How to Choose the Best Access Control System for Your Business

Map doors, zones and users

A good design mirrors your building and workforce. Walk the site and sketch:

• Doors and routes: entrances, fire escapes, internal doors, lift lobbies, plant rooms.

• Zones by sensitivity: public, staff-only, high-security.

• User categories: employees, contractors, visitors, cleaners, delivery drivers.

• Occupancy patterns: peaks, shift changes, out-of-hours access.
  

This zoning tells you where you need stronger authentication (e.g. card + PIN or biometrics) and where convenience should dominate (e.g. friction-light readers at the front door to prevent queues). It also highlights practicalities: where intercom/video entry is required to vet visitors, and where vehicle barriers should integrate with staff access for consistent policy enforcement. (See: Entry Phone Installation and Security Barrier Installation).

Treat life safety and legal compliance as foundation, not add-ons

No access decision is complete without considering safe egress and data protection:

• Fire & life safety. UK practice requires that electronically controlled doors on escape routes fail safe on alarm or relevant fault, so people can always evacuate. BS 7273-4 sets out how door release mechanisms must actuate in a fire—including how the fire alarm interfaces and “critical signal paths” should be designed and tested. Build this behaviour into your specification and commissioning plan from day one; test it during drills.

• Data protection & privacy. Access logs are personal data, and where you deploy biometrics for identification they’re typically special category data under UK GDPR. You’ll need a clear lawful basis, a separate special-category condition (often explicit consent in workplace settings), a DPIA, tight security for templates/logs and transparent information for users. The ICO’s biometric guidance is the authoritative reference here and should inform your internal policy and vendor due diligence.

Bake these into the design brief; don’t retrofit them later.

Choose the right credentials and readers for each zone

There is no single “best” credential—only the best fit for risk and context.

• Cards & fobs (RFID). Fast, familiar and scalable. Choose encrypted smart credentials and readers to reduce cloning risk; apply two-factor (card + PIN) where assurance must be higher.

• PIN keypads. Low cost, no badge issuance, handy on service doors or as a second factor. Manage code hygiene: unique codes, rotation, removal on leavers.

• Biometrics. Fingerprint, face, iris or vein recognition remove the “loaned badge” problem and provide strong auditability. They also raise your compliance bar (see above), so involve your DPO early.

• Mobile credentials. NFC/BLE on smartphones delivers great convenience and remote provisioning, and supports touch-free flows. Confirm device policy (BYOD vs corporate), fallback journeys and reader compatibility.

• Long-range/vehicle credentials. Pair with barriers or gates for car parks and service yards; align vehicle permissions with people permissions for consistency.

Document the authentication policy by zone—e.g. card at reception, card + PIN for comms rooms, biometric at lab, and mobile credentials for senior staff—to avoid gaps and user confusion.

Plan your integrations on day one

Access control rarely lives in isolation. Integrations multiply value:

• CCTV. Link door events to cameras for instant video verification of forced doors, tailgating or out-of-hours entries; speed investigations with event-based video search. We outline common patterns and benefits here: CCTV–Access Control–Alarm Integration.

• Intruder alarms. Use “first-in/last-out” logic to arm/disarm zones automatically; reduce false alarms and simplify opening/closing routines.

• Visitor management. Connect reception kiosks or video intercoms so visitor badges are issued with the right permissions and a clean audit trail.

• Building systems. Occupancy signals from access control can inform lighting or HVAC for energy savings.

The NPSA’s “Passport to Good Security” material is a helpful way to explain these linkages to non-technical stakeholders who still need to sign off the plan.

Don’t forget the user journey

Great security fails if it frustrates your people. Map what a normal day looks like:

• How do staff get through the front door at 08:55 without queues?

• How do visitors get vetted, badged and escorted quickly?

• What does a contractor do when a card fails at 22:00?

• How do you handle forgotten phones (mobile credentials) or glove use (biometrics)?

Small design choices—reader placement, automatic door operators, wave-to-exit sensors, and hands-free options at high-traffic entrances—make a big difference in adoption. For ideas on touchless journeys, see our short guide: Hands-Free Access Control.

Plan for growth, governance and lifecycle cost

Choose platforms that scale across doors, sites and users without re-engineering. Confirm licence models, mobile credential costs and integration options you might need later (e.g. API access). Build governance into BAU: access reviews, leaver processes, audit trails and periodic system testing. From a standards perspective, NSI’s NCP 109 and BS EN 60839 give you a structured way to express requirements and measure compliance at each lifecycle stage—design, installation, commissioning and maintenance. 

Finally, view cost over five to seven years, not just day one. Account for maintenance, spares, software updates and potential reader/credential upgrades. Often the “cheaper” choice costs more in administration or downtime.

A simple selection workflow you can defend

1. Define outcomes with stakeholders (security, FM, IT, HR).

2. Zone the building by risk and map user groups and flows.

3. Write safety & privacy rules into the brief (BS 7273-4, UK GDPR for biometrics).

4. Pick credentials by zone (cards/fobs, PINs, biometrics, mobile), agreeing two-factor where needed.

5. Choose architecture (networked or cloud) that fits scale and IT posture; plan power/network properly.

6. Specify integrations (CCTV, alarms, visitor management) and test cases. (See integration overview above.)

7. Select standards-aligned kit and an installer who works to NSI NCP 109; require documented commissioning and training.

8. Pilot, train, refine; then roll out with a maintenance plan and clear governance.

When you follow this sequence—and evidence key choices with recognised UK guidance—you get a system that’s both secure and workable, and a paper trail your auditors (and insurers) will appreciate.