Features CANASA Update Opinion
CANASA UPDATE: Contractually sound

Did you know that the value of your monitored accounts is affected by the type and quality of your contracts between you and your customers? No wonder many CANASA members spend thousands of dollars on legal services to have contracts reviewed on a regular basis. If you are not doing this, it is like driving your company without a seatbelt or ABS.

To help you save time and money, we have provided contract templates you can use as a starting point to create your own personalized contract. We consulted with members as part of the creation process and used a well-respected legal firm to help. We offer different versions of the contract for the residential and commercial markets, as requirements vary widely if you are providing security services to a business or a consumer.

As a national organization we also want to make sure you are covered coast-to-coast, so our contracts have been reviewed by lawyers with expertise in each of the provinces and we produced a specific version of the contract for each province. You want a contract template to sell a commercial system in Alberta? We have it. Are you looking for a French or English contract to use in the province of Quebec? We have both!

All our templates cover the sale, leasing and monitoring of security systems. We also took into consideration all the latest privacy laws that may affect you and have ensured that your contract includes provisions to protect you in the exchange of personal information between you and your customer. If you don’t have that and still collect personal information, you are at risk.

We have made a commitment to review and update all these templates on an annual basis so you can be up-to-date. We operate in a high-risk industry, so it is critical to provide our members with the best tools available to protect themselves and the value of their business.

The best part is that all of this is included for free with your annual membership dues.
I remember when I first started in this industry speaking with security contractors who bragged about the fact they sold security with no contracts. Providing products and services solely on a handshake is long behind us. Having the right contract is key but with ever changing laws and regulations, it is becoming more complicated than ever.
Head over to the members-only section of our website to download a copy of the templates today. If you are not a member, today is a great day to join!

JF Champagne is the executive director of CANASA (www.canasa.org).