Vendor pair

Patrol Tech vs Belfry

Belfry is a back-office platform for US guard companies: scheduling, timekeeping, payroll, billing and field operations, with an AI teammate called Belle that chases missed clock-ins and answers questions about your data. Patrol Tech is a patrol platform that publishes its prices and now also covers time and attendance, a client portal and AI that chases missed clock-ins, with scheduling and payroll prep in beta on its Business plan. They overlap on guard tours, timekeeping and missed clock-ins. Everything stated about Belfry comes from belfrysoftware.com; where Belfry publishes nothing, this page says so instead of guessing.

Where each one is strong, and where it is not

Best for operators who want patrol proof without buying a back office, and a price they can see first

Strengths
  • An AI agent in WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack or Microsoft Teams that answers questions and takes actions: it reviews missed rounds and suspicious scans, creates and edits checkpoints and officers, and reconfigures routes. Included on the free plan, on by default, and it replies in each user's language. On WhatsApp (+34 624 085 772) the same assistant also creates and configures a new account from the conversation
  • Pricing published in full: Free $0, Pro $29, Business $79 per month, with the per-extra-checkpoint rate stated
  • Officers unlimited on every plan — billing is per checkpoint, so the invoice does not move with the roster
  • A permanent free tier: 5 checkpoints, 1 site, 2 dashboard users, 30 days of history, no card
  • QR and NFC checkpoints, incident capture with photo
  • Offline end to end, with buffered events timestamped device-side and signed on sync
  • EU-hosted and GDPR-native, with nothing in the product tied to US payroll or tax rules
  • AI that chases missed clock-ins and check-ins and flags incorrect scans, incomplete routes and operational deviations, generally available
  • Time and attendance, visitor management and a client portal for the end customer, in the same platform
  • SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and ENS (Spain's National Security Framework) certified and active
  • Self-serve from first visit to first patrol
Caveats
  • Scheduling and payroll prep are beta on the Business plan only, and there is no billing, HR or recruiting — Belfry has all of these generally available
  • Man Down and facial verification of the officer are in beta, Business plan only
  • No Bluetooth beacons: they are on the roadmap, and digitally signed NFC tags are the chosen approach today

Best for US guard companies that want scheduling, payroll and billing in one system, with AI help on shift exceptions

Strengths
  • One system for scheduling, timekeeping, payroll and HR, billing and field operations
  • Payroll with direct deposit and payroll tax filing on the platform, plus ACA compliance tracking
  • Billing with automated invoices and ACH and credit card payments
  • Belle AI Dispatch: first-touch outreach to officers on missed clock-ins, unconfirmed shifts, abandoned posts, early clock-outs and quiet shifts, escalating only what it cannot resolve under rules you set. Belfry reports that at one customer, LincRo, 2,343 of 2,719 missed clock-ins ended with the officer on the clock
  • Belle AI Assistant: plain-language questions over your own Belfry data, such as where overtime is concentrated or whose licence expires in the next 60 days
  • Guard tours on NFC tags or geofences on recurring schedules, post orders confirmed at clock-in, a real-time client portal and closest-officer dispatch by live GPS
  • Officers cannot be scheduled until onboarding and certifications are complete
Caveats
  • No price figures published; billing is per employee per month, so the bill rises with headcount
  • No free plan or self-serve trial advertised — the route in is a demo
  • Belle AI Dispatch and Belfry Recruiting are paid add-ons
  • Belfry describes Belle as an in-platform AI teammate: questions are asked inside Belfry, and querying it from chat tools such as Slack or Teams is not described on the pages reviewed
  • Tours use NFC tags or geofences; QR checkpoints are not mentioned on the pages reviewed
  • Offline operation is not described on the pages reviewed — ask if your sites lose signal
  • Payroll, tax filing and ACA compliance are built for US employers; Belfry describes its customers as security firms across the United States

Which one, by situation

You want scheduling, payroll and billing in one system

Belfry

That is the product, generally available. Patrol Tech has scheduling and payroll prep in beta on the Business plan only, and no billing.

Your dispatcher spends the night chasing missed clock-ins

Either

Belle AI Dispatch does first-touch outreach on those exceptions, as a paid add-on. Patrol Tech's AI chases missed clock-ins and check-ins too, and also flags incorrect scans, incomplete routes and deviations.

You want to ask questions of your operational data in plain language

Depends where you want to ask

Belle AI Assistant answers inside Belfry, over its scheduling, timekeeping, payroll and billing data. Patrol Tech's agent answers in WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack or Microsoft Teams, in the user's language, and can also act on checkpoints, officers and routes.

Your supervisors live in WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack or Teams rather than in a dashboard

Patrol Tech

Its AI agent answers and takes actions from those chat tools, on every plan including the free one. Belfry describes Belle as working inside the Belfry platform.

You want to know the price before talking to anyone

Patrol Tech

Every figure is on the pricing page. Belfry states its billing model, per employee per month, but publishes no numbers.

A large or high-turnover roster on a small number of checkpoints

Patrol Tech

Officers are unlimited and billing is per checkpoint. Belfry bills per active employee, so the invoice follows the roster.

You operate outside the US

Patrol Tech

Belfry's payroll, tax and ACA features are US-specific. Patrol Tech is EU-hosted and not tied to US employment rules.

Basements, plant rooms, remote perimeters — sites that lose signal

Patrol Tech

Offline is shipped and documented. Belfry does not describe offline on the pages reviewed; ask before assuming either way.

You want checkpoints you can print as QR labels

Patrol Tech

Patrol Tech supports QR and NFC. Belfry's tours use NFC tags or geofences.