Mobile Locksmith · Phoenix & the Valley
Access Control Systems for Small Business
Access control means deciding who can open which door, and when, and having the door enforce it. For a small business that can be a battery keypad lock on one back door, or card readers on every entrance with a record of each entry. The right choice depends on how many doors you have, how many people use them, how often those people change and whether you need a record of who came in.
We help you choose, and we install keypads, card and fob readers, electric strikes and smart locks in Phoenix and the Valley. Hard-wired panels, new power runs and fire alarm connections often belong to other trades, and we say so up front. Call (602) 301-5243 Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm.
Three levels of access control
A mechanical pushbutton lock sits below all three. It needs no batteries or power and keeps no record, which suits low-risk doors such as storage and supply rooms. See Simplex pushbutton lock repair.
Smart locks for commercial doors
A commercial smart lock is a battery lock made for a door used all day. It opens with a PIN, card, fob or phone and is managed from an app or a computer. Look for a commercial grade rating, not a home model, and ask whether it keeps a log and keeps working if the Wi-Fi is down. Our page on smart lock installation covers the basics.
How to choose
As a rule of thumb, one to three doors with a few users and no need to change things remotely fits a standalone keypad. More doors, more people, staff turnover or a need for a record point to networked or cloud. Ask these questions first:
- How many doors and how many people? More of either favors a system you manage from one place.
- How often does staff change? Turnover is the main reason to move off shared codes.
- Do you need a record? An audit trail is the main reason to move beyond a basic keypad.
- Do you need schedules? For example, a cleaning crew that can enter only in the evening.
- What happens in an outage? Check battery life, offline operation and the key override.
- Who will run it? The best system is the one someone will actually keep up.
- What does it cost over five years? Count recurring fees, not just the hardware. Some systems run on a local controller with no recurring license, and others are cloud services billed per door.
Credentials: PIN, card, fob and phone
Wiegand and OSDP in plain words
The reader at the door, the keypad or card reader, talks to the controller over a cable. Wiegand and OSDP are two ways of having that conversation.
- Wiegand is the older method. Data goes one way, from reader to controller, and it is not encrypted. It generally cannot tell the controller that a reader has been removed or swapped.
- OSDP is the newer open standard. It works both ways, supports encryption, and lets the controller watch the reader and see tamper events.
Many readers support both and can be set for either. When you buy new equipment, ask whether the readers and the controller support OSDP. If you are keeping existing readers, find out which method they use before planning anything. Cable length limits differ between the two methods and depend on the wire, so follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
Adding access control to doors you already have
Fire-rated doors limit how much of the door can be cut or drilled, so a retrofit on a labeled door starts with the label. On aluminum storefront doors, the lock and stile decide what fits, and we cover that on the storefront door locks page.
Power, door position and request to exit
A wired door needs a low-voltage power supply, commonly 12 or 24 volts, and ideally battery backup so the lock behaves the way you chose in an outage. The big decision is fail-safe or fail-secure: whether the door unlocks or stays locked when power is lost. It matters for life safety and fire doors, and we explain it on the electric strikes and electrified locks page.
Two small parts make a system smarter. A request-to-exit device, a switch or sensor on the inside, tells the system someone is leaving on purpose so the door does not alarm as forced. A door position switch tells it whether the door is open or closed, so it can report a door held open or forced. Without the switch, the system knows only that someone used a credential.
Audit trails, users and maintenance
An audit trail is a log of who opened which door and when, and often who was refused. It is what lets you answer who was in on Saturday. Basic keypad locks may keep none, and some wireless locks keep a log of up to a couple of thousand events.
User management is where systems succeed or fail. Someone has to add new staff, remove people who leave on the day they leave, and change codes when needed. Decide who that is before installation. On standalone locks, changes are made at the door. On networked and cloud systems they are made in software, so make sure the administrator account is in your company’s name and not an installer’s.
Battery locks need a replacement schedule. Change batteries on the calendar, not after the door stops working.
Common mistakes
- Sharing one PIN. Over time nobody knows who has it, and the log tells you nothing.
