You can chart a master key system in Excel. You just can't validate it, audit it, or get it into a code machine without re-keying every cut by hand. Here's the honest difference, no editorial.
Up to fifty thousand candidate cuts per cylinder, run against the full access matrix. Every cross-master opener — the kind a phantom key represents — is caught before pinning. A spreadsheet can't enumerate this; it's the only feature whose absence shows up as a 6am callback.
MACS, depth limits, thin-pin spread — validated before the system grades. A spreadsheet lets you ship a system the cutter rejects; debug at the workshop costs more than the software.
Issue, return, replacement — a single key register your building manager can reference five years later. Restricted-keyway compliance failure is a licence risk; 'Tom — which is master B again?' is the spreadsheet's universal pain.
Silca Futura Pro, HPC CodeMax, Framon, MasterKing — load directly. The spreadsheet path is 're-key every cut into the cutter': single biggest time sink in the workflow, and it doesn't appear in any quote.
Survey → build → grade → export → handover PDF. The first job clears the subscription; the second is profit. See the math in section 03.
| What you need | In a spreadsheet | In Keyzee |
|---|---|---|
| Phantom-key check Cross-master openers caught before pinning | Manual. Slow. Often skipped. | ~50,000 combos validated. Inline severity classification. |
| MACS validation Adjacent-cut spec respected on every key | Eye-checked. Catches at the bench. | Enforced at build. Cuts that would jam never ship. |
| Machine-readable export Direct load into the code machine | Re-key every cut into the cutter. | .ick / .gcd / .skd / .csv / .pdf in one click. |
| Audit trail Who issued, who returned, what got rekeyed | Margin notes in red. Version-name dread. | Timestamped per change. Restorable. Per-tech log. |
| Handover record The compliance doc the building manager files | Separate Word doc. Re-typed every job. | PDF auto-generated. System ID + signatures + key register. |
| Time to graded system Survey → build → grade → export | ~4 hrs. | ~30 min. |
Including the phantom hand-check, if you do one. Most don't.
Surveyed → built → graded → exported. With handover PDF.
Saved 3.5 hours at A$130/hr workshop rate. Subscription clears inside the first job.
Sample project ships pre-loaded with a 3-master Lockwood 570 system. Run it, swap profiles, time the work. The break-even is two MK jobs at restricted-keyway prices.
