Locks and Security News: your weekly locks and security industry newsletter
19th August 2026 Issue no. 815
Your industry news - first
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UK auto locksmith develops automated vehicle-key pricing platform
Hi Locks and Security News,
I'm James Buckley, founder of AccuKey Auto Locksmith, and over the last three years I've seen first hand just how manual the process of quoting for replacement vehicle keys remains.
A customer typically calls or messages, provides their registration and photographs of their existing key, and the locksmith then has to identify the vehicle, key technology and programming requirements before manually producing a price.
I decided to see if that process could be automated.
The result is AccuKey IQ — what I believe to be the UK's first automated vehicle-key pricing and booking platform built specifically around the auto-locksmith industry. AccuKey supports approximately 98% of vehicles currently on UK roads through advanced diagnostics, secure programming and dealer-level tooling.
A customer enters their vehicle registration and IQ identifies the vehicle, works through the relevant key and job requirements, applies the appropriate pricing logic and moves them towards booking.
I don't come from a software-development background. I'm a working auto locksmith who understood the problem, then taught myself to use AI-assisted development and “vibe coding” tools to start building the solution.
AccuKey itself is only three years old. In that time we've accumulated more than 250 five-star reviews, secured registered UK trade mark status and are currently finalists for two business awards.
For me, the interesting question is what technology like this could mean for the locksmith industry. AI is increasingly giving independent specialists the ability to build software around their own knowledge and automate processes that have traditionally relied heavily on phone calls, messages and manual administration.
Kind regards,
James Buckley
Founder
AccuKey Auto Locksmith
AccuKey IQ
www.accukey.co.uk
19th August 2026