Keyless entry for business doors: codes instead of keys

What this covers

Keyless entry for a business replaces keys on selected doors with a code. We swap the keyed locks on staff entrances, back doors, offices and storage rooms for keypad and code locks, so the people who use those doors enter a code instead of carrying a key. Codes can be given to each person, changed when staff change, and deleted when someone leaves.

How we approach it

We look at each door first: its thickness, how it is prepared, whether it takes a deadbolt, a lever lock or exit hardware, and how much use it gets. Then we fit a keypad lock that suits the door, set up the codes with you, and test each code along with the backup key that many keypad locks keep for emergencies.

Where it stops

Keyless entry here means stand-alone keypad and code locks fitted to the door. Systems wired into a building network, badge-based systems and alarm connections are outside this work. The lock still depends on a door that closes and latches properly, so a door that sticks or does not close square needs fixing before a keypad lock goes on.

Give each person their own code. Shared codes spread quickly and cannot be taken back from one person without changing them for everyone. With individual codes, removing a former employee means deleting one code, and the rest of the staff carry on as before.

Batteries keep keypad locks working, and they give warning before they run out, with a light, a beep or a slower response. Change them at the first warning, note when you last did, and keep the backup key somewhere off the premises that a manager can reach. A dead battery should never be the reason a door stays shut.