Why are West Hills businesses replacing keys with access control?
West Hills is almost entirely residential, so the businesses here tend to be small and scattered among the neighborhoods: a storefront, an office suite, a clinic or professional office, a workshop, a home-based company with a separate entrance. What they share is the same key problem. Somebody has a copy, nobody is sure who, and the only fix is to change the lock and hand out new keys again.
Electronic access control changes that. Instead of the door being tied to a piece of metal, it is tied to a credential: a code, a card, or a fob. When an employee leaves, you delete that one credential and nothing else changes. When a new hire starts, you add one. Nobody is chasing keys across town, and the door itself never has to be rekeyed because someone moved on. That is the whole appeal of credential-based entry, and it is why most commercial access control upgrades start with one frustrated owner and one door.
We also want to be straight about when it is not the right answer. A back door used by three people who never change may be better served by a good keyed lock or a simple keypad. A building with many doors and many tenants may be better served by a properly designed master key system. We will tell you which one fits before we sell you hardware you do not need.
What types of access control can we install?
Every access control door has the same three parts. A reader or keypad is where someone presents a credential. A controller decides whether that credential is allowed. Locking hardware, either an electric strike or a magnetic lock, actually releases the door. Which pieces you need depends on the door, the number of people, and how much record keeping you want.
Here is what we install:
- Keypad access control: a code is entered at the door. It suits small teams, back doors and storage rooms, and it needs no cards to hand out or lose. The tradeoff is that codes get shared, so they should be changed when staff change.
- Card access system and key card entry system: each person carries a card that is read at the door. Cards can be disabled individually, which is the main advantage over a shared code.
- Key fob access control: the same idea as a card, in a form that lives on a key ring. Many people find fobs hold up better than cards in a pocket or a work truck.
- Electric strike installation: the strike replaces the standard latch plate in the door frame and releases electronically so the door can be pulled or pushed open.
- Magnetic lock installation: an electromagnet on the frame holds a plate on the door. It is common on glass doors and some frames where a strike will not fit.
- Multi-door access control: several doors managed together, so one credential can open the front entrance and a storage room but not the office behind it.
- Employee access control: access that can be set per person, so different staff open different doors.
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Call (213) 577-1366How does access control installation work, step by step?
Every door is different, which is why a phone call is only the start. Here is how a typical job goes from first call to finished system.
- You call (213) 577-1366, any hour. We ask about the door, the frame, who needs to get in, and what is on the door now. Photos of the door and frame help a lot.
- We look at the door in person where needed. Door material, frame type, existing latch, closer, and where power can reasonably reach all decide what will work.
- We recommend a setup and explain the choice: keypad or card, strike or maglock, standalone or several doors tied together. If the door needs something fixed first, we say so.
- We plan the wiring path and power supply. Electronic locks need steady low-voltage power, and the cleanest installs hide the wiring instead of leaving it exposed on the wall.
- We prepare the door and frame, then mount the lock hardware, reader or keypad, and controller.
- We program credentials and the access rules you want, such as which people open which doors.
- We test it properly: the door latching, the credential working, a bad credential being refused, and what the door does if power is lost.
- We walk you through how to add and remove users, so you are not dependent on us for the routine part.
Electric strike or magnetic lock: which fits your door?
This is the question we answer most often, and the honest answer is that it depends on the door. An electric strike works with a latch, so the door still latches normally and the strike simply decides whether to let it go. It is a good fit for solid or framed doors where the frame can be prepared to take it. A magnetic lock holds with magnetism and has no moving latch. It is often used on glass doors and some frames where a strike cannot be fitted cleanly.
There is a safety side that matters more than convenience. People must be able to leave the building freely, especially in an emergency. Whether a lock should unlock or stay locked when power is cut depends on the door and how it is used, and fire and building rules for your type of space come into play. We install with free exit in mind, and for your specific building it is wise to confirm requirements with the local building or fire authority. For doors that need exit hardware, we can pair access control with panic bar installation.
The rest of the door matters too. A strike needs a door that closes and latches every time, and a maglock needs the plate to meet the magnet squarely. A door that sags, drags or slams will cause trouble however good the electronics are, so we check alignment and the closer before the lock goes in. If the closer is the weak link, that is a door closer repair job we would do first. For the wider picture of frames, handles and hardware, see our page on commercial door hardware.
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Call (213) 577-1366What affects the cost of access control installation in West Hills?
We do not quote numbers on a web page because two doors that look alike can be very different jobs. What we can do is tell you what moves the cost, so a quote makes sense when you get one.
The biggest factors are below.
- Number of doors. Each door needs its own lock hardware and reader, and multi-door systems add a controller and more wiring.
- Strike or maglock. Hardware differs, and so does the door and frame preparation each one needs.
- Credential type. A keypad has no cards to buy. Cards and fobs mean buying credentials for each person.
- Wiring. A door with an easy path to power is a simpler job than one that needs wire run through finished walls or across a long distance.
- Door and frame condition. A solid, aligned door is straightforward. A warped, worn or damaged door may need repair first.
- Standalone or networked. Doors that work on their own are simpler than doors managed together with records of who came and went.
- Power backup. If you want the system to keep working through an outage, that adds equipment.
- Retrofit or new construction. Adding access control to an existing building usually takes more planning than building it in from the start.
What does access control look like around West Hills?
