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Access Control

The Access Control module integrates CautaReside with the physical access systems at your facility — gate barriers, pedestrian turnstiles, lift floor-locks, lobby doors. When a resident's status changes (moves out, suspended for non-payment, lease ends), their physical access updates automatically.

What residents see

Residents have an Access tab if your facility uses access control:

  • My credentials — RFID cards, keypad codes, or biometric enrolments tied to their account.
  • Last access — most recent gate / lift / door event.
  • My household — credentials for family members or domestic staff registered to their unit.
  • Request a card / code — for new household members.
  • Report a lost card — immediately revokes; system issues a replacement workflow.

What facility admins do

Connect a hardware integration

Settings → Access Control → Integrations:

CautaReside supports common access-control vendors (your CautaReside operator can confirm which ones — typical integrations include ZKTeco, Hikvision, Suprema, Paxton, and several Ghanaian-distributed brands).

Each integration is configured with: - Vendor + product - Endpoint URL (the local controller's IP, or a cloud relay endpoint) - Authentication credentials - Sync frequency

Once connected, CautaReside syncs: - New residents → enrolled with credentials - Suspended residents → access revoked - Move-outs → credentials disabled on the lease end date - Visitor passes → temporary credentials for the visit window

Issue credentials

Access Control → Issue Credential: - Pick the resident - Pick the credential type (RFID card, PIN, fingerprint) - For RFID: scan the card to register the UID - For PIN: system generates a secure random PIN - For fingerprint: enroll at the facility's enrolment terminal - Set expiry (typical: aligns with lease end + 30 days)

The credential immediately provisions on the access controllers.

Revoke / replace

For lost cards or terminated tenancies: - Revoke → controller stops accepting that credential within seconds - Replace → revokes old + issues new in one step

Visitor credentials

When a visitor pass is issued (Visitors module), the system can optionally issue them a temporary access credential: - One-time PIN, valid for the visit window - Or temporary RFID card (collected at the gate)

This avoids the guard manually buzzing every visitor in.

Reports

Access Control → Reports: - Access events — who entered/exited where, when - Failed attempts — declined credentials (revoked card used, wrong PIN, after-hours attempt) - Tail-gating events — multiple entries in quick succession through one credential (suggests credential sharing or piggy-backing) - After-hours access — entries outside permitted hours

Compliance

  • GDPR / Ghana Data Protection Act — biometric data is encrypted at rest and accessible only to your designated DPO.
  • Retention — access events default to 12 months, configurable in Settings → Access Control → Data Retention.
  • Audit — every credential issue / revoke is logged with who, what, when.

Common workflows

Move-in

  1. Resident's lease starts in CautaReside.
  2. Issue credentials in the Access Control module.
  3. Resident receives card / PIN at handover.
  4. System auto-tests: verify card registers an entry on first use.

Move-out

  1. Lease end date reached (or move-out workflow completed).
  2. Credentials auto-disable on the configured cutoff (default: lease end + 7 days for grace).
  3. Cards collected at handover; the system flags any that weren't returned for follow-up.

Suspension for arrears

If a resident's account goes 60+ days past due (configurable): - Credentials are not revoked automatically (legal risk). - A warning is logged + management notified. - Manager can choose: keep access, restrict to certain doors only (e.g. resident can enter their unit but not the gym), or revoke.

The exact policy is set per facility — talk to your CautaReside operator about your jurisdiction's legal constraints.

Tips

  • Test integrations regularly — controllers occasionally lose network connectivity to CautaReside. Schedule a monthly verify to ensure sync is current.
  • One credential per person, even within a household — when there's a security incident, you want to know exactly who entered.
  • Don't share PINs — even between spouses. Issue both spouses their own PIN. The audit log only tells you who's PIN was used, not who used it.
  • Lose-card workflow > deactivation — if the resident reports a lost card, revoke immediately even if you suspect it's misplaced rather than stolen. Re-issue on recovery is easy.
  • Access events feed your security incident reviews — if there's a break-in or theft, the access logs from that day are your first point of investigation.