Key Management for Car Dealerships
Track Every Key.
Protect Every Sale.
From test drives to service handovers, keys move constantly across your dealership. Keyhive gives you real-time visibility of who has which keys, eliminates costly delays, and creates a complete audit trail across sales, service, and every site in your group.
Trusted by organisations worldwide
500,000+
Keys managed1,000+
Happy users2,000,000+
Checkouts trackedSound Familiar?
Keys - The Silent Sales Killer
A customer arrives for a test drive. The keys aren't on the board. Nobody knows who has them. Twenty minutes later, the customer has left — and they're not coming back.
Test Drive Delays Cost You Sales
A customer has 20 minutes in their lunch break to test drive a specific car. If the key can't be found, they leave. Every delayed test drive is a potential lost sale — and a hit to your CSI scores.
Lost Keys Cost £370+ Each
Modern car keys are expensive to replace — £370 on average, rising to £500+ for premium brands. A dealership losing just 2-3 keys a month burns through £8,000-13,000 a year before you count the staff time wasted searching.
Key Swap Fraud Is a Growing Threat
Criminals visit for a test drive, swap the genuine key with a counterfeit, and return later to steal the vehicle. Without a documented record of who handled which keys and when, these incidents are almost impossible to investigate.
Keys Vanish Between Departments
Sales need the key for a viewing. Service had it for PDI. Valeting took it for a clean. Photography needed it for the website. Nobody told anyone else — and now there's a customer waiting.
Simple by design
Key Management Your Showroom Will Actually Use
If your sales team won't use it, it doesn't work. Keyhive works alongside your existing key storage and it's faster than walking to the peg board — so staff actually adopt it.
Scan
Staff scan the NFC key fob on the showroom kiosk or using their smartphone — even out on the forecourt.
Sign
A quick digital signature captures who's taking the key, which vehicle, and whether it's a test drive, service job, or customer handover.
Go
Keys are tracked automatically from that moment. Full audit trail, automatic reminders if overdue, zero paperwork.
Average checkout: 7 seconds. Average return: 3 seconds.
Built for Dealerships
Every Feature Your Dealership Needs
Keyhive was built for businesses that handle high volumes of keys every day. From the showroom floor to the service bay, here's how it transforms key management for car dealerships.
Real-Time Visibility Across Sales & Service
See exactly who has which vehicle keys — whether they're with a salesperson on a test drive, a technician in the workshop, or waiting for customer collection. Search by registration, stock number, or person — instantly.
Automatic Overdue Reminders
Test drive running long? Service keys not returned at end of day? Keyhive automatically sends text or email reminders when keys are overdue — no more announcements over the tannoy.
Complete Test Drive Tracking
Log every test drive with who took the key, when they left, and when they returned. If a customer queries mileage or condition, you have a timestamped, signed record of every key movement.
Signed, Photographed, Accounted For
Every checkout is secured with a digital signature and optional photograph of the key set. Know exactly who had which keys and when — creating a complete chain of custody that satisfies insurance requirements, protects your team, and deters misuse.
Works With Any Key Storage
Peg board in the sales office? Locked cabinet in service? Key safe at reception? Keyhive works with all of them. Attach an NFC fob to each key and your existing storage becomes digitally tracked — no ripping anything out and no capital expenditure.
From Service Bay to Collection
Track keys through every stage of the service journey — reception check-in, workshop allocation, road test, and customer handover. Know instantly where every service vehicle's keys are, without a single tannoy announcement.
Dealer Group Management
Managing keys across multiple showrooms? Keyhive gives you visibility across every site from a single dashboard. Roll out site by site, with central oversight from day one. Different staff can have different access levels — sales, service, management.
Mobile Access on the Forecourt
Check keys in and out from your phone — whether you're on the forecourt with a customer, at an auction, or between showrooms. Your team has access wherever they're working.
The Real Cost of Key Chaos
What Lost Keys Actually Cost Your Dealership
Key management problems don't just cause frustration — they directly hit your bottom line. Here's what dealerships save when they switch to Keyhive.
Eliminate Key Replacement Costs
At £370+ per key (and £500+ for premium brands), even a few lost keys per month adds up to thousands. Keyhive's accountability means keys stay accounted for — and come back.