- Propping the door. A door held open defeats any reader. A door closer that actually latches the door, and a door position alert, help.
- No battery plan. Change batteries before the low-battery warning, not after the lock stops.
- Picking fail-safe or fail-secure by default. Choose it door by door.
- A magnetic lock with no release devices or fire alarm release. That can trap people.
- Ignoring cable limits. Reader cable has a maximum length that depends on the method and the wire. Check it before the cable is pulled.
- Counting only the hardware. Recurring fees add up over years.
- No owner for the user list. Ex-employees keep access.
Schools, clinics and shared buildings
Doors that serve many people raise the stakes on three points: the audit trail, schedules for after-hours use, and what each door does in an emergency. Classroom and lockdown functions on school doors are governed by school safety rules and the fire marshal, so we work within what the authority having jurisdiction allows. Our school locksmith page and the school door security checklist cover school doors, and healthcare and clinics covers clinic doors.
What we install, and what needs another contractor
Arizona does not license locksmiths, but it does license contractors, and the line between door hardware and wiring work matters. We explain it in general terms on the electric strikes page. For a multi-building campus or a very large project, we will tell you plainly whether it is a fit for one technician.
For access control, we look at the doors first and agree on the price before work starts. Start on the commercial quote page. For shared buildings, see property managers and HOAs. The full list of commercial services is on our commercial locksmith hub.
- How many doors, and which ones: front, back, suite, server room, storage
- How many people need access, and how often they change
- Photos of each door, the lock now on it and the frame
- Door and frame material, and whether any door has a fire label
- Whether you need a record of who came in, and for how long
- Whether the door is also an exit door with a panic bar
- Whether power and network cable already run near the door
Frequently asked questions
Is a keypad, card or phone credential better for a small business?
It depends on how many people use the door and how often they change. PINs are cheapest but get shared. Cards and fobs can be turned off one at a time when someone leaves. Phone credentials need nothing handed out but depend on the system supporting them. For a few staff and one door, a keypad is usually enough. For turnover or an audit trail, use cards, fobs or phones on a managed system.
Should I use a standalone lock or a networked or cloud system?
As a rule of thumb, one to three doors, a few users and no need for remote changes fit a standalone keypad lock. More doors, more users, staff turnover, schedules or a need for a record point to a networked or cloud system. Cloud systems often charge a recurring fee per door, so compare the cost over several years, not just the hardware.
What will access control cost per door?
It depends on the door, the lock, the credential type and how much wiring is involved. A battery keypad lever, an electric strike with a reader and a wired door with a controller are very different jobs, and cloud systems add a recurring fee. We do not quote access control by phone. We look at the doors first and agree on the price before work starts.
Can I see who entered and when?
Only if the system keeps an audit trail. Many basic keypad locks keep none, and some wireless locks keep a log of up to a couple of thousand events. Networked and cloud systems can log each entry and each refused attempt by user and door. If you need a record, tell us before we choose hardware, because it changes what we recommend.
What happens if the power or internet goes out?
It depends on the hardware. Battery locks keep working without Wi-Fi, and many wireless locks work offline. A wired door follows its fail-safe or fail-secure setting, with battery backup extending normal operation for a time. Many locks have a key override that lets you in when the electronics fail. Decide the outage behavior of each door with your fire marshal before hardware is ordered.
Do I need an electrician or an alarm contractor?
Sometimes. Locks, strikes, cylinders and rekeying on the door are our side. New 120-volt power, cable through walls, fire alarm tie-ins and permit work usually belong to another trade, and controller panels depend on the project. Call and describe the job, and we will tell you at the start which parts need one. Check the rules for your project with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.
Can you remove an ex-employee’s access?
Access is removed in one of two places. On a standalone lock, the code is changed or deleted at the door. On a wired or cloud system, the account administrator removes the user in the software. The better answer is a plan: individual credentials, one named person who manages users, and a habit of removing people the day they leave. Rekeying remains an option when a mechanical key was handed out.
Related commercial services
Talk to the locksmith who does the work.
Call (602) 301-5243, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm. For bigger projects we look at the doors first and agree on the price before any work starts.
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