How do you switch IT support providers without losing access?
Switch in this order: list every account, device and license; confirm the business, not the old provider, is the owner or admin of each; collect the provider's lists; overlap the two providers for a short handover; have the new provider check that backups can be restored; then remove the old provider's logins on the day the agreement ends. A good rule is to give notice only once you can sign in as owner yourself.
The order, step by step
| Step | What to do | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 1. List everything | Write one list of every account, device and license, then compare it with the old provider's list. | Nothing on their list is missing from yours |
| 2. Check who owns each | Find out who is the owner or admin of each item. The business should hold that role, with the provider added as a user. Ask in writing for anything held in the provider's name to be transferred. | You can sign in as owner or admin yourself |
| 3. Collect the lists | Ask the old provider for its current list of devices, accounts, software and renewal dates, and its notes on anything unusual. | You hold a dated copy |
| 4. Overlap briefly | Keep both providers active for a short handover while the new one learns the setup. Ask which old tools should come off each device, and when, since two doing the same job can clash. | The new provider has handled a few ordinary requests |
| 5. Test the backups | Have the new provider confirm that backups run and that a file and a full recovery can be restored, from copies you can reach. | A restore has worked, not only a backup run |
| 6. End the old access | On the day the agreement ends, remove the old provider's logins and change any shared password it knew. | Its logins are gone and you can still sign in to everything |
Before you give notice
The related answer on managed IT support covers what to check in the agreement and what to ask for in writing before you give notice.
Check the domain registration before you close the old plan, because a domain held by the provider can take the website and email with it; the related answer on who should own your domain name covers it. If a provider will not release an account that is in the business's name, ask in writing and consider asking an attorney. This is general advice.
On the day it ends
- Transfer ownership before removing an owner or the only admin, so no account is left without one.
- Remove the old provider's named logins, any admin roles it holds and any remote-access tool it set up on your computers, unless the new provider is taking that tool over.
- Check that licenses and subscriptions the provider paid for are now billed to the business, so nothing lapses at the end date.
- Confirm that updates and backups now report to the new provider.
- Update your account list with the date and who now holds each role.
Related switches
The related answer on switching marketing agencies is the marketing version of this order, and the related answer on removing an employee's access covers people rather than providers.
Related answers
- What is managed IT support, and what should it include?
- Who should own your business's domain name?
- How do you switch marketing agencies without losing your website or leads?
- How do you remove an employee's access to accounts when they leave?
Ongoing technical support
The site goes down, email stops arriving, a domain is about to lapse, nobody knows the password. Many owners do not have a technical person. We are that person, for everything we build and the things you already have.