When a staff member leaves your Google Workspace

When a staff member leaves, stop their access to your Google Workspace and keep your business data. You can sign them out, move their files and email to another staff member, and then archive or delete their account in the IT Solver dashboard.

Before you start

• You must be an owner or IT manager of your business in the dashboard.
• Your Google Workspace subscription must be billed through IT Solver. If it is not, the dashboard does not show the Users list.
• Choose the staff member who takes over the work. They must have an active account in your Google Workspace.
• Decide if you need to keep the person's email and files. Read Archive or delete before you delete anything.

Find the staff member

1. Sign in at dashboard.itsolver.net.
2. In the sidebar, select Google Workspace.
3. Go to the Users section. The list can take a few seconds to load.
4. Select the staff member's name. A window opens with their details.

Stop their access

Do this on the person's last day, or immediately if they left on bad terms. The leaver tools do not change the password. To change it, read Reset a password, rename a user or add an alias in Google Workspace. Change the password first, then sign the person out.

1. In the staff member's window, select Leaver tools.
2. Next to Sign out everywhere, select Sign out. Select OK to confirm. Google signs the person out of every browser and device.
3. Wait for the Done message, then select OK. The page reloads.
4. Select the staff member's name again, then select Leaver tools.
5. Look at 2-Step Verification. If it shows On, select Reset, then select OK. This turns off 2-Step Verification for the account. Their phone no longer works as a second sign-in step. Select OK on the Done message.
6. Select the staff member's name again, then select Leaver tools.
7. Look at App access. It lists the apps that can use the account. If it shows apps, select Revoke all, then select OK. This removes access for every app and app password. Select OK on the Done message.

If the window shows Needs attention, read the message and try again later. You can do up to 20 leaver actions and 10 deletes in one hour.

Move their Drive files and calendars

Do this if you want to keep the person's account for a short time. If you delete the account, you can move the files in the delete step instead.

1. In the staff member's window, select Leaver tools.
2. Under Transfer Drive and Calendar, select the staff member who gets the files and calendars.
3. Select Transfer, then select OK.

Google moves all their Drive files, including files that are not shared, and their calendars. Rooms booked in their events are released. A large transfer can take some time. To see its progress, open Leaver tools again. The status shows Queued, In progress, Completed or Failed. You cannot start a new transfer until the current one is finished.

Archive or delete

• Archive keeps the person's email and files in your Google Workspace. The person cannot sign in or get new email. The account changes to an Archived User licence, which you pay for each month or year.
• Delete removes the account and stops its licence. You can forward their email to another staff member and move their files first. Google deletes data that you do not transfer 20 days after the delete. You cannot undo a delete in the dashboard. If you delete the wrong account, contact us straight away.

Archive the account if you must keep the person's email and files. Delete the account if another staff member takes over the email and files. If you need a copy of the email kept another way, contact us.

You cannot delete an archived account. To delete it, restore it first (read Archive the account), then delete it. A restore can charge the card or payment method saved on your account.

Delete the account

1. In the Users list, find the staff member. Select the actions button (...) at the end of their row.
2. Select Delete user. The Delete user window opens.
3. If the window shows Admin roles, the dashboard removes these roles before the delete. If the person is your primary admin, select a staff member in New Super Admin. Then type a Secondary email. This address must not use your Google Workspace domain. Google uses it for account recovery and service messages.
4. In Forward email to, select the staff member who gets new email. The old address and its aliases move to that staff member. To stop the email, select Don't forward.
5. In Files and calendars, keep Transfer selected. Select the staff member who gets the files. If you selected a person in Forward email to, the dashboard selects that person for you.
6. Check what to move. Drive, Calendar and Looker Studio are selected by default. Clear the items you do not want to move.
7. To move all files, select Include files that are not shared. Files that are not shared are files that only the leaver can open.
8. To free meeting rooms, select Release rooms booked in their events.
9. To move private Looker Studio reports and data, select Include assets that are not shared.
10. Read Licence. It shows how your seat count changes, from which date, and the saving including GST.
11. Select Delete user. Select OK to confirm.
12. Read the message, then select OK.

What happens next:

• If you transfer files, the dashboard deletes the user when Google finishes the transfer. The row shows Deleting until then.
• Sometimes forwarding starts only when Google releases the old address. This is usually within 24 hours.
• If Google is still moving the addresses, the dashboard tries again every 15 minutes.
• If the message says The billed seat change needs attention., contact us. We fix the seat count on your subscription.

