What does access control installation mean for a Long Beach business?
Access control replaces a metal key with something you can manage: a code, a card, a fob, or a phone credential. Instead of rekeying every time an employee leaves, you cancel or change one credential. Instead of wondering who still has a copy of the back-door key, you decide which doors each person can open and, on many systems, during which hours.
In Long Beach the request usually starts with a specific frustration. A shop on a busy commercial street has keys scattered among part-time staff. A warehouse near the Port of Long Beach has several doors and a yard gate and no record of who comes and goes. A downtown building has a shared entry door that everyone has a copy of. Each of those problems is solved differently, and a good installer starts by looking at the doors rather than pushing a package.
This page covers commercial and business installations: keypads, card readers, key fob systems, electric strikes, and magnetic locks, on a single door or across many. If what you want is a keyless deadbolt for a home front door, that is a different product, and our smart lock installation page is the better fit.
Which hardware fits which door: keypad, card reader, electric strike, or maglock?
Two decisions get made on every door. The first is how a person proves they are allowed in (the credential and reader). The second is what physically holds the door shut and lets go (the locking hardware). People often mix these up, so here is how the pieces break down.
- Keypad access control: a code is entered at the door. It is the simplest setup and fits a single back door, supply room, or office where you only need to keep the general public out. The weakness is that codes get shared, so it tells you little about who actually entered.
- Card access and key card entry: each person carries their own card. You can cancel one lost card without touching anyone else's, and many systems keep a log of which credential opened which door.
- Key fob access control: the same idea as a card, on a keyring. Fobs tend to survive daily use well and suit staff who are in and out all day.
- Electric strike installation: the strike plate in the door frame is replaced with one that releases electrically. The door stays locked from the outside until a valid credential is presented, and the door can usually still be opened with a key as a backup. Strikes work well on standard wood and hollow-metal doors and frames.
- Magnetic lock installation: an electromagnet on the door header holds a plate on the door. There are no moving parts, which is why maglocks are common on glass doors and double doors. Because they release when power is cut, they must be paired with a proper release for people leaving, such as a request-to-exit device or an exit device, and they may need a fire-alarm tie-in.
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Call (213) 577-1366What is the difference between fail-safe and fail-secure, and why does it matter?
When power drops, a locking device does one of two things. A fail-safe device unlocks when power is lost. A fail-secure device stays locked. Maglocks are fail-safe by nature. Electric strikes can be ordered either way, and the right choice depends on the door.
The question is not just about security. People must always be able to leave a building freely, and fire and life-safety requirements apply to doors on exit routes. We plan around free exit first, then layer security on top. In some buildings the fire marshal or building department has a say, and we will tell you plainly when a door needs that conversation before work begins. Doors that serve as exits may also need hardware like the kind covered under panic bar installation, which is often part of the same project.
How do we plan and install an access control system?
We keep the process orderly so you know what is happening at each stage and so the finished system matches the way your business works.
- Walk the doors. We look at each opening you want controlled: door material, frame condition, swing direction, glass or solid, and whether it is an exit route. Many of the surprises in a project are found here.
- Ask how people move. Who needs which doors, at what times, and who is responsible for adding and removing people. A ten-person office and a shift-based warehouse need different setups.
- Choose the credential and the lock. We match keypad, card, or fob to the way you work, and strike or maglock to each door. We explain why we picked what we did, including the lighter-cost option where one is realistic.
- Confirm power and wiring. Electric hardware needs a power source and cabling back to a controller. We check the route, ceiling or wall access, and whether the door can take a cable without damage.
- Install and set up. We mount the hardware, run and terminate the wiring, set up the controller, and enroll the credentials. For electric strikes, the frame is prepared precisely so the latch seats cleanly.
- Test every door under real conditions. We check that each credential opens the right door, that exit works freely, that the door latches, and that behavior during a power loss is what we planned.
- Hand over and train. You get a plain walk-through of adding and removing credentials and what to do if something stops working. Questions after the job are welcome.
Keypad, card, or fob: which is right for employee access?
