How to price a security guard contract

Guarding companies lose money on contracts priced from the guard's salary alone. The rate per guard per month has to carry the bonus, the relief guard who covers weekly offs and leave, uniforms, supervision, the office and a margin, and the client will deduct VAT and tax when paying.

1. Count the guards, not the posts

A 24-hour post on two 12-hour shifts needs two guards on duty every day. Each guard has a weekly holiday and leave, so the post needs close to three people across a month. Use the guards per post calculator.

2. Cost one guard for a month

• Gross pay at or above the wage grade.
• Overtime if the duty is longer than 8 hours.
• Two festival bonuses a year: about one sixth of basic each month.
• Relief share: around 17% if one reliever covers six guards.
• Uniform, boots and kit spread over their life.
• Supervision rounds and the office, as a percentage.

3. Add your margin, then VAT

Margins in guarding are thin. Add VAT on the full bill at the rate for security services, and remember the client may pay you the bill minus the VAT they deposit themselves and minus income tax withheld.

4. Write it into the contract

State the posts, shifts and head count, the rate per person per month or per shift, the rate for extra guards on request, whether shifts nobody covered are credited, the yearly increase, the invoice day and the payment terms.

A worked example

Two 24-hour posts on 12-hour shifts, four guards on duty. Gross ৳9,800, bonus share about ৳930, relief 17%, uniform ৳250, supervision and office 14%, margin 12%: roughly ৳17,000 per guard per month before VAT. Run your own numbers in the quote calculator.

Ovelit Guard stores each contract's posts and rates, builds the roster from them and drafts the invoice each month, with credits for uncovered shifts and extra duty billed separately, then shows the profit of every site.