Security systems chief financial officer job description
A security systems CFO runs the money from two very different kinds of work: one-time install projects and monthly monitoring and service contracts. They set budgets, cost each job, get sales tax right on alarm work, and keep cash steady while big commercial jobs wait to be paid.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, security systems companies · BLS, May 2025
Serve as a strategic leader responsible for managing all financial aspects of the security and low voltage divisions, ensuring robust budgeting, financial planning, and risk control. Champion financial integrity and compliance while driving the profitability and sustainable growth of security projects. Collaborate with project teams and executive leadership to align financial strategies with company goals. Provide expert financial oversight that directly contributes to the continued success of home services security operations.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee the preparation and management of budgets for security and low voltage projects.
Develop and implement risk control strategies to safeguard company assets and project investments.
Ensure accurate financial reporting and regulatory compliance in all project-related activities.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to optimize financial performance and secure project profitability.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Monitor daily financial transactions and review project-specific financial reports.
Conduct detailed variance analysis between budgeted and actual expenditures.
Liaise with security project managers to provide financial insights and recommendations.
Perform ongoing risk assessments and update financial forecasts based on market trends.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Budget variance: Maintain a deviation of less than 2% from approved budgets.
Project ROI: Achieve a minimum return of 15% on security projects.
Invoice accuracy: Attain a 99% accuracy rate in financial documentation and processing.
Timeliness: Ensure 100% on-time submission of monthly and quarterly financial reports.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
Professional certification (e.g., CPA) is highly preferred.
Minimum of 8 years of progressive financial management experience.
Proficiency in financial software, ERP systems, and advanced Microsoft Excel.
6. Preferred Experience
Demonstrated experience within the home services, security, or low voltage industry.
Proven track record of managing financial operations related to complex security projects.
Familiarity with risk management frameworks and regulatory compliance standards.
Experience working in fast-paced, innovative environments that drive technological advancement.
7. Physical Requirements
Occasional travel to security project sites is required.
Ability to work in a standard office environment with minimal physical exertion.
Extended periods of sitting while analyzing financial data and preparing reports.
Occasional site visits that may involve light physical activity.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
Limited travel requirements to various project sites as needed.
Occasional on-call duties for urgent financial evaluations or risk assessments.
A hybrid work environment with both office and remote work flexibility.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $150,000 - $200,000 USD per year.
Annual performance-based bonus opportunities.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans.
401(k) retirement plan with company match and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we cultivate a dynamic culture centered on innovation, teamwork, and professional growth. We empower our employees to take initiative, collaborate openly, and strive for excellence in every project. Our commitment to continuous improvement and customer satisfaction makes us a leader in the home services industry. Join us and experience an environment where your contributions drive success and where your career growth is a top priority.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
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What makes the CFO job different at a security and low voltage company
Every CFO plans budgets and protects cash. In this trade, tax on alarm services, public job payrolls and contracts that renew on their own change what lands on the CFO's desk.
Texas taxes alarm installs and monitoring
Sales tax on security work changes from state to state. The Texas Comptroller lists alarm system installation or monitoring as a taxable security service. Security services sold to a government agency are not taxable. For a company working across state lines, map each state's rules by service type. Then invoices charge the right tax, and an audit doesn't find years of tax you never collected. Source: Texas Comptroller: Security Services (publication 94-119).
Federal jobs bring weekly certified payrolls
Cabling, cameras and access control on a federal or federally funded building job can fall under Davis-Bacon wage rules. Under 29 CFR 5.5, the contractor or sub must send in certified payrolls for each week covered work is done. Set up job codes, wage rates and worker classes before the first day on site. Fixing weeks of payroll later costs far more. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions for Davis-Bacon and related acts.
Oregon sets rules for contracts that renew on their own
Home monitoring deals often renew on their own. Oregon's automatic renewal law, ORS 646A.295, covers these deals with consumers. The terms must be clear and shown close to where the customer agrees. The customer must say yes before a card or account is charged. They get a notice they can keep that says how to cancel, and canceling must be easy. A big change in terms needs its own notice. The CFO checks that forms and billing match before renewals run. Source: Oregon Revised Statutes chapter 646A, including ORS 646A.293 and 646A.295 on automatic renewals.
Two kinds of income need two sets of numbers
Install projects bring large, uneven payments billed as work is done. Monitoring and service bring small payments that repeat every month. Report them on separate lines with their own margins and cash timing, so the owners can see whether growth comes from new projects or from contracts that keep paying, and so a slow quarter of installs doesn't hide a healthy contract base.