For employee access control, the core question is how much accountability you need. If a code is shared among six people, a departure means changing the code and telling everyone again. If each employee has an individual card or fob, you cancel one credential and everyone else carries on. That difference is the reason many growing businesses move from a keypad to a card access system.
Keypads still make sense in the right place. A storage room opened by two trusted people, or a rear door where the main goal is to stop casual entry, may not justify a card system. Mixing is common: a card reader on the front and warehouse doors, a keypad on a utility room.
Multi-door access control adds another layer. With a networked controller, one person can set which doors each credential opens and when. A part-time employee can be limited to the front door during opening hours, while a manager's credential opens everything. That is credential-based entry working as it should.
If your building is run on mechanical keys and the real problem is that nobody knows which key opens what, a master key system can be the more economical route. We will tell you honestly when electronic access control is more than you need.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366What affects the cost of a business access control system?
We do not quote numbers on a web page because the range between a one-door keypad and a multi-door networked system is too wide to be meaningful. What we can do is tell you what moves the price, so you can compare quotes sensibly.
- Number of doors: each opening needs its own hardware, reader, and wiring run.
- Type of credential: a standalone keypad is generally the lighter-cost option, while individually tracked cards or fobs and a networked controller add equipment and setup time.
- Strike versus maglock: the right choice depends on the door and frame, and each brings different accessories and wiring.
- Door and frame condition: a sagging, warped, or damaged door will not latch reliably under electric hardware and may need repair first.
- Wiring difficulty: finished ceilings, masonry walls, and long cable runs take more labor than open framing.
- Power and backup: battery backup or additional power supplies add equipment but keep doors behaving predictably in an outage.
- Software and record-keeping: if you want schedules, reports, or remote management, that affects both equipment and setup.
- Life-safety and exit needs: exit devices, request-to-exit sensors, and fire-alarm integration are sometimes required, and they are worth doing correctly.
What should Long Beach businesses think about for access control in particular?
Long Beach is a city of mixed building types, and the right system depends heavily on which one you are in. Downtown, East Village, and Alamitos Beach have dense prewar apartment blocks and newer high-rise condos, where shared entries and residents who come and go all day make credential-based entry attractive for building managers. If you are a landlord weighing it up, see our page on locksmith services for landlords for the broader picture.
Storefronts along Pine Avenue, 4th Street's Retro Row, and 2nd Street in Belmont Shore often have older doors and frames with a lot of daily use. Before electric hardware goes on, the door has to latch properly, so some jobs begin with storefront lock repair and move on to the access control upgrade.
Commercial and warehouse space near the Port of Long Beach and the Westside industrial area tends to have multiple doors, roll-up or personnel gates, and staff on different shifts. That is where multi-door access control and scheduled employee access earn their keep.
Salt air matters too. Coastal marine layer and onshore salt are routine, and corrosion of exterior hardware is a real maintenance issue within a mile or two of the water, such as in Belmont Shore and Naples. Exterior readers, strikes, and keypads in those areas need weather-appropriate hardware and sealed connections, and we plan more attentively for them. Inland districts are milder. Marina gates around Alamitos Bay are a similar story; a gate with a corroded latch will not hold an electric lock any better than a mechanical one, so we may suggest gate lock repair first.
We work across Long Beach ZIP codes including 90802, 90813, and 90810, and the other ZIPs the city covers. Our storefront is at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood, about 30 miles away, and our mobile vans handle jobs on site.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366Can you repair or upgrade an access control system I already have?
Yes, in many cases. Access control repair is often a smaller problem than the owner fears: a worn reader, a strike that no longer lines up because the door has dropped, a power supply that has failed, or a keypad with dead batteries. We diagnose before we replace anything, and we will tell you if a repair makes sense or the system is past reasonable service.
An access control upgrade is a different conversation. Typical reasons include moving from a shared-code keypad to a card or fob system, adding a second or third door to a system that began with one, or replacing a system whose original installer is gone and nobody holds the administrator information. Whether we can build on existing equipment depends on what you have, and we will say so honestly.
