IT offboarding checklist: removing a former employee’s access

This is the technical half of offboarding: making sure a person who has left can’t get back into anything. You don’t need an IT department to do it well, just a complete list and someone responsible for each item.

Track it in Handover

Accounts

  • Turn off their main work account and sign them out of all sessions.
  • Remove or turn off each app account: chat, CRM, accounting, scheduling, point of sale, project tools.
  • Check sign-in-with-Google or sign-in-with-Microsoft apps; turning off the main account usually blocks these, but accounts with their own password don’t.
  • Remove them as an admin or owner anywhere they had admin rights. Make sure someone else is already an admin first.
  • Revoke any personal API keys or connected integrations they set up.

Shared access

  • Change shared passwords: Wi-Fi, social media, vendor portals, bank logins several people use.
  • Change door, alarm and safe codes.
  • Remove them from shared password manager vaults.
  • Remove their phone number from two-step verification on shared accounts.

Devices

  • Collect laptops, phones and tablets, and match serial numbers to your record.
  • If they used a personal phone for work email, remove the work account or wipe the work profile.
  • Back up anything needed, then reset the device before giving it to someone else.

Record

  • Write down what was removed, by whom and when.
  • Keep the record with their file. You may need it for an insurance claim, an audit or a dispute.

Questions

Is changing their password enough?

No. Open sessions on phones and browsers may keep working, and apps with separate logins aren’t affected. Turn off the account and sign out all sessions.

What about accounts they created themselves?

Ask them, and ask their manager. Then search your card statements for subscriptions. These are the accounts most often missed.

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