Empowering Small Business Owners: Master Your IT Logins and Avoid Downtime!

Managing IT Logins: A Crucial Responsibility for Small Business Owners

As a small business owner, regardless of whether you outsource your technology needs or have internal IT support, the responsibility for keeping your business operational ultimately falls on your shoulders. Even if you don’t plan to use them directly, understanding your logins is essential.

Consider the following scenario:

Conversations with a Small Business Owner:

• Business Owner (BO): “Hello! We need urgent IT support. Our website, software, or server is down. Unfortunately, our previous IT professional left a few months ago, and I’m unsure how to resolve this.”
• IT Support (US): “Certainly. Let’s start by identifying where your (website, software, server) is hosted.”
• BO: “I’m not sure, and the person who knew isn’t available today.”
• US: “Understood. Did you have an IT provider install it?”
• BO: “Yes, but I can’t recall their name.”
• US: “Alright. Do you have the login credentials?”
• BO: “No.”
• US: “Let’s reset the password. What email address was used to sign in?”
• BO: “Hmm… Maybe Andy? No? How about Marie? Still no? Let me get back to you.”

Two Weeks and 50 Emails Later:

• BO: “Apologies for the delay. It turns out the account was set up with John’s old Yahoo account. John hasn’t been here for 2 years. Thank you for helping us resolve this.”

A Valuable Reminder:

• US: “Consider centralizing your account settings. We can assist with that.”
• BO: “Yes, let’s address that when we’re less busy.”

Two Years Later:

• BO: Calls back with a similar issue related to a different software program.

Remember, proactive management of logins and account details is crucial for smooth operations.

Effective IT Policies for Small Businesses

As a busy small business owner, managing software programs and credentials can be challenging. However, implementing a few key policies can significantly reduce frustration and downtime:

1. Email Aliases for Software Sign-Ups:
   • Create an “employee-agnostic” email alias (e.g., admin@yourcompany.com) for software registrations.
   • Easily manage who receives alerts and reset passwords when needed.
2. Set Reminders and Alerts:
   • Use an organizing system (Outlook, project management software, or a paper notebook) to track expiration dates and critical events.
   • Consistency matters—apply the same approach you use for bill payments and appointments.
3. Choose Auto-Renewal:
   • Opt for auto-renewal to avoid losing essential software.
   • Regularly review credit card charges to stay informed.
4. Centralized Documentation:
   • Maintain a digital “red binder” (or equivalent) as a central repository for IT asset information.
   • Track software versions, logins, vendors, key personnel, and data security details.

By following these policies, you’ll enhance efficiency and minimize IT headaches.

If you want to explore your options, please reach out to our team by via email at support@skratsch.com or by calling 1.313.284.5656

Tags: security