Equipment stock loses value fast
Panels, cameras, readers and recorders change models often, and makers stop supporting old lines. Count stock on trucks and in the warehouse on a set schedule. Write down parts you can no longer install. Agree on return windows with your suppliers so dead stock doesn't pile up.
How much security systems chief financial officers make
The closest BLS group for security systems chief financial officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for security systems companies earned a median of $227,770 a year ($109.50 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 100 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for security systems companies.
Pay is mainly salary, with a yearly bonus for hitting financial goals. The BLS code behind the figures is chief executives, which O*NET's sample titles show includes CFOs, and this template's range is under that code's median for security systems companies.
Security systems companies
$227,770$227,770 median Middle half $138,530–$323,920 10th–90th $118,140–$433,830
All industries
$213,990$213,990 median Middle half $129,540–$356,200 10th–90th $75,700–$507,730
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Security systems companies
$118,140
$138,530
$227,770
$323,920
$433,830
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for low-voltage contractors on their own. These figures cover security systems services, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Job costing for projects billed in progress payments with retainage
Accounting for monthly contract income and prepaid service
Sales and use tax across more than one state
Cash forecasting through long commercial payment cycles
Reports an owner, a board or a lender can read quickly
Teach these on the job
Your mix of home, business and apartment work
Your distributors' pricing, rebates and return terms
How your monitoring center bills you
Prevailing wage setup in your payroll system
How your field service software posts to the books
Most of the work runs through the accounting system, linked to field service or alarm dealer software, with spreadsheets for forecasts. List both in the posting; someone who has set up recurring billing and project costing in those same tools gets up to speed faster.
Security systems chief financial officer interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Spotting early cancellations
Sales says cancellations are fine, but you see more accounts canceling in their first year than before. How would you dig in?
A strong answer: Groups accounts by start month, channel and rep, looks at cancellation reasons and contract terms, and shows leadership the cost.
Behavioral · Useful budgets
Tell me about a budget you built that split install, service and monitoring so managers could act on it.
A strong answer: Built it with the managers by line of business, kept it simple, tracked recurring revenue and install margin separately, and reviewed it with them monthly.
The template's targets are placeholders. Build your own from last year's books and any loan terms you must meet, and revisit them every quarter.
Budget variance
Compare actual spending with the approved budget each month, by department and by large project. Explain each big gap in writing, and separate timing differences from real overruns.
Project ROI
For each finished install, compare the job's profit, plus any monitoring or service contract it brought in, with the labor, parts and overhead it used.
Invoice accuracy
Count invoices credited, reissued or disputed because of wrong tax, wrong pricing or missing change orders, against all invoices sent that month.
Timeliness
Track the date each monthly and quarterly report reaches the CEO, the lender or a tax agency against its due date. Keep one calendar of every filing and who owns it.
Career path
Assistant controller at an alarm or electrical contractorLearns progress billing and monthly contract income.
ControllerRuns the monthly close and the accounting team.
Chief financial officerOwns budgets, cash, tax and reporting.
Should a security company bill monitoring monthly or yearly?
Yearly billing brings cash in sooner and cuts the number of card declines to chase. Monthly billing is easier for homeowners to accept and spreads the work out. You can offer both. Whichever you choose, the CFO should record a prepaid year as service still owed, earn it month by month, and track cancellations on each plan so you can see which one keeps customers longer.
How much does a security systems chief financial officer make?
Chief executives who work for security systems companies earned a median of $227,770 a year ($109.50 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $138,530 and $323,920 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What should a CFO set up before the company works in a new state?
Register for sales tax there if your work is taxed in that state. Open state payroll tax and unemployment accounts. Make sure workers' comp covers staff working there. Confirm the company and tech licenses are in place before the first bill goes out. Budget for permit and alarm registration fees the cities there charge.
Should a security company offer financing on new systems?
Financing can help homeowners and small firms say yes to a bigger system. A third-party lender keeps consumer credit rules and collections with a specialist, so you don't lend your own money. The CFO weighs the lender's fees against the extra sales. Also check what happens to a customer's balance if they cancel monitoring.
How should a security company CFO handle retainage on commercial jobs?
Track the retainage on each job as its own amount owed, with the date it should be paid. Release usually waits on closeout papers such as as-built drawings, test reports, warranty letters and training sign-offs. Work with project managers to collect them as the job ends. Old retainage nobody chases is cash you already earned.
