Case Study
For security system integrators, understanding project profitability shouldn’t require database expertise. But for The Security Center, basic financial questions meant hours of sequel table query building—until they found FieldHub.
Based in Dallas, Texas, The Security Center has provided commercial security services since the late 1960s. Originally focused on vault and safe lock services for financial institutions, the company has expanded to offer comprehensive security solutions including alarm systems, video surveillance, access control, and electronic security equipment. The company maintains service contracts with major financial institutions and commercial clients across the United States.
In their previous system, accessing financial information required navigating multiple disconnected modules—service work orders, sales orders, quoting tools, proposals, and invoicing. Because these components didn’t communicate with each other, even straightforward questions about job costing or profitability required significant manual effort.
I don’t have to go through and build sequel table views and search filter parameters in an outside system to be able to make a report." — Rand Owen, Administrative Manager at The Security Center
Key Problems:
FieldHub integrated job costing directly into work orders, eliminating the separation between operational activity and financial tracking.
When we take something from an opportunity all the way through a proposal, into a work order, and into the invoicing stage, everything is streamlined and linear, including the job profitability and job costing aspects directly within the work order page itself.” — Rand Owen
With job costing built directly into the work order, project managers can see labor, materials, activity updates, and job profitability without switching systems or relying on manual reporting. Financial data updates automatically as technicians log time or add notes in the field.
We can see up to date, up to the minute search results. If the technician’s on a work order for a project or for a service call, we can see exactly what’s going on." — Rand Owen
Simplified reporting access: This eliminates the need to build sequel table views or configure external filters just to understand project performance. Instead, reporting becomes immediate and accessible to anyone involved in the workflow.
In FieldHub, it’s all there. You just click from one screen to the next and everything works… it’s all easy and anybody can do it." — Rand Owen
Proactive Project Management
Real-time visibility enables intervention while issues are still manageable. Labor overruns trigger immediate conversations with field supervisors. Material costs trending high prompt scope reviews before installation completes.
Better Resource Allocation
Understanding which projects, service types, and customers generate best margins enables strategic resource deployment without waiting for month-end reports.
Faster Financial Close
Period-end closing becomes reviewing complete information rather than compiling fragmented data from multiple systems.
It’s already proven that the growth is there. We have already started looking at larger scale projects with other large customers, beginning November of this year, that we would not have been able to take on in our previous system." — Rand Owen
The constraint wasn’t workforce—it was confidence in managing complex project financials. Real-time job costing provided the visibility foundation to pursue larger engagements.
Additional strategic benefits:
Democratizing financial data changed how teams work. When project managers see margin impact of decisions in real-time, they naturally become more cost-conscious without management pressure. As Owen notes, one of the biggest benefits was eliminating disconnects between operational and financial data.
While the migration from legacy software required significant effort, Owen reflects that it was worth the investment.
It was a lot of hours, but it’s obviously definitely worth it." — Rand Owen
FieldHub’s implementation included comprehensive data migration services and training.
I’ve been on computers my entire life. And I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know… the FieldHub Team would guide me in the right direction and really help me understand what I was missing to make the systems work appropriately." — Rand Owen
The learning wasn’t just software features—it was understanding financial metrics and using them in operational decisions.
Job costing accuracy stems from integration with operational systems. Because time tracking, materials usage, and expenses feed directly into project cost calculations, financial data reflects actual activity without reconciliation gaps.
For The Security Center, the decisive moment in choosing FieldHub wasn’t just evaluating features—it was meeting the FieldHub team and realizing the platform was built by people who genuinely understand their industry.
Rand describes this turning point:
The fact that FieldHub was built for us. It’s built by people who understand our business.” — Rand Owen
During their first in-person meeting, the alignment was immediate. Rand recalls that after speaking with the FieldHub team for about 45 minutes at a conference:
When we came back to Dallas, we knew which way we wanted to go.”
What resonated wasn’t only the software—it was the team’s background in low-voltage, security, and field service operations. They weren’t outsiders adapting generic tools; they were people who had lived the same workflows, challenges, and technical realities.
This stood in stark contrast to their previous system, which was originally designed for office printer service companies. Because it wasn’t built for security integrators, large portions didn’t fit their needs and created friction across reporting, job costing, materials, and work order workflows.
FieldHub’s industry-specific foundation—combined with a team who understood their day-to-day work—made the decision clear.
Modern interfaces matter more than many realize. Owen notes the previous system “looked like we were booting up in Windows 3.0.” A modern interface encourages more frequent interaction with financial data, improving decision-making independent of new capabilities.
Real-time financial visibility positions The Security Center for continued growth, including experimenting with new service offerings, implementing sophisticated pricing models based on actual cost data, and making targeted growth investments in high-return areas.
It’s already proven that the growth is there." — Rand Owen
His advice to other companies is simple:
Join the 21st century and get something pretty that works." — Rand Owen
FieldHub provides an integrated business management platform for field service companies, particularly security integrators and low-voltage contractors. The platform combines CRM, field service management, inventory control, and full accounting capabilities in a single cloud-based system. FieldHub’s open API architecture supports integration with industry-specific systems and tools.
This case study is based on an interview with Rand Owen, Administrative Manager at The Security Center, conducted in 2025.
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