An IT offboarding checklist is a list of key tasks and steps to complete when an employee leaves the company from the IT perspective. It ensures nothing critical is missed and that all company devices, data, and system access assigned to the employee are revoked. It helps maintain security and compliance throughout the offboarding process.
Why do SMBs need an IT offboarding checklist?
- Helps HR, IT, and managers understand roles, responsibilities, and timing during employee offboarding
- Simplifies coordination between HR, office administration, IT, and facilities
- Reduces confusion on the employee’s last day and standardizes the offboarding process
- Improves security, compliance, and overall operational consistency for small and midsize businesses
What should be on the IT offboarding checklist?
The following checklist is an example. Customize it for your company’s policies and tools.
Employee’s primary accounts
- Company email account
- Password manager / SSO (single sign-on), if used
- Cloud file storage (Google Drive / OneDrive / SharePoint)
- Shared mailboxes and group inboxes
Network and remote access
- VPN access
- Company Wi‑Fi credentials
- Remote desktop / VDI (virtual desktop), if used
Business apps and SaaS (as applicable)
- HR/people system, employee self‑service portal, intranet
- Time and attendance / time tracking
- Work and task management tools (e.g., Aptien)
- Project management / ticketing system (help desk)
- Communication tools (e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams)
- CRM and other sales tools
- Accounting and invoicing
Internal systems and shared resources
- Internal apps and portals
- Shared folders and network drives
- Databases / reporting tools, if used
High‑risk access that requires extra attention
- Administrator roles (Google Workspace / Microsoft 365 admin, IT admin, finance admin)
- API tokens, access keys, and service accounts
- Shared passwords and “team” logins
- Passwords saved in web browsers and device keychains (if company‑owned)