The lowest bid is almost always lowest for a reason. Understanding which corner was cut tells you what you are actually buying.

What Gets Removed First: Undercutting the market usually means reduced supervision, thinner insurance, minimal training beyond the licence, or officers paid at a rate that guarantees turnover. None of these are visible in a quote.

Turnover Is the Real Tell: Sites staffed by a rotating cast of unfamiliar officers lose the single most valuable security asset — someone who knows what normal looks like on your property and notices when it changes.

Documentation Quality Collapses Quietly: Under-supervised officers produce thin reports. You discover this during an insurance claim, when the record you need does not exist.

Compare on Substance: Ask every bidder for licensing on assigned officers, insurance certificates, supervision ratio, sample reporting, and escalation procedure. Once those are on the table, price differences usually explain themselves. Understanding what security costs is easier when you compare the same things.

On Guard Security Ltd. provides written quotes that itemise licensing, insurance, supervision and reporting so comparison is straightforward. Request one at onguardsecurityltd.ca.