Why do Simi Valley businesses move to electronic access control?
A metal key works fine until the day it doesn't. It gets copied at a hardware counter, it leaves with a former employee, and nothing records who used it. Access control replaces that with credentials you can issue, restrict and cancel: a code, a card, a key fob, or on some systems a phone credential. When someone leaves, you disable one credential instead of rekeying every door they touched.
That is the core case for commercial access control, and it is what we install: keypad access control, card access systems, key fob access control, electric strike installation, magnetic lock installation, and multi-door systems that run under one set of rules. We handle the hardware, the low-voltage wiring, the programming and the walk-through. We also tell you plainly when a simpler lock is the better call, because not every door needs a system.
If you are still sorting out your overall security hardware, our commercial locksmith service page covers the wider picture. This page stays focused on the electronic side: getting people in the right doors, keeping others out, and keeping a record.
Which access control setup fits your door?
The right system depends on how many doors you have, how many people use them, and how often that group changes. Here is how the main options compare in everyday use.
- Keypad access control: people enter a code at the door. It is simple and needs no cards to hand out. The weakness is shared codes, which people pass around. A keypad that supports an individual code per person is far more useful than one everyone shares.
- Card access system or key card entry system: each person gets their own card, and you cancel a lost card without touching anyone else's. This is the usual choice for offices and shared suites with staff turnover.
- Key fob access control: the same idea as a card, but on a keyring. Staff who already carry a ring of keys tend to prefer it, and it holds up to daily handling.
- Phone-based credentials: some readers support them. We will say plainly whether a particular product does before you commit to it.
- Standalone versus networked: a standalone lock is programmed at the door itself and suits one or two entries. A networked system ties several doors to a controller, so you manage everyone from one place and can pull an entry log. If a single office door only needs a self-contained electronic lock, smart lock installation may be the lighter-cost route.
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Call (213) 577-1366Electric strike or magnetic lock: which belongs on your door?
Most door access control comes down to this choice, and it is made door by door, not building-wide.
An electric strike replaces or modifies the strike plate in the door frame. Your existing latch stays in the door, and the strike either holds it or lets it release when the reader approves a credential. Strikes are usually specified fail-secure, meaning the door stays locked if power is lost, though fail-safe versions exist. Because the latch still does the work, a strike suits many wood, hollow-metal and aluminum doors that are in decent shape.
A magnetic lock puts an electromagnet on the frame and a metal plate on the door. It has no latch and no moving parts, and it releases when power is cut, which makes it fail-safe. It is common on glass and storefront-style doors where a conventional strike will not fit. The catch is that the door must hang flat and meet the magnet squarely, or the hold weakens.
Either choice has to respect safe exit. People must always be able to leave without a key, card or code, which usually means a request-to-exit device, and in many buildings a tie to the fire alarm. Local code and the fire authority decide the specifics, and we install to what the door requires. If the door also needs a push bar, we handle that through panic bar installation.
The door itself matters as much as the lock. A sagging door, a worn frame or a closer that slams or does not latch will defeat even good electronics. When we find that, we say so and point you to commercial door hardware or door closer repair so the new system is not installed onto a problem.
How does an access control installation work, step by step?
Every install is different, but the order of work stays consistent. Here is how we run it.
- Walk the doors. We look at each entry: door material, frame, swing direction, glass, and where power is available. We also ask how people actually move through the building, because the plan should match real habits.
- Choose the lock and credential for each door. Some doors get a strike, some a maglock, and some need no electronics. We decide who needs access to which doors, and when.
- Plan power and wiring. We locate the power supply and controller, work out the cable path, and decide whether a backup battery makes sense so a power loss does not leave a door in an unintended state.
- Install the hardware. That means the reader or keypad, the strike or magnetic lock, the request-to-exit device, and any door-position sensor. We prepare the frame cleanly and keep wiring tidy and protected.
- Program credentials and schedules. We enroll cards, fobs or codes, and set any time-of-day rules, such as staff only during business hours.
- Test everything. We check each door under normal use, with the credential denied, and with power removed, and we confirm that exit works the way it should.
- Hand over control. We show you how to add and remove credentials yourself and make sure the administrator access stays with you, not with us.
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Call (213) 577-1366Multi-door and employee access control: what changes with scale?
One door is a hardware job. Five doors is a system, and it needs a little planning. With multi-door access control you decide groups: front-of-house staff, back-office staff, a manager group, and perhaps a vendor or cleaning group with limited hours. Employee access control then becomes a matter of assigning someone to a group rather than handing out a bundle of keys.
The record-keeping is the other benefit. A networked controller can log which credential opened which door and when. That helps you answer plain questions, like who was in the stockroom last Thursday, without guessing. We will tell you what a given system logs and what it does not.
Scale also raises the question of whether electronics belong on every door. In some buildings a mechanical master key system on interior doors, with access control only on the main entries and sensitive rooms, is the more economical and sensible design. We lay out both and let you choose.
What about access control repair and upgrades?
Plenty of our calls involve a system that already exists. A reader stops responding, a strike buzzes but does not release, a maglock holds weakly, or a controller was installed years ago and nobody has the administrator code. Access control repair starts with finding which part has failed: the credential, the reader, the wiring, the power supply, the lock, or the door itself. Many failures turn out to be power supplies or alignment, not the expensive parts.
An access control upgrade is a different conversation. You may be on an older card format, a keypad everyone shares, or a standalone lock that no longer scales. We look at what can be reused, such as wiring and sound hardware, and what is worth replacing. Whenever the existing equipment is serviceable, we say so rather than push a full replacement.
If a system fails while someone is locked out of the building, that is an urgent problem. Call us at (213) 577-1366 and also see business lockout service for how we handle after-hours entry to a commercial space.
