CMS Integration

Modified on Wed, 22 Jul at 12:27 PM

Overview

This guide explains how Cornerstone integrates with Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS) to allow dealers to set up accounts in one location and either Push or Pull account information — including Customer, Site, Contact List, and Zones. It covers how to get started, how data flows between the two systems, which fields are communicated, and step-by-step instructions for creating and managing accounts, contacts, and zone lists.

This article is intended for alarm dealers who use CMS as their central monitoring station and manage billing and subscriber records in Cornerstone.

Before You Begin

Before Cornerstone can integrate with CMS, you will need to complete a few preparatory steps. Contact Cornerstone and we can help set up the connection with you and CMS.

⚠️ IMPORTANT — Recommended Workflow

We recommend that you continue to create accounts at CMS and then Pull the account information — including Customer, Site, Contact List, and Zones — into Cornerstone.

Step 1 — Verify Central Station Numbers

Make sure that you have your Central Station numbers in your accounts. These numbers must include the dealer code before the assigned central account number, preferably without hyphens. This is the linking field between Cornerstone and CMS. If it needs to be tweaked, Cornerstone can help.

Step 2 — Provide Credentials

Give Cornerstone your CMS Dealer Site Account number and your representative's email address and we will set up the handshake.

Step 3 — Determine the Protocol for Edits

Decide whether edits need to flow only through your office/Cornerstone, or whether subscribers can call CMS directly to make changes. Cornerstone has built the ability to Push (new accounts or edits to accounts) and Pull data (one-time Pull for new accounts set up by CMS, or existing accounts in Cornerstone). It can also Push fields edited in Cornerstone to CMS, or Pull/Synchronize updated data from CMS.

Edits to any of the CMS required fields in Cornerstone will immediately Push the new field values to CMS. If you allow edits to be made at CMS, those changes do not automatically communicate back to Cornerstone. We recommend that you get in the habit of using the Get From Central Station button to pull and update the record in Cornerstone before you make any edits to push back. This errs on the side of life safety, where the correct record is with CMS if it is edited there.

⚠️ IMPORTANT — Life Safety

If CMS changes a Code Word and you do not update Cornerstone, CMS will have the new code word and Cornerstone will not. This errs on the side of life safety, where the correct record is with CMS if it is edited there.

Step 4 — Tasks That Must Be Done Directly in/with CMS

Some things must be handled directly in or with CMS:

Closing accounts / taking them off-line at CMS. Closing an account in Cornerstone will only stop the recurring billing. Cancellations must be handled directly with CMS in whatever is the established protocol. There is a Central Station Notice function in Cornerstone where you can email your request and have it recorded in the Correspondence log.

Special protocol instructions. While the lowest Priority# of the Call list contacts are on the ECV list (in addition to the Premise 1 and 2 numbers), some accounts may require special instructions and those instructions need to be handled/recorded directly with CMS.

Review of or changes to the Responding Authority. If you insert the account from Cornerstone, you should be setting the correct Responding Authority directly in CMS.

Setup and Data Fields

Cornerstone needs to enter your Dealer / Site Account Number in two places — the System Header and in the Central Station List. Cornerstone will review with you what and how data will be communicated.

The Permissions tab within the Central Station setup controls Pull, Insert, Change, and Delete permissions for Customer, Contact, Zone, Call History, and Recharge records, as well as CSID Assignment, Phone Count, and Minimum Priority # settings.

The Central Sta. Update screen is where the CMS station name, address, and Site Account number are entered. The Site Account field should contain your CMS dealer site account number.

When selecting a Central Station for an account, choose CMS from the Central Sta. dropdown list. Available options include AvantGuard, CMS, COPS Monitoring, Not Monitored, PROSPECT, RRMS, Self Monitored, TBD, and UCC.

⚠️ IMPORTANT

If you have accounts that are monitored elsewhere or not at all, choose a Central Station option on the list other than CMS so data audits do not try to match CSID numbers that are not monitored/not at CMS.

Creating an Account in Cornerstone

Existing accounts in Cornerstone will connect via the CSID field #1. Accounts can be created in Cornerstone as prospects, and upon entering the Central Station number and identifying the Central Station as CMS for that record, you can download the customer record from CMS using the Download Customer button.

One-Time Data Entry — Pulling a New Account from CMS

For brand new accounts, whether CMS created the account or you created it through their portal:

Click Insert to begin a new account record.
Enter the Cornerstone Account number you want to assign (if it is not auto-generated).
Enter the Central Account # — the number assigned for that customer at CMS.
Click the Download Customer button to pull the data from CMS into Cornerstone.

Download Customer will fill in the account information, Contacts, and Zones for you from what was entered in CMS.

Pushing an Account from Cornerstone to CMS

If you are pushing an account from Cornerstone to create an account at CMS, you need to have the Central Station set as CMS. Fill in all the customer data and required fields, manually enter the CSID number you want to assign, and click OK. The data is passed to CMS — but be sure to set the Responding Authority directly in CMS.

⚠️ IMPORTANT — Central Station Numbers Are Case Sensitive

The communication link between Cornerstone and CMS is the number in the 1st Central Acct # field. Central Station numbers tend to be case sensitive, so it is important to enter the information exactly as it is at the Central.

Multiple CSID Numbers and Multiple Devices

If you have multiple CSID numbers based upon the devices, you will need to decide if you should have more than one customer record. While the Site info and the Contacts are shared between devices, the devices may have different Zones. Cornerstone's system only records one set of Zones per site. So if you need to keep different zones for each device for a subscriber in Cornerstone, you will need to have a customer record with the communicating device / CSID # in the 1st Central Station Number field for each device. If you do not need the Zones for that second or third central station number, they can be stored in the 2nd and 3rd Central Account # fields.

