Guide
The Old IT Person or Web Designer Has All the Passwords: How to Take Back Control
Your former IT person, web designer or employee set everything up, and only they know the logins. Here is how to inventory your accounts, recover access and make sure it never happens again.
Short answer: List every system your business depends on, recover what you can through email resets, request transfers for the rest, and move everything into business-owned accounts and a shared password manager. Do it before you urgently need something.
Systems to check
- Domain registrar and DNS
- Website hosting or builder
- Business email (Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace)
- Google Business Profile, social media and ad accounts
- Payment processor, POS and accounting
- Wi-Fi, firewall and router admin
- Backups and software subscriptions
How to take back control
- Ask politely first. Most former vendors will hand over logins or add you as an owner.
- Use password resets on accounts tied to a business email you control.
- For accounts on someone else’s email, use the platform’s ownership process with business documents.
- Change the passwords for anything that person could still reach.
- Remove old users, and check email forwarding rules and admin roles.
Make it permanent
- Every account owned by the business, using a role email like admin@yourdomain.
- A shared password manager with at least two owners.
- Two-step verification with backup methods.
- A one-page list of every system and who manages it.
Our tech audit does all of this and leaves you with a clean inventory. We can also manage Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace going forward.
Frequently asked questions
Can a former vendor keep our logins?
Contracts vary, but accounts paid for by and registered to your business are generally yours. Most situations resolve with a polite request and proof of ownership.
What should we secure first?
Email and the domain. Whoever controls those can usually reset everything else.