One more point: if an access control door fails shut and you are locked out of your own business, that is a lockout first and a repair second. Our business lockout service is the quick route in, and then we can look at what failed.
Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for access control?
We have been in business since 1987, and electronic hardware is installed on the same doors where we have spent decades working on mechanical locks. That matters because most access control problems turn out to be door problems: alignment, latching, frame condition. Knowing both sides shortens the path to a system that actually works.
We are one company, with a storefront in Westwood and mobile service vans. When you call (213) 577-1366, the line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round, and the work is done by our own team rather than passed to a dispatch middleman. David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work.
We also try to be straightforward about scope. If a keypad is all you need, we will say so. If your doors need repair before they can take electric hardware, we will say that too. Wider commercial needs, from hardware to keying, are covered on our commercial locksmith page.
What should you ask any locksmith before they install access control?
California requires locksmith companies to hold a license from the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS), called the LCO license. Ask any locksmith you are considering for their license number and check it yourself. It is a reasonable question for any contractor who will be working on the security of your building.
Also ask who will do the work, how the system will behave during a power failure, how people exit, and who will hold the administrator access to your system when the job is done. You should end up owning and understanding your own system.
When you call, it helps to have the number of doors, the door and frame type if you know it, how many people need access, and any existing hardware at the door. Photos are a bonus. None of this is required to get started; we can sort it out on site.
Frequently asked questions
What is the simplest access control system for a small Long Beach business?
For a single door, a standalone keypad lock or one reader paired with an electric strike is usually the simplest and lighter-cost route. You enter a code or present a credential, and the door releases. It does not need a network. The tradeoff is limited tracking. If you want to know who opened the door and when, or cancel individual people, a card or fob system with a controller is a better fit.
Should I choose an electric strike or a maglock?
It depends on the door. Electric strikes work with the existing latch and suit standard wood or hollow-metal doors with a good frame. Maglocks are common on glass doors and double doors but release when power is lost, so they need a proper exit release and may need fire-alarm integration. We look at the door and the exit route before recommending either.
Can I still use a key on a door with access control?
Often yes. Many electric strike setups keep a mechanical key as a backup, and some keypad and reader locks include a key cylinder. Maglocks generally have no key override, so they rely on an exit release and the power supply. We decide this door by door, based on how people need to enter and leave.
How do I remove a former employee from the system?
With card or fob systems, you cancel that person's credential and everyone else keeps working. With a shared keypad code, you change the code and tell the remaining staff. This is the main reason businesses outgrow keypads. We show you how to manage credentials yourself at handover, so you do not have to call us for routine changes.
Will salt air affect access control hardware near the water in Long Beach?
It can. Corrosion of exterior hardware is a real issue within a mile or two of the coast, including areas like Belmont Shore and Naples. Exterior keypads, readers, and strikes in those areas should be weather-appropriate and well sealed. Inland, conditions are milder. We factor your location into the hardware we suggest.
Can you add doors to my access control system later?
Usually, yes. It depends on the controller you have and how many doors it can handle, as well as the brand and condition of the equipment. Planning for future doors at the start can save work later. When we look at your existing system, we tell you honestly whether it can be extended or whether a different approach makes more sense.
Do you repair access control systems you did not install?
In many cases, yes. We start by diagnosing what is actually failing: reader, strike, power supply, door alignment, or software. Sometimes the fix is small. If the equipment is too old or unsupported to be worth repairing, we will tell you that plainly and explain the options.
What happens to my access control doors if the power goes out?
It depends on how each door is set up. Fail-safe hardware unlocks when power is lost, and fail-secure hardware stays locked. Either way, people must be able to leave. We plan this per door, often with battery backup, and test it before we leave so you know how the building behaves in an outage.
Who do I call if I need access control installed outside normal hours?
Call (213) 577-1366. The line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round. For planned installs, we usually schedule a site visit so we can look at your doors. If you are locked out or a door is not securing, say so when you call and we will treat it as an urgent situation.
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Access Control Installation near Long Beach
Reviewed by David, Owner & Lead Technician, Wilshire Lock & Key — in the locksmith trade since 1987.
Last updated 2026-10-11.