Access cards, keys and doors
Every card, fob, PIN, mobile key and room key is tied to the resident's stay. The doors it opens follow the stay: from check-in, after a room change, until the exit day. A lost card stops at once and its replacement can be charged.
PLANSScale only
Built and tested on our test systems; no lock or door controller has been connected yet. We test your lock supplier's controller with you before go-live. Without one, the register of cards and keys works on its own.
The problem it solves
- A resident checks out, keeps the card, and it still opens the main gate a month later.
- After a room change the old room key is still with the resident.
- A lost card is replaced at the desk, but the old one still works and nobody charges for it.
How it works
- On the hostel's Access tab, tick Access Cards and Smart Locks and set the Card Replacement Fee and PIN Length.
- Add the doors: main gate, block, floor, room or common room, with a curfew if needed.
- At check-in, open the stay and click Issue a Card or Key. Type the card number; a PIN is made for you and shown once.
- The card opens the main gate, its block and floor, its room and the common doors until the end of the exit day. A room change moves it to the new room.
- A lost card stops at once and the wardens are told. Click Replace to issue a new one, with the fee if you tick it.
- At check-out, click Cards and Keys Given Back. Anything still out is revoked when the stay closes.
Everything it does
Cards and keys
- Kinds: RFID card, Key fob, PIN code, Mobile key, Physical key
- For a resident's stay, or for a staff member (issued by hostel managers)
- Valid From and Valid To: empty means from check-in until the stay ends
- States: Active, Suspended, Lost, Returned, Revoked
- A PIN is 4 to 12 digits (6 to start with), kept hashed and shown once
- One card number cannot be with two people; wardens see numbers masked
Doors
- Kind: Main gate, Block door, Floor door, Room door, Common room; Staff Only keeps residents out
- Curfew for residents: Open at all hours, Closed after the hostel's in-time, or Closed between set hours (22:00 to 05:00 to start with)
- Staff cards open at all hours; Opens the Rooms makes a staff master key
- Main gate with Counts as In / Out: each opening becomes an attendance punch
Door controllers
- A controller reads the access list of its doors with its own token, shown once
- It reads the full list or only the changes since its last read
- It sends back door events, opened or refused, with the reason; the controller applies the curfew at the door
Lost cards and alerts
- Lost: reported by the resident, a guardian or staff; it stops at once and the wardens are told
- Replacement fee: charged on the stay under Key / Card Replacement, when ticked
- Alert: 5 refusals of one card at one door within 10 minutes to start with; 0 means no alert
Who uses it
Front Desk / Accounts and WardenIssue, suspend, replace and take back cards; wardens see numbers masked and get the alerts.
Owner / AdministratorSets up doors, controllers and the access rules; hostel managers issue staff cards.
Resident and guardianSee the cards, their doors and the stay's door events, and report a card lost.
Where you use it
- Web: Hostel > Gate and Access > Cards and Doors > Cards and Keys, Residents Without a Card, Door Events, Refused at the Door, Issue to a Staff Member. Hostel > Configuration > Daily Life > Access > Doors, Door Controllers, Who May Open What
- Resident portal, and the SmartMy Hostel app under Menu > Room > Cards and keys: the cards, their doors and Report lost
- The SmartMy Hostel Staff app: Menu > Gate and Access > Cards and keys, to issue, suspend, take back and read door events
- Both apps are built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Not connected yet: any lock or door controller make; it is tested with you before go-live
What you control
Settings
- Access Cards and Smart Locks: per hostel, off to start with
- Card Replacement Fee: per hostel
- PIN Length: 6
- Alert After Refused Attempts: 5, Within (minutes): 10
Notifications
- Hostel Card or Key Issued: to the resident
- Hostel Card or Key Lost and Hostel Door Refused Repeatedly: to the wardens of the hostel; the card holder is not told of refusals
- Channels: in the app and by email. WhatsApp and SMS come from your message credits, and app push once the apps are in the stores
- Each goes out at once, day or night; a person can switch off a channel for themselves, never the event, and in-app notices always arrive
Questions
Which locks does it work with?
No lock or controller make has been connected yet. Your lock supplier's controller reads the access list and sends door events, and we test it with you before go-live.Is it useful without smart locks?
Yes. It is a register of who holds which card or key. It handles lost cards, replacements, the fee and what must come back at check-out.What happens to the card at check-out?
Check-out lists cards and keys not given back. When the stay closes, anything still out is revoked and no longer opens any door.Can a lost card be charged?
Yes. Set the Card Replacement Fee on the hostel. When you replace a lost card, fob or key, tick the fee and it goes on the resident's dues.Related features
STAYSCheck-in with checklist, documents and guardianA resident checks in only when the checklist is done, the documents are verified and a guardian is on record where one is needed. A manager can let them in anyway, and the reason stays on the stay.CHECK-OUT AND SETTLEMENTCheck-out checklist: inspection, assets and keysA resident leaves through a checklist: room inspected, assets returned, keys and cards given back. Check-out waits for every mandatory item, and only a hostel manager can go on without one, with the reason kept on the stay.STAYSRoom change with history and prorated rentMove a resident to another bed from any date. The old bed is free from that day and every move stays in the history. With billing, rent is corrected by the day.ATTENDANCE DEVICESAttendance devices at the gateFingerprint, card, face or QR devices at the hostel gate send their punches to SmartMy Hostel. They go through a small program on a PC at the site, are read by the server, or are pushed by the device itself. Leave out and back, late entries and roll calls are then made from the punches.DAILY LIFELate entries, warnings and finesEach time a resident comes in after the in-time, a late entry is recorded with the minutes late. From the numbers you set, guardians are warned and late entries are fined. Wardens hear when someone goes out after the in-time without leave.ATTENDANCE DEVICESWho Is In board and in / out by handOne list shows every resident in house as In or Out, with the time of their last punch. Without a device, wardens record in and out by hand on the web or the phone. Each punch drives late entries, leave and roll calls.
See it with your own blocks and classes.
Tell us how many hostels and students you have. We will show you an allotment, a leave request approved by a parent and a night roll call, set up the way your hostel works.