How to compare security guard bids

Security guard bids can look comparable because each ends with a monthly total. Read the assumptions and the comparison may disappear. One proposal may include supervision visits while another bills them separately or prices fewer occupied hours than the property requested.

Write the scope before asking for prices. Give each bidder the same version, and require exceptions in a separate column. That lets the owner decide whether a lower price reflects a useful alternative or work left out of the proposal.

In a vendor and bid review, we check that comparison with the owner. The owner selects and contracts with the service provider.

Define the job before the pricing sheet

Describe the property and each post's purpose. State where the assigned officer must be and which duties can require leaving that location. Include opening and closing conditions, access decisions and the reports the owner expects to receive.

Specify occupied hours by day and post. Include holiday treatment and any recurring events that change the schedule. If coverage is continuous, require an explanation of breaks and handovers. Do not leave bidders to interpret "full coverage" for themselves.

Use current post orders as supporting instructions. If those instructions are outdated, mark the disputed duties before distributing the request. Otherwise, each bidder may price a different guess about the actual assignment.

Offer a shared question process. When an answer changes the scope, send it to all bidders and identify the revised version. The final comparison should show which version each bidder accepted.

Require the same pricing lines

Use a common sheet to show the assumptions that otherwise stay buried in separate proposals.

Request a base price against the common scope. A bidder can submit an alternative, but it should also explain which requirement changes and how that changes the price.

An exception is not automatically a reason to reject a bid. It is a decision for the owner to make openly. Do not enter an alternative's lower total into the base comparison without also changing the scope it represents.

Make supervision and replacement coverage specific

Ask who reviews reports and who is reachable outside office hours. If the proposal includes site visits, have the bidder describe their purpose and the record the owner receives. Avoid accepting a supervision claim that has no observable deliverable.

For relief, ask what happens when someone misses the beginning of a shift. The answer should cover notification, replacement arrangements and billing for any gap. Ask how a replacement learns the property's access procedures before being left to make decisions.

Turnover cover belongs on the same sheet. Specify whether orientation and temporary substitutions are included. The owner should not discover after award that bringing a replacement up to speed requires a separate charge.

The Department of Labor's security guard guidance says hours at different posts in the same workweek count together for overtime purposes. Ask bidders how their relief pricing accounts for that obligation. Do not assume a replacement is free of overtime costs because the officer is new to your site.

Read the escalator as carefully as the opening price

A rate escalator changes the price during the agreement. Have each bidder identify whether the change is fixed, tied to a stated index or triggered by a defined cost change. Ask when it first applies and whether it compounds on earlier increases.

Require the bidder to demonstrate the formula using the same hypothetical change you give every bidder. Label the example as an illustration. It should test the contract language, not predict future costs.

Ask whether the owner can dispute the calculation or end the agreement if the increase is unacceptable. Check the notice period against the time the property would need to seek replacement bids. A starting price has limited meaning without its adjustment terms.

Check the contracting company's Texas license

Open the Texas DPS TOPS public search, choose Businesses and select Guard. Enter the bidder's exact business name or company license number in the search box. Match the result to the entity in the proposed agreement.

DPS explains that the search covers companies and individuals licensed by its Private Security Program. Its company FAQ says application and renewal status information updates in real time.

If the result leaves the company's identity or license status unclear, resolve it with DPS before award. Keep a dated copy of the check. A search result for a similarly named business does not verify your bidder.

Do not treat an individual's record as proof about the contracting company.

Occupations Code 1702.131 requires company advertising to contain the company name and address as shown in department records. Title 37 Texas Administrative Code Section 35.9(a)(2) requires the company license number. A license number printed on a proposal is something to look up in TOPS, not proof on its own.

Resolve insurance and reporting before award

Ask your insurance adviser to review the proposed coverage types and limits against the assignment. Match the insured entity to the contracting business. Request the supporting documents your adviser needs to evaluate exclusions and any required endorsements.

For reporting, ask for a blank template and explain what information the owner needs after an incident. Decide how records will be delivered and retained, including what happens when the contract ends.

A bid review can line up bids that still answer different questions after clarification and draft the follow-up questions for you.