Locksmith Software Built Around Emergency Work and Key Records
Locksmithing has an unusual shape: a large share of the work arrives unplanned, is priced at the kerb, and is finished within the hour. The rest — master suites, access control, commercial contracts, insurance-specified upgrades — behaves nothing like it. Software built for scheduled service work models the second half reasonably and the first half badly, which is awkward, because the first half is where the revenue is.
Running this manually today?
See how Fieldproxy handles it — a walkthrough on your own workflow, not a canned demo.
Put AI to workWhat locksmith software has to hold
- Emergency jobs that go from call to attendance in under an hour, priced on site
- Identity and authority checks recorded properly, because entry work carries a liability if they are not
- Key, cylinder and master-suite records, including which key operates what, held securely
- Van stock as the thing that decides whether a job is done now or tomorrow
- Insurance-standard specifications, where the wrong product fitted is a claim problem later
- Commercial and contract work with agreed rates alongside reactive cash work
- Out-of-hours pricing that is genuinely different from daytime pricing
Why key records are the part that has to be right
A master-key suite is a long-lived record with security consequences. Which cylinders exist at a site, which keys operate them, who holds them, what was changed and when — that has to survive staff turnover, be findable years later, and be tightly controlled about who can see it.
Stored as notes on a job, it degrades within a year. Kept in a spreadsheet on someone's laptop, it is a security problem in its own right. It needs to be a structured record with real permissions, which is not something most general field service products offer.
Software that is told how your business runs
Fieldproxy is built around your model — your job types, your pricing rules, your identity-check requirements, your key records and who may see them. It is not configured by choosing from a settings page. It is told how the business works, and then it runs that.
Things usually fixed elsewhere and yours here:
- Job types and lifecycles, with emergency work modelled on its own terms
- What must be recorded before an entry job can be completed
- Key and master-suite records, and the permissions around them
- Pricing — call-out bands, out-of-hours rates, contract rate cards
- Van stock rules and how parts are drawn against a job
- The engineer's screens on a phone, built for speed at the kerb
Two approaches to the same problem
| A fixed product | A configured platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency work | A short-notice booking | Modelled on its own terms, priced on site |
| Key records | Notes on a job | Structured records with permissions |
| Identity checks | Ad hoc | Required before completion |
| Changing how you work | Wait for the roadmap | Changed in days |
| Best when | Mostly scheduled commercial work | A real mix of emergency and contract work |
What you can run on it
- Emergency dispatch with pricing agreed and captured on site
- Identity and authority checks recorded against the job
- Key, cylinder and master-suite records with controlled access
- Van stock and parts
- Contract and commercial work with agreed rates
- Invoicing and card payment at the door
- Reporting on response times, job profitability and engineer utilisation
When this is the wrong choice
A single-van locksmith taking card payments on a phone does not need this. It starts to pay with several engineers, commercial contracts, and key records that have become too valuable and too sensitive to keep in a spreadsheet.
Common questions
What is locksmith software?
It is the system that runs the operation: taking and dispatching emergency calls, recording what was done and to whom, key and master-suite records, van stock, pricing and invoicing. What separates the useful ones is whether emergency work and secure key records are modelled properly or bolted onto a scheduled-service product.
How does it handle emergency callouts?
As their own job type rather than a short-notice booking — dispatched on location and van stock, priced at the door, completed and paid on site. The pricing rules, including out-of-hours bands, are yours.
Can it hold master key system records?
Yes, as structured records with permissions rather than notes on a job. Which cylinders exist at a site, which keys operate them and who holds them is a long-lived record that needs to survive staff turnover and be tightly controlled.
Does it record identity checks?
Yes, and it can require them before an entry job is allowed to complete. Where that matters it matters a great deal, and relying on an engineer remembering is not a control.
Does it handle both cash and contract work?
Yes, usually as separate workflows with their own rate cards, because a commercial contract and a 3am lockout have almost nothing operationally in common beyond the van.
How long does it take to get running?
Days rather than months, because it is built against your actual process. The slower half is normally deciding how key records and permissions should work.
See it built around your work
Bring an emergency job and a master-suite record. Between them they will show whether this models your business properly.
Book a walkthrough