West Hills runs mostly to 1950s to 1970s single-story ranch tracts on suburban streets, and the commercial areas around the Platt Village area, the Fallbrook Center area and along the Sherman Way west corridor are small pockets by comparison. That shapes the work. Most businesses here are not big buildings with a security desk. They are shops, offices, suites and small operators who want better control of one to a few doors without a big-building system. Customers in ZIP codes 91307 and 91304 usually call us for exactly that: one or two doors done well.
Office and suite work near the UCLA West Valley Medical Center campus is a good example of where access control earns its place. Professional suites often have a main entrance that people use during business hours, plus back rooms, supply areas or records rooms that should only open for certain staff. A keypad or card reader on those inner doors, with the main door on a strike, gives you that separation without anyone carrying a ring of keys. Staff turnover is easy to handle, because you remove one credential instead of rekeying a suite.
Heat is a local factor worth planning for. Summers run hot in this far-west corner of the Valley, and south- and west-facing entries take the brunt of it. Heat makes wood doors expand, which can throw off the alignment a strike or maglock depends on. We check how the door sits in the frame in the conditions it actually lives in, and we think about where readers and keypads are mounted so they are not baked in direct sun more than they need to be.
Some West Hills properties are larger lots toward Valley Circle Boulevard and the hillside edge near Castle Peak, and they have side gates and garage entry doors that the owner uses for work. If your business entrance is a gate rather than a door, tell us when you call. For gate hardware that is simply worn or failing, we cover that under gate lock repair, and we will tell you plainly whether access control belongs on that opening at all.
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Call (213) 577-1366Can you repair or upgrade an access control system someone else installed?
Yes, often. Access control repair is a large part of what we are asked for. The common problems are a reader that stopped responding, a strike that buzzes but will not release, a maglock that lets go of the door at the wrong time, a keypad worn smooth on the keys, or a power supply that has quietly failed. Most of these come from power, wiring, alignment or a worn part, not from the whole system being bad.
We will be honest when a repair is not worth it. Some older systems use parts that are no longer easy to get, or are hard to manage because nobody has the admin information. In that case an access control upgrade may be the more sensible route, and we will explain what could be reused, such as existing wiring or door hardware, so you are not paying to replace what still works.
If a failed system has left staff on the wrong side of the door, that is a lockout as well as an access control problem, and our team handles those through business lockout service. If what you actually want is app-controlled convenience for a small private entrance instead of a full commercial setup, smart lock installation may fit better, and we will say so.
Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for access control?
We have been in business since 1987, and our storefront is at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood, with mobile service vans that come out to you. West Hills sits about 23 miles from our base, and we serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, so it is part of our regular territory.
The person who answers your call works for us. We are one company, not a dispatch service passing your job to whoever is free, so the person who looks at your door is accountable to the people who sent them. David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work, which means a real person with a long history in this trade is behind how it is done. Our phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round at (213) 577-1366.
For the bigger picture of what we do for businesses, see our commercial locksmith page. Access control is one piece of that, and it often goes alongside rekeying, hardware and door repair.
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, known as a BSIS LCO license. Ask any locksmith for it, including us, and check it before work begins. A real company will not mind the question.
A few other questions are worth asking. Who will own the admin information for the system, you or the installer? What happens to the door if power fails? Will the work leave a clear path out of the building? Is the quote written and does it list the hardware? A good installer answers these plainly. If you get vague answers on how the door behaves in an outage, take that seriously.
Frequently asked questions
How much does access control installation cost in West Hills?
It depends on the number of doors, whether you use strikes or maglocks, keypads or cards, the wiring path, and the condition of the door and frame. We do not post numbers because two similar doors can be very different jobs. Call (213) 577-1366 and we will ask the right questions, then explain what a quote will include.
Can you add access control to a door I already have?
Usually yes. Many retrofits use the existing door and frame. We check that the door is solid, aligned, and closes and latches properly, since electronic hardware depends on that. If the door or frame needs work first, we will say so before we start.
Is a keypad or a card system better for a small business?
A keypad is simple and needs no cards, but codes tend to be shared. Cards and fobs can be removed one at a time, which helps when staff change. For one or two low-traffic doors a keypad is often enough. For anything where you want to control individual people, cards or fobs are the better fit.
What happens to the door if the power goes out?
It depends on how the door is set up. Some hardware unlocks when power is lost, and some stays locked. The right choice depends on the door, how it is used, and building and fire requirements. People must always be able to get out. We set it up with that in mind and confirm how it behaves during testing.
Do you install access control on gates as well as doors?
We can discuss it, and the right answer depends on the gate. Many gate problems are simply a worn or failing lock, which we handle under gate lock repair. If your gate is a business entrance and you want credentialed entry there, tell us what it is made of and how it is used, and we will advise what is realistic.
Can you repair an access control system you did not install?
Often, yes. Common faults come from power supplies, wiring, alignment or worn readers and keypads. If a system is old, hard to get parts for, or has lost its admin information, we will tell you honestly whether repair or an upgrade makes more sense.
Can I add or remove employees myself after installation?
That depends on the system we set up, but we walk you through user management at handover so you are not calling us for routine changes. Simple keypad systems are programmed at the door. Larger multi-door setups have their own way of managing users, and we explain yours.
Do you come out to West Hills at night or on weekends?
Our phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round at (213) 577-1366. Call and we will tell you what we can do and how we would approach it. Planned installations are usually scheduled around your business hours, while urgent door failures can be handled as they come in.
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Access Control Installation near West Hills
Reviewed by David, Owner & Lead Technician, Wilshire Lock & Key — in the locksmith trade since 1987.
Last updated 2026-10-11.