Recover Lost Staff Time
No more 20-minute key hunts, no more chasing across departments, no more end-of-day key counts. Your sales team sells. Your service team services.
Satisfy Insurers and Resolve Disputes
Your insurance broker wants documented key security protocols — Keyhive gives you exactly that. Every movement is timestamped with digital signatures, photographs, and a tamper-proof audit trail. When disputes arise, you have the evidence. When auditors visit, you have the proof.
Improve Customer Satisfaction Scores
When keys are always findable, test drives start on time and service collections happen without delays. Better customer experience means better CSI scores — and happier manufacturer partners.
Getting Started Is Easy
Up and Running in Days, Not Months
Getting started with Keyhive doesn't mean hours of manual data entry. We can import your vehicle and contact data to get you live fast, and our growing list of integrations means we may already connect with your platform.
Bulk Data Import
Send us your stock list and contact data — we'll handle the import so you're tracking keys from day one, without manual entry.
Growing Integration List
We integrate with a range of management platforms and are adding more all the time. Ask us whether your system is already supported.
Quick Setup
Most dealerships are live within a week. We handle the technical work — you focus on selling cars.
Trusted by Professionals
What Our Customers Say
"Great system for handling lots of keys, would highly recommend!"
Ben Nicholls
"The Keyhive system is very simple and efficient and helps us easily keep track of our keys."
Nareen
"A great key management system, easy to use and value for money. Would highly recommend."
BA Commercial
2M+
Key movements tracked
7 sec
Average checkout time
5 stars
App Store & Google Play
Questions?
Frequently Asked Questions
This is our number one design priority. Keyhive checkouts take 7 seconds — faster than signing a paper log or even walking to the peg board. Staff use it because it's genuinely quicker and easier than the alternative. We typically see over 95% adoption within the first month.
Keyhive creates a documented chain of custody for every key movement — digital signatures, optional photographs of key sets at checkout, and a complete audit trail. You'll know exactly who handled which key and when, with evidence to support any investigation. The accountability alone acts as a strong deterrent.
Yes — cross-department visibility is a core feature. Whether a key is with a salesperson on a test drive, a technician in the workshop, or the valeting team, everyone sees the same real-time view. No more chasing between departments to find a key.
Absolutely. Keyhive is built for multi-site operations. Manage all your showrooms from a single dashboard with full visibility. You can roll out site by site, and you'll have central oversight as soon as the first location goes live. Different staff can have different access levels across sites.
Keyhive supports both short-term checkouts (test drives, service visits) with automatic overdue reminders, and long-term checkouts (stock vehicles, demo cars) without return deadlines. You always know where the key is, regardless of how long the vehicle has been in stock.
Keyhive integrates with a range of management platforms and we're adding new ones regularly. During your demo, our team can discuss whether your specific system is already supported and how we'd get your data into Keyhive.
Most dealerships are live within a week. We supply the NFC key fobs and optional kiosk hardware, help you get your vehicle data into the system, and train your team — either in person or via video call. No complex IT projects required.
Every checkout records: who took the key, when, which vehicle, whether it was a test drive or service job, expected return time, and a digital signature. You can also require a photo at checkout and return. All records are timestamped and tamper-proof — giving you the documented key security protocols that insurers and auditors expect, as well as evidence for customer disputes and internal accountability.
Yes. Keyhive tracks any key you assign to it — stock vehicles, demos, courtesy cars, trade plates, even office and parts department keys. Everything is managed from the same dashboard.
No. Keyhive works alongside whatever key storage you already use — peg boards, locked cabinets, key safes, electronic systems, or even a drawer. We add a digital tracking layer on top of your existing setup by attaching NFC fobs to each key. There's no infrastructure to install and no hardware to maintain, so you can be up and running without changing a thing about your physical storage.
Still have questions? Get in touch
Ready to Take Control?
End Key Chaos on Your Forecourt
Book a 15-minute demo and see how Keyhive can eliminate test drive delays, prevent key losses, and give your team real-time visibility across every department and showroom.
No commitment required. No hard sell. Just a quick look at how Keyhive works for dealerships.