Abstract: Exemplary embodiments provide systems and methods for opening electronic locks employing an image, such as the image of a bar code, (e.g., a QR code), and using the hardware and software resources commonly found on a mobile device such as a cell phone or tablet computer. An application on the mobile device obtains information identifying a lock, such as a series of numbers displayed by the lock or encoded in a bar code on the lock, and inputs it along with information identifying a particular user to an algorithm that generates a key code for the lock. The application on the mobile device displays the key code (e.g., as a numeric code or embedded in a bar code image) and the lock receives the displayed key code and opens. In various embodiments, the key code may be entered into a control interface on the lock, or captured by a camera connected to the lock.