Automated Smart Entry Systems For Self Storage
LAST UPDATED ON JULY 12, 2023
Automated smart entry lock systems have opened up an entirely new way to offer self storage. No longer are staff required to be at a facility to open gates or welcome new tenants to their storage unit. Instead, they empower your customers to access their unit and belongings whenever suits them best.
Knowing which smart entry option to choose for your self storage facility can be tricky. You’ll need to consider several factors:
- How to give customers access (app, pin code etc).
- If you can provide access to different areas, gates, and doors.
- If it integrates with your self storage software.
- If it integrates with your website to automate access for new bookings.
- How much it costs.
- If it’s available in your country.
- How secure it is.
In this article, we’ll highlight the smart entry systems available on the market today, what they offer, and give you tips on how to decide which to install in your self storage facility.
The most popular smart entry systems
Nokē Smart Entry
Available in the UK, EU and US. It’s a fully keyless entry system where your customers will access your facility via a smartphone app or fob.
Key features:
- Bespoke system designed to fit your needs.
- Hard-wired or battery-powered options.
- Give access to doors individually.
- Unique access controls provided for each customer.
- Overlock doors from anywhere.
- A full log of who is accessing your facility/units and when.
- Entirely cloud-based. Manage your facility from the web portal or smartphone app.
- Wide array of integrated door types available.
- API available, enabling third-party software to integrate and sync with Nokē doors.
- Give tenants facility and unit access via a mobile app.
- No need for customers to remember codes or their keys.
- Electronic locks are virtually impossible to tamper with.
- Thermal motion sensors that detect unusual activity.
- Built with the highest level data security, compliance, and privacy standards.
- Fobs available to connect to doors for customers without smartphones.
- Set customer access times.
- Nokē integrates with Stora self storage software to enable website bookings to automatically gain access to their unit, revoke their access when they move out, and overlock if they don't pay.
BearBox
Available in the UK and European Union. BearBox enables you to manage access control and provide access via key codes or an app.
Key features
- Bespoke system designed to fit your needs.
- On-site or cloud access control management system available via the web or an app.
- Access can be provided via key code, fob, QR code, numberplate, biometrics or an app.
- Unique access controls provided for each customer.
- Additional, integrated products available in their suite, such as CCTV and alarms.
- Wide array of integrated door types available.
- Set customer access times.
- BearBox integrates with Stora self storage software to enable website bookings to automatically gain access to their unit, revoke their access when they move out, and overlock if they don't pay.
PTI Security Systems
Available in the UK, EU and US, providing access via key codes or an app.
Key features
- Bespoke system designed to fit your needs.
- Integrates with facility management and self storage software.
- Give customers facility and unit access via a mobile app or key code.
- Unique access controls provided for each customer.
- Give access to doors individually.
- Set customer access times.
- PTI integrates with Stora self storage software to enable website bookings to automatically gain access to their unit, revoke their access when they move out, and overlock if they don't pay.
Sensorberg
Available in the UK and EU. Sensorberg is a modern solution providing access via a mobile app.
Key features
- Easy-to-use management dashboard.
- Real-time performance and security monitoring.
- Give tenants facility and unit access via keypad.
- Real-time notifications and reporting tools.
- Give tenants facility and unit access via mobile app.
- Brand-able iOS and Android apps with online and offline access.
- Remove customer access from anywhere.
- Open doors from anywhere
- SpiderDoor integrates with Stora self storage software to enable website bookings to automatically gain access to their unit via mobile app, revoke their access when they move out, and overlock if they don't pay.
SpiderDoor
Available in the US. SpiderDoor provides cost-effective access control via key codes.
Key features
- Cost-effective, simple solution.
- Not restricted to any specific software ecosystem.
- Give tenants facility and unit access via keypad.
- Various keypad options available.
- Overlock gates from anywhere.
- Access dashboard from any device.
- Open gates from anywhere.
- SpiderDoor integrates with Stora self storage software to enable website bookings to automatically gain access to their unit via autogenerated key codes, revoke their access when they move out, and overlock if they don't pay.
OpenTech Alliance INSOMNIAC CIA
Available in the UK and US. It’s a fully keyless entry system where your customers will access your facility via key codes or a mobile app.
Key features
- Access anytime from any internet-connected device
- Flexible and customizable solution
- Get real-time alerts, property visualization and data insights and reports.
- Overlock doors from anywhere.
- A full log of who is accessing your facility/units and when.
- Entirely cloud-based. Manage your facility remotely.
- Give tenants facility and unit access via a mobile app or keypad.
- OpenTech Alliance integrates with Stora self storage software to enable website bookings to automatically gain access to their unit, revoke their access when they move out, and overlock if they don't pay.
SC Solutions
Available in the UK and European Union, providing access via key codes or an app.
