Fifteen minutes before a viewing, and the keys are not on the hook
The buyers are on their way to the property. The negotiator goes to the key cabinet and the hook for number 14 is empty. The sign-out sheet says nothing. After ten minutes of calls it turns out the floorplan person took them on Tuesday and left them in their car. The viewing starts late, the buyers wait on the pavement, and the vendor hears about it.
Most branches have a version of this every few weeks. Occasionally a set is lost altogether and the vendor has to be told, which is a conversation no agent wants.
Why key control breaks down
Keys are physical, so they fall outside the systems your team uses all day. The CRM knows there is a viewing at 11. The key cabinet does not. The sign-out sheet only works if every person writes on it every time, including in a rush, and including people from outside the office like photographers, surveyors, EPC assessors and contractors.
Branches that share keys, or that hold keys for vendors who have moved out, make it harder still. The labelling system also tends to drift: a code on the tag that only one person understands, or no code at all.
| Where keys go | How it is usually recorded |
|---|---|
| Accompanied viewings | Sign-out sheet, sometimes |
| Photographer, floorplan, EPC | Verbal, often not recorded |
| Surveyor or valuer access | Arranged by phone |
| Another branch | Not recorded |
| Returned to vendor or buyer at completion | Note in the CRM, if remembered |
What lost and late keys cost
Late viewings lose goodwill with buyers and vendors alike. A lost set of keys can mean paying for lock changes and, worse, telling a vendor that the keys to their empty house are unaccounted for. Your business will have its own security procedures and insurance requirements for keys, and a paper sheet makes it hard to show those were followed.
Staff time goes too. Every missing set sets off a round of phone calls, usually at the worst moment.
The key log we build
- Tags: each set of keys gets a durable tag with a QR code or NFC chip that shows nothing about the address to a stranger who finds it.
- Phone check-out: staff and approved outside parties scan the tag with their phone to take or return keys. For outside parties, a simple web page works without an app.
- Linked to appointments: when keys are taken, the log offers today's viewings and appointments for that property from the CRM, so each check-out is tied to a reason.
- Expected return: each check-out has an expected return time. Keys still out afterwards trigger a reminder to the holder and then to the branch manager.
- Live view: the branch sees where every set is: in the cabinet, with a named person, or at another branch.
- History: the full movement history of each set is kept, so questions can be answered after the fact.
If you already have an electronic key cabinet or key management system, we connect to it where it offers an API rather than replacing it.
What the branch notices
Before a viewing, the negotiator checks the phone and sees exactly who has the keys. Photographers and contractors check keys in and out the same way as staff, so the gaps close. Overdue keys are chased automatically, before anyone needs them. When a vendor asks who has been in their property, there is a record.
At completion, handing keys over is logged as the final movement, which closes the file neatly.
Does this sound like your key cabinet?
- The sign-out sheet is often incomplete.
- Viewings have started late because keys could not be found.
- Suppliers and contractors take keys without recording it.
- You have had to tell a vendor that keys were lost.
- Keys move between branches without a record.