The most common mistake: resolution too low for identification

A camera can technically be "working" and still be useless as evidence if the resolution isn't high enough to identify a face or read a number plate at the distance it's covering. This is the single most common gap we find when taking over a business system that was installed to a tight budget — wide coverage, but nothing sharp enough to actually identify anyone.

Coverage that actually matters for a shop

  • Point of sale / till area — high enough resolution to be genuinely useful, not just "present"
  • Entrances and exits — clear face-level coverage, angled to avoid backlighting from daylight streaming through the door
  • Stockroom and staff areas — often skipped on a tight budget, but where a meaningful share of retail loss actually happens
  • External approach — covering the full frontage, not just the door itself

Offices: different priorities again

For offices, the emphasis usually shifts toward reception/entry control, server room or equipment coverage, and car park monitoring — often paired with our access control and intercom systems so visitor management and camera coverage work as one system rather than two separate ones.

Storage and retention — the other under-spec mistake

The second most common gap: a system with good cameras but nowhere near enough storage, meaning footage gets overwritten after a few days. If an incident isn't noticed and reported quickly, the footage that would have helped is often already gone. We size recorder storage based on how many days of retention actually makes sense for your business, not just what came bundled with a starter package.

What a proper business survey covers

On every commercial site visit across High Wycombe, Beaconsfield and the wider area, we look specifically at resolution requirements per zone, lighting conditions at different times of day, storage retention needs, and whether access control or intercom integration would genuinely add value — rather than quoting a generic "small business package" that may not fit how your specific premises actually operates.