Key features
- Bespoke system designed to fit your needs.
- Integrates with facility management software.
- Give customers facility and unit access via a mobile app.
- Unique access controls provided for each customer.
- Give access to doors individually.
- Set customer access times.
Sentinel Systems
Available worldwide providing access via keypads.
Key features
- Integrates with facility management software.
- Set customer access times.
- Cloud-based access control management system available.
- Customer access via keypads.
- Specify which keypads customers can use.
- Proximity card readers, card fobs, and individual door alarming available.
- Integrates with existing alarm systems.
How to pick your smart entry system
Now that you’ve learned about the different smart entry options available, here are a few questions to ask yourself to help you decide if a smart entry system is for you, and if so which suits you best:
Do you want to control access from anywhere?
If you want the benefit of not having to be physically on site to give access, smart locks are the most obvious solution.
They enable you to give and revoke access as required. It also means you don’t have to ever visit a facility again to manually overlock a unit.
Do you want to eliminate the need for forgettable codes?
It’s easy for customers to forget codes. In that scenario, all they can do is contact you or your staff to regain access, eating up valuable time. App-based access is an alternative that helps with this. It means customers just have to remember their phone to get access. If they get logged out and forgot their password, it’s fully in their control to reset it and regain access.
Do you want to give facility access to new online bookings automatically (without having to be on site)?
The only way to provide access automatically is with a smart entry system. Smart entry systems can be integrated with Facility Management and Web Sales software such as Stora to completely automate this process.
Stora gives you a free website with an industry leading online booking flow. When a website visitor books, Stora can automatically reserve a unit for them. On their move-in day, it will then communicate with the smart entry system you've chosen to integrate to auto sync the customer with their unit and generate unique access information. It then digitally sends the access details to the customer automatically that morning.
Payments are then collected autoamtically on a billing cycle of your choice. If the customer cancels their subscription, their unique access is revoked on their last day, giving you a fully automated smart access system.
Do you want to automatically lock out customers who fail to pay?
Most smart entry systems will let you manually lock out customers as required. Some providers only work with your main gates while others will lock customers out of every door including their unit door. To automate it so that later payers are automatically locked out you will again need to utilise a self storage software platform like Stora.
This will let you choose how longer after a payment fails in which a customers access is revoked. It will also send your customers emails with a link to pay online and instantly restore their access.
Do you want to control exactly who has access to your facility and units?
Most facilities have numerous gates or doors that may need to be opened to access stored items. The most secure way to do this is to offer each of your customers a method of access that is unique to them. For example a unique code or account associated with a smartphone app. This way you know who is using which code and when. Unique digital access controls mean you don’t have to share one code for a main gate or copies of a key. It also means you can individually turn off access to specific people at any time—perfect for customers who have moved out.
Do you want visibility of who accesses your facility, when and how often?
It’s hard to know exactly who is accessing your facility without a smart entry system. To do so requires on-site staff or CCTV. With a smart access system, you get a full log of who accesses your facility thanks to unique controls attributed to them. You also get data on the times of day they visit and how often.
This data can be further used to help your business—for example, to spot when customers might be getting ready to move out based on their visits.
What level of access security do you require?
Traditionally, self storage has been an industry of standard locks and customer padlocks. Unfortunately it’s possible for these to be broken. Electronic locks are different. These locks are built into doors, meaning there isn’t the same physical component that can be tampered with, thereby increasing security.
Each provider has different approaches to security. Review each to decide which matches your criteria.
How much are you willing to pay?
The upfront investment required in a technology-based solution is more than traditional access control methods.
However, it’s important you consider more than just the initial cost. The potential long-term savings of a smart entry system and unique benefits can be worth it in the long run. Try thinking about it in these terms:
How much money will I save over the long term?
Smart entry systems reduce man hours needed on site. Work out roughly how many hours each month could be saved by no longer needing to visit a site to deal with customers and problems. Once you have, put a monetary value on your time and extrapolate it out over the number of years you think you’ll be running your business.
What unique benefits will smart entry have on my self storage business?
Smart entry opens up new avenues previously unavailable to operators. It makes it easier to automate sales, access, security, removes the need for staff, and gives you data previously would have been extremely time-consuming to gather. It also opens up the possibility of same-day One Minute Move-Ins.
Consider how these unique benefits will impact how you run and market your business. For example, will it give you a unique selling point compared to competitors approaching things in a more traditional way?
Which will you choose?
It’s a great time to start a self storage business. All of these exciting options open up new ways to automate your business, increase your profit margin and compete with existing facilities. We hope this info makes your decision about which smart entry system to use a little easier.
If you have any other questions about the smart entry options available, and how to make the most of them, feel free to schedule a demo of Stora to see how it works alongside smart entry. We’d be happy to help!
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