To plan keys for a small business where several offices share one entrance, treat the shared front door and each office door as separate access layers. List who needs each layer, then pick a method: separate keys per office, a master key arrangement, or access control on the shared door. The right choice depends on how many people hold keys and how often those people change.
Why the shared door and the office doors are different problems
A shared entrance has many users who change often. That includes people from every office, plus cleaners, couriers, and whoever manages the building. An office door has a few users from one company. The shared door goes wrong when copies of its key drift out of sight. An office door goes wrong when someone outside that office can open it.
So the plan starts as a map of people to doors, not a hardware order. Once you know who needs which door and how often that list changes, the keying method mostly picks itself. A few stable offices can stay simple. High staff turnover calls for a way to remove one person's access without disturbing everyone else.
What you need to know first
Get these facts on paper before anyone talks about locks.
- Door inventory: the shared entrance, each office, and any side door, storage room, or utility closet that a key opens.
- User groups: owners, regular staff, part-time staff, cleaners, deliveries, and the building manager. Note the doors each group actually needs.
- Approval: who can say yes to a new key for the shared door, and who can approve one for each office. The shared door works best with a single decision-maker.
- Keys in circulation: how many keys exist for each door and who has them. Unknown is an honest answer, so write it down.
- Pace of change: how often offices change occupants and how often staff come and go.
If nobody can account for the shared-entrance keys, that gap shapes the whole plan. The first step becomes making those old keys stop working at that door.
Choosing a keying method, layer by layer
Each method trades simplicity against how much a single key opens and how easily you can take away one person's access.
Separate keys for each office
With separate keying, each office lock has its own key and the shared entrance has its own key. An office worker carries two keys. A problem at one office stays at that office. The drawback falls on the manager or cleaner who needs several offices, because that key ring grows with every door.
A master key arrangement
In a master keyed system, each lock opens with its own key, called a change key. It also opens with a master key that works a whole group of locks. The pins inside the lock cylinder are split so that more than one key pattern lines up. Office keys can also be set up to open the shared entrance.
A master key arrangement packs more access into fewer keys, so a lost key costs more. If office keys also open the entrance, a lost office key exposes that office and the front door. A lost master exposes every lock it opens. Decide who holds the master before you settle anything else, and keep the number of masters small. The arrangement adds convenience and depends on careful records. It does not add protection.
Access control on the shared door
Access control uses a card, fob, or code instead of a key, or alongside one. Its main advantage is that you can remove one person's access without changing the lock or anyone else's credential. Many systems also log which credential opened the door. The offices can stay on keys behind it.
Settle lost and returned keys now
Rekeying changes the inside of a lock so the old keys stop working and new ones do, without replacing the hardware. Write the rule for lost keys before anyone needs it: who must be told, and which door gets rekeyed. Returned keys go to one named person, who marks them off the list.
What to hand a locksmith
A short written summary lets a locksmith quote and lay out the work without guessing. Include these items:
- The door list, with each door labeled by name or number.
- Each user group and the doors that group needs.
- The current key count for each door, unknowns included.
- Who has authority to approve the plan, both for the shared door and for each office.
- What you want to be able to change later, such as adding an office, removing one person, or limiting cleaners to the entrance.
Also note any entrance door that sticks or fails to latch, because the door's condition affects which hardware fits.
Bushwick Locksmith & Key Copy is a mobile locksmith service in Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, East Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Ridgewood, Ocean Hill, and Cypress Hills. Its work includes commercial locks, rekeying and master key systems, access control, and doors and storefronts. You can send your summary through the contact section of the Bushwick Locksmith & Key Copy website.
Frequently asked questions
Can one office change its lock without affecting the others?
With separate keying, one office's lock can be changed or rekeyed and no other door is affected. In a master keyed system, an office lock can often be rekeyed to a new change key that the master still opens. Whether that works depends on how the system was laid out, so list future office changes in the plan from the start.
Is it a problem if the cleaner or a delivery person needs access to only the shared entrance?
Entrance-only access for a cleaner or courier is a normal part of a layered plan. Give that person a key or credential that opens the shared entrance and nothing else. In a master keyed setup, avoid handing out a master just for convenience. With access control, some systems can also limit a credential to certain hours.
When does it make sense to move from keys to access control for a shared door?
Access control on a shared door makes sense when tracking physical keys has turned into guesswork: staff or contractors change often, outside workers need the entrance, or the entrance keeps getting rekeyed because keys go missing. The tradeoff is upkeep. Someone has to keep the credential list current, adding new people and removing departed ones promptly, or the advantage disappears.
Who should keep the record of which key goes to whom?
One named person should keep the key record for the shared entrance, usually the owner or manager of the space. Each office should keep its own record for its door. A useful key record lists the key or credential, the holder, the date issued, and the date returned. Store it where another authorized person can find it.