest answer — including the parts that don't.
Security guard license requirements in Texas (2026)
What Texas actually requires for unarmed guards, commissioned (armed) officers, and the companies that employ them — license classes, training levels, insurance, fees, renewals, and the pitfalls owners hit, sourced from the Texas DPS Private Security Program's own pages.
What property managers actually check before hiring a guard company
In a standard security-services RFP, price is one line out of fourteen. Here's what evaluators actually ask for, what they quietly test, and the one question that separates the shortlist from the stack.
Security guard license requirements in Florida (2026)
What Florida actually requires for unarmed guards, armed guards, and the companies that employ them — training hours, license classes, insurance, renewals, and the pitfalls owners hit, sourced from the state regulator's own pages.
"Why not just use Connecteam?" — an honest answer
General workforce apps really are cheaper than guard software, and they're good products. Here's the arithmetic for a 25-guard company, and the seven questions that decide whether the difference is worth paying.
Security guard license requirements in Georgia (2026)
What Georgia actually requires for unarmed guards, armed guards, and the companies that employ them — training hours, fees, renewals, and the pitfalls owners hit, sourced from the state board's own rules.
After the incident: what a security report that holds up actually looks like
When something goes wrong at a client site, your documentation decides what happens next — to the contract, the claim, and sometimes the courtroom. Here's the anatomy of a report that survives scrutiny.
Five signs your guard company has outgrown paper
Paper DARs and group-text dispatching work — right up until they cost you a contract. Here's how to know you've hit the ceiling.