The most important thing: do this before they go, while everyone is talking to each other. It’s far easier to get a login handed over on a Tuesday afternoon than to get it back through a support desk six months later.
If you still have time
Week one: the keys
- List every service the system uses. Sit down together and write them all down, with who owns each one and who pays. Our ownership guide has the list of what to look for.
- Move them into a company account. Start with the email address and the web address, because everything else tends to hang off them.
- Turn on two-step sign-in, with the codes going to someone who’s staying.
- Move the billing onto a company card, so that nothing lapses when theirs is cancelled.
Week two: what’s in their head
- Get them to explain it, on a recording. Share the screen and talk through how it all fits together, what breaks, and how they fix it. An hour of video is worth a great deal.
- Ask about the odd things. What runs on a schedule? Is anything on their own laptop? Is there anything they do by hand each week that nobody else knows about?
- Get the rights in writing. If there isn’t a clear agreement that the work belongs to the business, ask a solicitor for a short assignment and have it signed.
- Get someone else to do a change while they watch. That’s the only way to find out whether the handover has worked.
On the day they go
- Follow the leavers’ checklist: remove their access, change shared passwords and replace any secret keys they could have seen. This isn’t a matter of trust. It’s what you’d do for anyone, and it protects them too.
If they’ve already gone
The short version is below. My developer left and has all the passwords goes through the way back in for each account, and the message to send.
- Keep it running. Don’t change anything you don’t understand. A system that works today is worth protecting while you get your bearings.
- Find out what you can get into. Try the company email, the card statements and the domain registrar. They’ll tell you which services exist.
- Check for bills. A subscription on an old card could lapse at any moment. Find out when, and whether you can take it over.
- Ask politely. Most people will help if they’re asked nicely. Be specific about what you need.
- Use the provider’s recovery process. You’ll normally need to show that the account belongs to the business. Expect it to be slow, and to depend heavily on their terms.
- If there’s a dispute, take legal advice before doing anything that could be seen as breaking into an account, however much the system feels like yours.
Then look at what you’ve inherited
Once you have the keys, you need to know what you’re holding. An audit gives you a map, a list of who can get in, and what needs fixing first. It’s a good basis for deciding whether to keep it, hire someone, or hand it over.
Questions
Do we need to rebuild it now they’ve gone?
Usually not straight away. A working system is valuable, and rebuilding in a panic is how you lose what’s good about it. Get it safe and understood first, then decide.
Can a new developer just pick it up?
Often yes, though AI-built code can be harder to pick up than you’d expect, because nobody planned it as a whole. A map and a runbook make the difference.
By Selwyn Doling, VibeTend. Last updated 6 November 2026.
