Start with the incident you need to understand
A useful retail camera plan separates an overview of activity from the detail needed at a doorway, counter or stock handover. A single wide camera may show that an event happened without showing who was involved. Write an evidence goal for each view before choosing resolution or counting cameras.
For hospitality, opening hours, low lighting, outdoor seating and busy entrances can change the requirement through the day. Do not assume a camera that looks clear during a quiet daytime demonstration will capture a moving face at closing time. Ask to assess representative footage at the actual target distance and under relevant lighting.
Map four operational zones
- Entry and exit: check the direction people approach, doorway backlight, mounting height and whether the view is blocked by signs.
- Counter: define the event to review, such as a handover or dispute. Avoid assuming an overhead overview records small text or every transaction detail.
- Stock and deliveries: identify receiving points, valuable storage and places where staff need a clear handover record.
- Customer and public areas: assess the necessary view and privacy boundaries. Audio recording, staff monitoring and public-space capture need appropriate advice for the location.
Choose recording retention from the reporting delay
Ask how quickly a discrepancy or incident is normally discovered and who can request footage. A stock issue found during a later stocktake may be reported after a short recording window has expired. Retention should address a documented operational need and any applicable obligations; it should not be set to a universal number merely because a recorder package includes a particular disk.
As an illustrative calculation, six cameras averaging 4 Mbps, recording continuously for 30 days, produce approximately 7.776 decimal TB of video. With 15% extra headroom and an assumed 90% usable fraction, the installed capacity target is about 9.936 TB. These are planning assumptions, not a product recommendation or guaranteed retention. Confirm actual recorded bitrate and recorder capacity after installation.
Keep trading traffic dependable
List payment terminals, point-of-sale devices, printers, cloud applications and phones separately from camera recording. Cameras recording to a local recorder do not necessarily send all video through the internet continuously. Remote viewing and cloud backup can create a separate upload requirement.
Where guest Wi-Fi is offered, ask the provider to demonstrate that visitors cannot access business devices or the recorder. Separate network names alone do not establish separation. Coordinate payment-network requirements with the payment provider rather than using a generic camera plan as a payment-security assessment.
What equipment options should explain
- Which cameras provide overview and which views need useful identification detail.
- Recorder channels, incoming bandwidth, decoding capability and future expansion.
- Compatible usable storage, PoE capacity, junction boxes and suitable mounting.
- Cabling, conduit, access equipment, network changes and commissioning exclusions.
- Who can view or export footage, how recovery works and what support covers.
Questions to resolve before a quotation
Will lights remain on after closing? Does the shopfront create glare? Are you allowed to cable through the tenancy? Can installation happen while trading? Is an existing recorder or cable being reused? A useful enquiry states the known facts and leaves unknowns visible, rather than allowing them to become hidden assumptions in a cheap-looking quote.
Prepare a brief and compare the response
Use the camera questionnaire to describe the zones, then estimate storage using a stated recording assumption. Request equipment only if an appropriately qualified installer will handle installation, or request an installation availability check. No site survey or final price is established by this page.
BoxFreeIT and Security Wholesalers share ownership. Requests can lead to equipment supply through Security Wholesalers or an individually assessed installation proposal from the related Serious Security team. The planning resources remain useful if you choose another supplier. See the process and commercial relationship.
Privacy reference: OAIC guidance on security cameras. Review current state and territory requirements with a suitable adviser.