Access Control Buying Guide — 2026

1. Types of Access Control Systems

• Legacy on-premise — server in the building, manual updates, hard to manage across sites
• Modern cloud platforms — managed remotely, no on-site server, automatic updates
• Hybrid — local controllers with cloud management

TimeClock 365 is a cloud-native platform that also unifies attendance management — one system, one identity per employee, one audit log.

2. Cost Drivers

• Number of doors and zones
• Credential type — card, NFC, biometric, Apple/Google Wallet
• Licensing model — per-door, per-employee, or flat
• One-time hardware: readers, locks, controllers, intercom
• Integration: payroll, HR, SSO, alerts

Combining access control with attendance in one platform usually beats running two systems on TCO over 3 years.

3. Credential Type — How to Choose

• Card — familiar, easy to issue, easy to lose
• NFC & Apple/Google Wallet — phone-based, no plastic, fast onboarding
• Fingerprint — eliminates buddy punching and shared cards
• Face recognition — hands-free, ideal for high-traffic doors

4. Vendor Selection Checklist

• Cloud-native (not just cloud-managed legacy)
• Local Israeli support, Hebrew + English interface
• ISO 27001 certification
• Integration with Hilan, Priority and your SSO provider
• Audit trail you can export for compliance
• Automatic deprovisioning when an employee leaves
• Scales to multiple sites without hardware refresh

5. Questions to Ask Every Vendor

• What's the 3-year total cost of ownership for our footprint?
• How does deprovisioning work when an employee leaves?
• Where is our data stored and who can access it?
• What happens if internet goes down?
• Which payroll and HR systems do you integrate with?
• Can we manage multiple sites from one dashboard?