Pennsylvania security guard software
for county-licensed companies and Act 235 officers
CGuardPro is security guard management software for Pennsylvania guard companies: scheduling and relief coverage, GPS and selfie clock-in, QR and NFC guard tours, gate and vehicle logs, lone-worker checks, incident reports and Act 235 certification tracking, with guard, supervisor and client apps for iOS and Android. It costs $5 per user per month with a 7-day free trial. Pennsylvania licenses the business through county courts and armed officers through the State Police; the software keeps the records underneath both.
What running guards in Pennsylvania actually involves
The business license comes from the county court
A watch, guard or patrol company in Pennsylvania is licensed by the court of common pleas in its county, under the Private Detective Act of 1953. There is no single state office for it, and intake can differ from one county to the next.
Armed officers answer to the State Police
Carrying a lethal weapon on the job requires certification under Act 235, the Lethal Weapons Training Act, administered by the Pennsylvania State Police. It is a separate application from the county license and the two do not talk to each other.
Act 235 runs on a five-year clock
The State Police says certification is typically valid for five years. Renewal opens six months before expiry, and a lapsed certification cannot be renewed: the officer starts again as an initial applicant.
A branch in a new county is a new conversation
Because the license is county-based, expanding from Philadelphia to Allegheny or the Lehigh Valley means confirming requirements with another court, not reusing last year’s checklist.
Warehouses along I-78 and I-81
The Lehigh Valley and the I-81 corridor are lined with distribution centers that run around the clock, with gate posts, trailer yards and patrols that need a scanned record of every round.
Hospitals and universities, east and west
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh both anchor large health systems and universities, accounts with dozens of posts, 24-hour coverage and incident reports that go to a risk or compliance office.
Energy and industrial sites
Natural gas sites in the Marcellus Shale region and older industrial plants put officers at remote gates where the signal is weak and a lone-worker check matters.
Overtime after 40, by the week
Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage Act requires time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek, with no general daily rule. The cost shows up when the armed-certified officers are the only ones who can cover an armed post.
What a Pennsylvania guard operation runs on
Every module stands on its own, and together they are the operations picture your dispatcher works from.
License tracking
Act 235 certification dates on the officer record, with alerts well before the six-month renewal window closes.
Guard scheduling
Armed and unarmed posts kept apart, so an armed post is filled by a certified officer.
QR and NFC guard tours
Checkpoints across a yard or campus, verified with time and position.
Lone worker safety
Check-ins and a panic button for officers alone at a remote gate.
Gate and vehicle logs
Trucks in and out of a distribution center, with the plate read from a phone photo.
Incident reporting
Photographed, timestamped reports for the client’s risk office.
Daily activity reports
A dated record of each shift that a hospital or campus can file.
Client portal
Clients see their own posts, tours and incidents.
The rules behind a Pennsylvania roster
Act 235 facts are from the Pennsylvania State Police Lethal Weapons Training Program. Confirm business licensing with the court of common pleas in your county.
Pennsylvania’s two-track security licensing
The county court license and the State Police armed certification, and why both matter.
PSP: Lethal Weapons Training Program
The State Police page for Act 235 certification and renewal.
Security guard licenses by state
The regulator and the officer credential in each state, side by side.
Payroll with Gusto
Approved hours to Gusto as time sheets, with overtime already classified.
The accounts Pennsylvania guard companies hold
Pennsylvania questions, answered plainly
Who licenses a security guard company in Pennsylvania? +
The business license for a watch, guard or patrol company is issued by the court of common pleas of the county, under the Private Detective Act of 1953. Armed officers need a separate Act 235 certification from the Pennsylvania State Police. Confirm the details with the county court and the State Police before you open or staff an armed post.
How long is an Act 235 certification valid? +
The State Police says certification is typically valid for five years, with the expiration date on the card. Renewal can be filed no earlier than six months before expiry, and an expired certification cannot be renewed, so the officer would have to apply for initial certification again.
Can CGuardPro warn us before an armed officer’s certification lapses? +
Yes. The Act 235 card sits on the officer record with its number, dates and a photo, and a daily check warns the office on a window you choose, up to 120 days ahead. It warns rather than blocks and does not verify with the State Police, so check the official record too.
Does Pennsylvania require daily overtime for guards? +
No. The Department of Labor & Industry requires time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek. CGuardPro tracks each officer’s hours against the weekly threshold across every post, and approved hours can go to Gusto as time sheets.
How is it priced? +
It is $5 per user per month, one plan with every feature, plus an optional one-time implementation package of $299.99. A user is anyone with a login, including client logins. There is a 7-day free trial.
See it against your own Pennsylvania roster
Bring one site and one week of posts, a distribution center or a hospital, and we will set it up the way you run it.