Archive the account

1. In the Users list, select the staff member's name.
2. Select Delete user. The Archive user window opens. To delete the account instead, select Delete user instead in this window, or do the steps in Delete the account.
3. If the window shows Flexible Monthly and Annual Yearly, select how you pay for the Archived User licence.
4. Read the amount next to Payment due now. The amount includes GST.
5. If the person has admin roles, the dashboard removes them. If the person is your primary admin, select a staff member in New Super Admin. Then type a Secondary email that does not use your Google Workspace domain.
6. Select I understand the access, data, storage, add-on, billing, plan, and renewal effects.
7. Select Archive user.

In the Delete user window, the Archive instead row shows the archive price. Select Archive next to it to open the same Archive user window.

If a payment is due, the dashboard charges the card or payment method saved on your account. If there is no saved payment method, or the payment fails, the account does not change. To add a card, read Pay an invoice and manage your card on file. Add-on licences do not change. The price in the window is valid for 10 minutes. If it expires, close the window and start again.

To archive many users, select the box next to each name. Select More options, then Archive selected users. You can archive up to 20 users at a time. To delete users, delete them one at a time. You cannot archive your last active licensed user.

To bring back an archived user, select the actions button (...) on their row, then select Restore user. Read the amount next to Payment due now. A restore can charge the card or payment method saved on your account. Select the confirmation box and select Restore user. After the restore, you can delete the account. Do the steps in Delete the account.

Change the primary admin

Google Workspace has one primary admin. If you archive or delete the primary admin alone, select a New Super Admin and type a Secondary email in the same window. The dashboard moves the role as part of the archive or delete.

If you archive several users at once and one of them is the primary admin, the Assign primary admin window opens. Assign the role there first:

1. In Select email of the new primary admin*, select the staff member who becomes the primary admin.
2. In Secondary email *, type an address on a different domain, for example the owner's personal address. Google sends account recovery, service and payment messages to it.
3. Select Assign.
4. Select the users again, then select More options and Archive selected users.

Remove the licence only

Use this if you want to keep the account but stop it using a paid licence. Select the actions button (...) on the staff member's row, then select Remove licence. Select OK to confirm. The account stays active. This does not lower the number of seats you pay for. The free seat is then ready for a new staff member. To pay for fewer seats, read Get Google Workspace and manage its licences and billing.

When the dashboard does not let you delete

The Delete user window shows a message and a Close button in these cases:

• The last active licensed user cannot be deleted. Your Google Workspace must keep one licensed user. To close the whole Workspace, contact us.
• A file transfer for this user is still running. Wait for it to finish. Check the status in Leaver tools, then try again.
• A delete for this user is already in progress. Wait for the delete to finish.
• This user has an archive operation that needs review. Contact us.

Remove their dashboard access

If the person could also sign in to the IT Solver dashboard, remove that access too. Deleting the Google account does not remove it. Read Change a role, remove access or resend an invitation.

Examples

A staff member resigns and hands over to a colleague

Your bookkeeper leaves on Friday. A colleague takes over their email and files.

To fix it: on Friday afternoon, do the steps in Stop their access. Then do the steps in Delete the account. Forward email to the colleague and transfer the files to the colleague.

You must keep a former employee's email for your records

A manager leaves. Your accountant tells you to keep their email for several years.

To fix it: do the steps in Stop their access. Then do the steps in Archive the account. The email and files stay in your Google Workspace, and nobody can sign in to the account.

A staff member leaves on bad terms

You think the person can still read company email on their phone.

To fix it: reset their password immediately. Then, in Leaver tools, select Sign out, Reset for 2-Step Verification and Revoke all for app access. Move their files and delete or archive the account after that.

The person who leaves is your primary admin

You select three leavers, including your primary admin, and choose Archive selected users. The dashboard shows Assign primary admin.

To fix it: do the steps in Change the primary admin, then archive the selected users again. To archive only the primary admin, open their account and pick a New Super Admin in the Archive user window.

Still have a problem?

If you are not sure if you must archive or delete, ask us before you delete. Include the staff member's name and email address. Do not include a password in the email.

Questions? Email support@itsolver.net or phone 07 3123 6000.