⚠️ IMPORTANT

The 1st Central Acct# communicates with CMS. You can put additional Device numbers in fields 2 and 3 to keep track of devices for that customer, but you do not need their Zone info stored in Cornerstone.

Most dealers create two separate accounts in Cornerstone when the same customer has both Burglary and Fire services. This allows for recording of the different equipment installed, service tickets, and reminders needed for the different services. Billing can always be consolidated in one account.

Data Fields

The following section reviews the fields that are required as well as some that are recommended. After customer information is downloaded, there is a Get From Central Station button that allows you to Pull in information that was updated at the Central.

Required and Optional Fields

A few fields need to be entered by you if the account does not already exist in Cornerstone:

Field	Description
Account	Your 2 letters will appear and you enter in the remaining digits
Central Acct #	The CSID id number is assigned by the Central and is the link
Customer	Company name or the last name
First Name	First name if Residential customer
Address	Address line 1 is the street address
City, State	Filled in
Zip	Zip Code filled in. Allows for the USPS address validation for the mailing address — adds zip+4
TaxCty	If you are pulling everything from the Central, this will not come from them. You will need to enter this data for applying the correct tax rate to the customer record. Select the list box and choose the city.
TZ	The Time Zone should automatically fill in from the Zip Code
Type	Select RES or COMM — Central returns a bunch of different codes to Site Type
Equipment	Equipment (Required)
Code Word	Enter the Password (this can be masked and/or not available to view by user)
Site/Premise	Premise 1 (Recommended, not required) is on the call list prior to dispatch
Phone 2	Premise 2 (Recommended, not required) is on the call list prior to dispatch

User Defined Tab — System Type

Click on the User Defined tab to access:

System Type — Type (Required). Please note this is a validated list.

USPS Address Validation

Click the location pin icon and you will be prompted to validate the address as a USPS recognizable mailing address. If it is recognized, the Zip+4 will be available — not needed at the Central, but important for mailing invoices from Cornerstone. Select Update to update the Cornerstone entry.

⚠️ IMPORTANT

Any address corrections must be made directly at CMS. The location pin icon will also call the USPS API lookup for the mailing address (not a field in CMS).

Contacts

The customer record has a space for the premise contact name and a phone number. The Contacts list provides the call list for the account. Note there is also a Rolodex list that you can use for phone numbers that are not on the call list, e.g., AR/Payables. These are not impacted by downloads.

Download Contacts will pull in the Contact information if it already exists in CMS. If contacts have been downloaded, a Get From Central Station button will be available to Pull updates that were made directly with the Central.

If you allow contacts to be entered/edited directly at the central, or if a contact is deleted at the Central, Get From Central Station will bring down the updated list.

Communicated Contact Fields

Field	Description
Priority Sequence	Priority Sequence for the contacts. Additional Contacts need to be numbered in increasing values. If none are entered, you will receive a warning. The lowest Priority# entered into Cornerstone is what is added to the ECV list for contact prior to dispatch. If there are special instructions/multiple contacts on multiple lists, there will be a warning that the special instructions must be handled directly in CMS.
Person to Contact	First and Last Name pulled and listed in this field.
Phone 1	Fills in the first phone number field in CMS for the Contact.
Phone 2	Fills in the second phone number field in CMS for the Contact.
Phone Types	The validated phone types for the communication are presented. (Optional)
Password	A Contact Specific Password can be recorded. (Optional)
Special Notes	Are passed to CMS but not returned.

Push to CMS Phone Type Codes

Push to CMS Phone Type use: EM, FX, HM, PG, WK, CL, AS, C, GP, H, MD, P, PR, S, SC, V, W

Pho:Codeexternal	Pho:Codedisplay
C	Cell Phone
CW	Case Worker
EM	Email
FX	Fax
GP	Guard / Patrol
H	Home Phone
MD	Medical
P	Pager
PR	Premises
S	SMS Messaging
SC	Security Office
V	Vacation Home
W	Work Phone
TF	Toll Free *
LL	Landline *
VO	VoIP *
UN	Unknown *
OT	Other *
LANDLINE	LANDLINE
VOIP	VOIP

Zone Lists

Zone Lists are device specific and the data links to the Central Station number in the 1st field. If you have multiple devices installed for the same site, they share the site and contact information. If you need to record the different Zone information in Cornerstone, then you will need to create a second account so that the second device is recorded in an account in the 1st Central Station field.

Download Customer will pull the zones from CMS. Once downloaded, the Get From Central Station button is available should a change in Zones be made directly with Central.

Zones can be added in Cornerstone and pushed to the Central, however it may make more sense for the technicians to add zones via COMPASS and then pull into Cornerstone for use when scheduling service calls.

Zone Required Fields

Field	Description
Zone ID	Zone Number in the Zone ID
Zone Description	Zone Description
Service Type	Service Type is a validated list
Event ID	Event ID is a validated list

⚠️ IMPORTANT

You are responsible for the accuracy of the data at the Central Station. The information can be pulled into Cornerstone to augment having all information at your fingertips and available for Service tickets / technician use. Enhancements will be allowing the Push of data to insert/modify specified fields.

Need Additional Help?

Our Customer Success team is here to assist you.

Phone: 847-405-9517
Email: customer.success@alarmbills.com