How Vertical Software Is Reshaping the Private Security Industry

Lucas: If these conversations are useful for what you're building or running, you've probably noticed how many industries still run on clipboards, paper logs, and phone calls. Private security is one of the biggest remaining frontiers. Luna: You mean the guys in the patrol cars, the ones who check doors at office parks overnight? That industry is still that analog?

Lucas: In large part, yes. There are about 1.2 million private security officers in the United States alone - more than police officers. And for decades, the standard workflow was: guard shows up, signs a paper logbook at each checkpoint, writes an incident report by hand, and the client gets a stack of paper at the end of the month.

Luna: I've seen those logbooks. They're easy to fake - you can sign all the checkpoints ahead of time. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the core problem that vertical SaaS is solving.

The company I want to focus on today is TrackTik, based in Montreal. They make workforce management software specifically for security firms - scheduling, gps verified patrol tracking, digital incident reporting, and automated client billing. Luna: They raised a big round a few years back, didn't they? I remember something about $85 million.

Lucas: That's right - a Series B in 2021 led by Summit Partners. And the reason investors were interested is that the economics of security firms are brutal. Margins are thin, turnover is high - guard turnover can exceed 100 percent annually - and clients are demanding more accountability. Luna: So the software isn't just about efficiency.

It's about proving the service was actually delivered. Lucas: Exactly. With TrackTik, a guard scans a QR code or taps an NFC tag at each checkpoint. The system logs the exact time and location.

If a guard misses a patrol, the supervisor gets an alert in real time. And at the end of the month, the client gets a digital report with timestamps and a map of every patrol route. Luna: That has to change the conversation when a client says they didn't see a guard all night. Lucas: It completely changes the liability picture.

And it also streamlines billing - instead of manually calculating hours from paper timesheets, the system integrates with payroll and invoices automatically. Clients pay based on verified hours, not estimated ones. Luna: I imagine the adoption hasn't been frictionless. Security is an industry with a lot of veteran workers who are used to doing things a certain way.

Lucas: That's the biggest challenge. TrackTik's CEO, Matt Stevens, has said that the hardest part isn't the technology - it's change management. You have guards who have been in the field for 20 years and suddenly they're being asked to use a smartphone on every patrol. Some see it as micromanagement.

Luna: But if you're a security firm owner, this kind of transparency is a competitive advantage. You can charge a premium for verified service. Lucas: Right. And that's where the business case gets compelling.

The global private security market is estimated at around $300 billion. Even a modest shift toward digital operations represents a massive addressable market for vertical SaaS. Luna: It's one of those cases where the podcast itself is a resource for people thinking about their own business tools. If today gave you a useful lens on your own industry, the reason we can do this ad-free is listener support - buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo.

Lucas: Yeah, it's a small way to keep these deep dives coming. So back to TrackTik - one of the clever things they did was build a mobile app that works offline. Guards in parking garages or remote industrial sites don't always have reliable cell service. Luna: That's smart.

So the app caches the patrol data and syncs when it reconnects. Lucas: Exactly. And they also added a feature for incident reporting - instead of writing a description by hand, the guard can take photos, record audio, and tag the location on a map. That creates a much richer record for insurance and legal purposes.

Luna: I could see that being a huge deal for liability. If a security company can prove that a guard responded to an alarm within two minutes and documented everything, it's harder to sue them for negligence. Lucas: That's exactly the value proposition. And it's not just about defense - it's about pricing power.

Firms that use TrackTik can offer different service tiers. Basic patrol, verified patrol with GPS trail, or premium patrol with real-time video and incident documentation. Luna: So they're effectively unbundling security services and letting clients choose what they pay for. Lucas: Right.

And that creates recurring revenue for the software provider. TrackTik charges per guard per month - typically $15 to $30 per user. For a firm with 500 guards, that's $7,500 to $15,000 a month in software fees. And the firm passes some of that cost to its clients as part of a higher service contract.

Luna: What about competitors? Is this a winner take most market? Lucas: Not yet. There's a company called Proliant that focuses on payroll and HR for security, and a few smaller players like Silvertrac and Trackforce.

But TrackTik has the broadest platform play. They've also been acquiring - they bought a company called Blink in 2022 to add video surveillance integration. Luna: So they're trying to be the operating system for security firms, not just a scheduling tool. Lucas: That's the ambition.

And the numbers suggest it's working. TrackTik now serves over 3,000 security companies across North America and Europe. They've processed over 100 million patrol verifications. That's a lot of data that makes their platform stickier over time.

Luna: One thing that strikes me is how this mirrors what we've seen in other verticals - like the pharmacy and vet software we covered. The key is solving a really specific pain point that generic software can't touch. Lucas: Exactly. A security firm could use Salesforce for CRM and Workday for HR, but none of those handle patrol verification or incident reporting with GPS tagging.

That's the vertical moat. Luna: And once a firm has all its patrol routes, incident history, and client billing in TrackTik, switching costs are high. Lucas: Very high. And that's the kind of business that generates predictable, high-margin revenue.

For investors, that's attractive - especially when the underlying industry is growing about 5 percent a year globally. Luna: So if you're a security firm owner listening, is the message: 'If you're not using this kind of software, you're leaving money on the table'? Lucas: I think that's fair. The cost of not digitizing is harder to measure, but it shows up in disputes with clients, in litigation, in overtime payroll errors, and in lost contracts because a competitor offered verified reporting.

The software isn't cheap, but the ROI is pretty clear. Luna: What about the guard experience? Does it make their job better, or just more tracked? Lucas: That's the tension.

On one hand, guards get a tool that makes reporting easier - they're not writing by hand in the rain. On the other, they lose the autonomy of an unsupervised patrol. Some firms have addressed this by using the data for bonuses - guards who complete all patrols on time get a small incentive. Luna: So it becomes a performance tool, not just a surveillance tool.

Lucas: Exactly. And that's where the best vertical SaaS deployments succeed - they align incentives across the firm, the guards, and the client. Private security is a perfect case study for that. Luna: It's one of those industries most people don't think about until something goes wrong.

But behind the scenes, it's being reshaped by software. Lucas: And that's the pattern we keep seeing - the most analog industries are often the ones with the highest vertical SaaS potential. Private security is a $300 billion market that's barely 10 percent digitized. There's a long runway.