What to take into your next decision
- Compare service scope before comparing a per-camera, per-site or package figure.
- Keep unknown charges visible; an empty field is not a zero-cost inclusion.
- Separate recurring, variable, one-time and retained operating costs.
- Test added activity, reduced scope and account transfer using the supplier’s actual rules.
Identify what the supplier is charging for
Ask what creates one billable unit: a camera, site, schedule, service package or allocated operating capacity. Then ask what changes the charge. Camera count and workload are different inputs; a quote should make their relationship explicit.
Public pricing formats illustrate that distinction. Worldview describes predictable pricing for its monitoring-center partners, while Video Armed publishes plan descriptions with quote requests. Those pages do not establish a wholesale rate for your account or a price for 1Degree.
Separate price from included work. A proposal covering selected event review is difficult to compare with one including tours, audio, reporting and account support until those differences are recorded.
| Price description | Definition to obtain | Change to test |
|---|---|---|
| Per camera | Which streams, devices or views count, and what tasks are included? | Added, inactive or temporarily unavailable cameras |
| Per site or package | What schedule, equipment and work fit inside the package? | A new area, longer hours or added task |
| Usage-linked | What counts as one chargeable event or action? | Duplicates, tests, nuisance activity and allowance overruns |
| Fixed or capacity-based | What capacity, service boundary or commitment supports the price? | More accounts, different workload or changed staffing requirement |
Reference: Worldview: Partner program and pricing description · Video Armed: Public plans and pricing
Give every supplier the same account input
Prepare a versioned account sheet. Include site type and location, cameras and required functions, coverage days and hours with time zone, event history where available, known legitimate activity, response tasks and reporting recipients. Mark unmeasured workload as unknown.
Include the readiness work: camera configuration, network changes, audio equipment, access permissions, tests and site visits. Identify who performs each task. A monitoring fee that excludes this work is only part of the cost of launching the client service.
For a portfolio, group sites only where their equipment, schedule and operating work are comparable. Record the exceptions. A retail branch closing late or a truck yard with overnight dispatch may change the proposal even when its camera count matches another site.
Use a comparison record that can say incomplete
Give each proposal its own answer column and retain the source of each amount or term. The fields below describe the minimum record. An unanswered charge should block a complete total or appear explicitly as excluded and unresolved; it should not silently become zero.
| Field | What to enter | If unresolved |
|---|---|---|
| Scope version | Same accounts, schedule, functions and tasks for every proposal | Do not present totals as like-for-like |
| Recurring charge | Amount, currency, billing period and billed unit | Request the missing basis before calculating |
| Usage rules | Included allowance, counting method, extra-unit rate and approval route | Keep the variable component unknown |
| Setup and third parties | One-time work, equipment, licenses and outside services | Identify which costs remain outside the quote |
| Commercial conditions | Minimum term, volume changes, notice and account-transfer charges | Label the affected scenario incomplete |
| Retained work | Your team’s expected administration, support and review cost | Use stated assumptions until measured |
Calculate delivery cost without double counting
A planning model is: recurring supplier charges plus chargeable usage plus selected add-ons plus retained operating costs. Keep one-time setup and equipment separate, then add them for the evaluation period you choose. Use the supplier’s counting rules and your own cost records.
Check packages before adding individual tasks. If reporting is already included, an allowance for the same supplier work would count it twice. Your own report review may still be a separate retained duty.
Retained costs can include account updates, client communication, technical coordination and supplier management. Do not assume they disappear after outsourcing. If comparing with an internal operation, distinguish costs that would stop, costs that continue and transition costs caused by the change.
Keep currency and billing periods visible. Normalize with a documented assumption if your business chooses to compare currencies; do not combine unlike amounts. Apply any taxes and third-party charges stated for the actual proposal. Set your client selling price after establishing the delivery scope and cost.
Test the proposal when the account changes
Use measured activity where available and label scenarios elsewhere. A scenario is a question about the contract’s behavior, not a forecast or a promised saving.
More activity
Ask how duplicate alerts, temporary work and additional response tasks are counted. Identify any tuning, approval or change process before an extra charge applies.
Longer or shorter coverage
Check the effective date for schedule changes, minimum commitments and whether reduced work changes the invoice.
Pilot becomes rollout
Separate trial terms from ordinary account terms, and identify setup, support or capacity work needed for more sites.
Account moves or closes
Include any agreed transfer assistance, overlap, notice and data-export costs. A stopped camera does not necessarily end a contractual charge.
Use the result to request a concrete proposal
A complete comparison shows a total for its stated assumptions, a clear scope and a separate list of unresolved terms. If activity history is missing, ask how an agreed pilot could establish a useful record before you commit to a wider client rollout.
Bring the common account sheet and the duties you want outsourced to a 1Degree quote discussion. Use the quote-comparison tool with your actual proposal inputs; its output is a planning calculation, not a supplier quote or evidence of a guaranteed margin.
Questions partners ask
What should I enter when a supplier has not answered a cost question?
Keep it unknown and identify the affected part of the comparison. Zero means a confirmed zero charge or inclusion; it should not stand for an unanswered question. Ask for the term before treating the total as complete.
Can a fixed price still need a workload discussion?
Yes. Confirm the service and capacity boundary, included tasks and conditions for a scope change. A fixed amount only supports a comparison when those limits are clear.
How do we price an account with no event history?
Disclose the gap. Supply site use, schedules and expected activity as assumptions, then discuss technical review or a scoped pilot. Keep the resulting estimate distinct from measured workload and the supplier’s accepted terms.
