Succession and IT: what to sort out when selling a business

Why IT can complicate a sale

When a business changes hands, buyers expect to receive a working operation: customer records, email history, the website, the phone numbers, the software that runs the day-to-day. In many small businesses those things are tangled up with the owner personally. The domain is registered in the owner's name, the Microsoft account was set up with their personal email, the accounting system is on their credit card and the admin passwords live on their phone. Untangling that at the last minute delays settlement, frustrates the buyer and occasionally reduces the price. Starting a few months ahead makes the business easier to value and simpler to hand over, and it's useful work even if a sale falls through.

Get ownership into the business's name

List every IT asset and account the business relies on, and check whose name it is in. Domain names should be registered to the company, not an individual. Software subscriptions should be billed to the business, with renewals going to a business email address. Admin accounts should be named business accounts, not personal ones. Hardware should be on the asset register and owned or leased by the company.

Pay particular attention to anything set up with a personal email address, such as social media pages, review sites, Google Business Profile, supplier portals and web hosting. These can be awkward to transfer later. Where a service supports it, add a business admin now and move ownership across while you're still in a position to do so easily.

Document the systems

Buyers and their advisers will want to understand the IT they're inheriting. Prepare a clear summary: what systems the business uses, what they cost, contract terms and renewal dates, who supports them, the age and condition of hardware, and any known issues or planned upgrades. Include your IT security basics, such as MFA, backups and any recent incidents.

This document helps the buyer's due diligence and can reduce the questions you face late in the process. It also flags early any risks a buyer might use to negotiate, such as an old server overdue for replacement or a software contract with a long term remaining, so you can address them or price them in.

Separate personal from business

Owners often mix personal and business data: family photos in the company OneDrive, personal email in the business mailbox, personal passwords in the business password manager. Before handover, move your personal data out. Equally, make sure business records aren't sitting only in your personal accounts, such as files on a home computer or customer contacts on a personal phone.

Think about your own email address. If you've used [email protected] for years, it will receive messages after you leave. Agree with the buyer whether it will be forwarded to you for a period, redirected to the new owner, or converted to a shared mailbox. Privacy obligations under the Privacy Act 2020 continue to apply to customer information through the transfer, so handle customer data deliberately rather than by default.

Plan the handover itself

The sale agreement should say what IT assets transfer, when control passes and what help the seller provides afterwards. A typical handover at settlement includes adding the buyer's nominated admins to every system, transferring domain registrant details, changing billing to the buyer's accounts, handing over the password manager vault and documentation, and then removing the seller's admin access. Plan for a short overlap period where the seller is available to answer questions, but with clear limits. Leaving the seller with admin access indefinitely after sale is a risk for both sides. A neutral IT provider can manage the transfer, which avoids disputes about who changed what.

If you're buying

Buyers should ask for the IT summary early and check it during due diligence. Confirm the domain names are in the business's name, that key software licences can transfer to a new owner, and that no critical systems depend on the seller personally. Ask about any security incidents in recent years and whether backups are tested.

After settlement, change all admin passwords, review every user and admin list, and remove any access the seller or former staff still hold. An early IT health check, from Office IT or any independent provider, gives a buyer a clear starting point and a list of priorities for the first few months.