The present disclosure relates to a software application used on mobile devices that enables professional monitoring services to DIY monitoring systems that lack an ability to communicate with remote monitoring facilities. In one embodiment, alert messages are transmitted by a monitoring system gateway and received by a personal communication device. The alert messages indicate occurrences of events at a monitored premises. When the software application determines that an incoming communication is an alert message, an indication is provided to a user of the mobile device that an event has occurred at the premises, and giving the user a predetermined time period in which to respond to the indication. If the user fails to respond to the indication within a predetermined time period, a message is transmitted to a remote monitoring facility, alerting the remote monitoring facility of the event.