A CCTV AMC (annual maintenance contract) quotation should state six things in writing: the equipment covered, the number of preventive visits a year, the breakdown response time, whether parts are included, what is excluded, and how a fault is reported and closed. If any of these is missing, you are not comparing like with like — and the missing line is usually where the dispute happens later.
This guide sets out a quotation format you can ask any vendor to fill in, so two AMC offers can be put side by side honestly.
Comprehensive vs non-comprehensive AMC
This is the first thing to settle, because it changes the price more than anything else.
- Non-comprehensive (labour-only) AMC: preventive visits and breakdown attendance are covered. Any part that fails — a camera, hard disk, power supply, adaptor — is quoted and billed separately.
- Comprehensive AMC: preventive visits, breakdown attendance and replacement of failed parts are all covered, usually with listed exclusions such as physical damage, theft, lightning and power surges.
Neither is automatically better. A newer system still under manufacturer warranty often does fine on non-comprehensive cover. An older system with ageing hard disks and outdoor cameras is where comprehensive cover earns its cost.
The CCTV AMC quotation format — line by line
- Site details: name, address and contact person for each location covered
- Equipment schedule: every camera, recorder (DVR/NVR), hard disk, monitor, switch and power supply, with make, model and quantity
- Contract period: start and end dates, and whether it auto-renews
- Preventive maintenance: number of visits per year and what each visit includes
- Breakdown support: how many breakdown calls are included, and the response time committed
- Parts: included (comprehensive) or chargeable (non-comprehensive), and how replacement parts are approved
- Exclusions: physical damage, tampering, lightning, water ingress, theft, relocation of cameras, new additions
- Reporting: a service report signed at every visit, and how faults are logged (phone, WhatsApp, email)
- Commercials: AMC value, GST, and payment terms (annual, half-yearly or quarterly in advance)
What a preventive maintenance visit should actually cover
Ask for this list in the quotation itself. "Periodic maintenance" without a checklist means whatever the technician has time for that day.
- Cleaning camera lenses and housings, and checking the field of view has not drifted
- Checking every channel records, and that night vision and IR work
- Checking hard disk health and confirming the retention period is still being met
- Checking recorder date and time — wrong timestamps make footage useless as evidence
- Inspecting connectors, outdoor junction boxes and cable conduit for water and corrosion
- Checking power supplies and UPS backup
- Confirming remote viewing on the owner's phone still works
- Updating recorder firmware and passwords where needed
Terms and conditions worth insisting on
- A written response time for breakdowns, not "at the earliest"
- A service report signed by your staff at each visit — this is your proof the visits happened
- A clear rule for who approves chargeable parts before they are fitted
- Cover for the whole system, not a handful of named cameras
- What happens to the AMC if you add cameras mid-year
What decides AMC charges
AMC pricing follows the same logic as the installation. The number of cameras and recorders, how many locations, how many visits a year, the response time you want, and comprehensive versus labour-only cover all move the figure. Outdoor cameras, long cable runs and older equipment raise it, because they fail more often.
Be careful with an AMC quote that arrives before anyone has seen the system. A vendor cannot price comprehensive cover responsibly without knowing the age and condition of what they are agreeing to replace.
Can a different company maintain a system someone else installed?
Yes. Most AMC work is on systems another installer put in. A good AMC provider will start with an inspection visit, list what is faulty or near end-of-life, and quote the AMC on the system as it actually is — rather than inheriting problems they will later call exclusions.
Getting an AMC quotation from us
We maintain CCTV, fire alarm, access control, intercom and allied systems, including systems we did not install. We inspect the site first, then send an AMC quotation in the format above so you can compare it line by line with anyone else's. Use the AMC enquiry form on our AMC Services page, or call +91 85528 98716.