If you can’t act: keeping your business accounts reachable
Most small businesses run on accounts in one person’s name: the domain, email, the website host, payments. If that person dies or falls ill, nobody else can sign in, and the renewals keep running on a card until they fail. A few steps now mean the right people can act without your password.
What happens if nobody can sign in
Each provider answers only to the person on the account. A partner, an accountant or an executor can usually get access in the end, but only by proving their authority to each provider in turn, and that takes time. Meanwhile, if a renewal fails, the domain lapses and the website and email stop together.
Write down who holds what
Start with a list of every account the business depends on, where it is held, whose name it is in, which email address signs in, who pays and when it renews. Never write the passwords on it. The list on its own tells the people you trust where to go and who to ask.
Add a second admin where a service allows it
Many business services let an account have more than one administrator, including email and office suites, registrars and payment providers. A second admin who is a partner or a trusted colleague can keep things running without anyone sharing a password.
Use the tools the services already offer
Some providers have their own arrangements for this. Google’s Inactive Account Manager, for example, lets you say how long Google should wait before acting on an inactive account, and choose up to 10 people to tell or to share data with. Check each provider you depend on.
Speak to a solicitor about the legal side
A will and a lasting power of attorney are legal documents that give people authority to act for you. Who Has The Keys is neither, and this guide isn’t legal advice. A solicitor can tell you what covers the business as well as your personal affairs.
How break-glass helps
Break-glass in Who Has The Keys sends people you name, such as a partner, your accountant or your solicitor, the map of your accounts and your instructions if you stop checking in. You choose how long the silence lasts, and you can cancel during the delay that follows. It never sends a password. How it works.