What affects the cost of access control installation?
We do not quote numbers on a web page, because two businesses with the same number of doors can need very different work. We quote after we see the doors. These are the factors that move the cost of a job, from lighter to heavier.
- Number of doors, and whether they are being installed together or one at a time.
- Door and frame type. Hollow metal, solid wood, aluminum storefront and full glass doors each need different hardware and different prep.
- Strike versus magnetic lock, plus extras such as request-to-exit devices, door-position sensors and battery backup.
- Credential type and the number of people who will use it. Individual cards or codes for many staff take more setup than a single shared code.
- Standalone versus networked. Managing many doors from one controller costs more up front than programming each door by hand.
- Wiring distance and building construction, including whether cable has to be run through walls or ceilings.
- Existing power. A nearby supply is simple, while a long run to a power source adds labor.
- Code requirements for exit and fire alarm integration, which vary by building.
- Whether the job is a new install, a repair, or an upgrade that reuses existing equipment.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366What should Simi Valley businesses know about local conditions?
Simi Valley covers ZIP codes 93063 and 93065, and the buildings in them vary a lot. Along the Los Angeles Avenue business corridor, we do commercial lock work on offices and storefronts, and that is where keypad and card readers most often come up: small teams, staff turnover, and a front door plus a back door that both need to be controlled.
The weather matters here. Simi Valley is an inland valley with hot, dry summers and strong Santa Ana wind events that funnel through the Santa Susana Pass. Strong sun and heat cycles expand doors and stiffen or fade exterior hardware, especially on south-facing entries, and that is a routine reason latches and deadbolts end up misaligned. For access control, that matters. A strike depends on the latch landing in the opening, and a magnetic lock depends on the door meeting the magnet squarely. A door that has drifted in the heat can cause intermittent failures that look like electronics problems. We check alignment during the walk-through and again at the test stage, so a seasonal shift does not turn into a service call.
Housing stock shapes the picture too. Simi Valley has 1960s and 1970s ranch tracts across the valley floor, newer master-planned areas such as Wood Ranch, and hillside homes in Big Sky. HOAs are common in the newer west-end communities, and condo and townhome stock clusters near the 118 corridor. If you manage a shared entry in a community like that, keypad or fob access is how you keep the group of people who can enter current without rekeying every time someone moves out.
Bridle Path is its own case, with large lots and horse gates. A keypad on a driveway or pasture gate is a different job from a door install, because it faces weather, long wire runs and heavy daily use. For existing gate hardware that needs attention, our gate lock repair page is the right starting point, and we can discuss adding keypad entry once the gate itself is sound.
We are based at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood, about 35 miles from Simi Valley, and we run mobile vans. For installs, that means we plan the visit around you and arrive with the right equipment instead of improvising on site.
Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for access control?
We have been in business since 1987. That is a lot of doors, frames and failed power supplies, and it shows in how we plan a job: we look at the door before we recommend the lock.
We run a storefront in Westwood plus mobile service vans, and you deal with one company. There is no dispatch middleman passing your call to someone you have never heard of. David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work, so system design and the final test do not get handed off without review.
One more practical point. California requires locksmith companies to hold a BSIS LCO license, and you should ask any locksmith company for its license number before work starts. That is a fair question for any contractor who will be wiring your doors.
Our phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round, at (213) 577-1366. For a planned install, a repair or a question about whether your door is suited to electronic locking, call and describe what you have. We serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and Simi Valley is one of them.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a business access control system cost?
It depends on the number of doors, the door and frame type, strike versus magnetic lock, the credential type, whether the system is networked, and how far the wiring has to run. We do not quote numbers without seeing the doors. Call (213) 577-1366, describe your setup, and we will explain what drives the cost for your building.
Should I choose a keypad or a card reader?
A keypad is simple and works for very small teams, but codes get shared. A card or key fob reader gives each person their own credential, so you cancel one lost card without affecting anyone else. If staff change often, cards or fobs are usually the better fit.
Can you add access control to a glass or storefront door?
Often, yes, but it takes the right hardware. Glass and aluminum storefront doors commonly use a magnetic lock or hardware made for that frame, and the door has to hang true. We inspect the door first and tell you plainly if the door or frame needs work before electronics make sense.
Will a magnetic lock keep people trapped if the power goes out?
No. A magnetic lock is fail-safe, so it releases when it loses power. Safe exit is a requirement, and we install a request-to-exit device and follow local code and fire authority requirements for the door. We confirm exit behavior during testing, including with the power removed.
What happens to my doors during a power outage?
It depends on how each door is set up. A fail-secure strike stays locked and a fail-safe magnetic lock releases, and people can still leave either way. A battery backup can keep the system running through a short outage. We decide the right behavior for each door during planning.
Can one system manage several doors and different employees?
Yes. A networked controller lets you set groups, such as office staff, managers and vendors, with different doors and hours for each. You assign a person to a group instead of handing out keys, and many systems log who used which door. We explain what your chosen system records.
Can you repair or upgrade a system someone else installed?
In most cases, yes. We first find which part has failed, which may be the reader, power supply, wiring, lock or the door alignment. For upgrades, we reuse sound wiring and hardware where it makes sense and tell you honestly when replacement is the better route. Bring any administrator codes you still have.
Can you install keypad entry on a gate at a horse property?
We can discuss it. Gates face weather, long wire runs and heavy use, so the gate has to be in sound working order first. Bridle Path properties, for example, often have large lots and horse gates. Call us with the gate type and what you want to control, and we will tell you what is realistic.
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Access Control Installation near Simi Valley
Reviewed by David, Owner & Lead Technician, Wilshire Lock & Key — in the locksmith trade since 1987.
Last updated 2026-10-11.