Guide
Switching MSPs is mostly about who holds the keys. Here is the checklist we use when we take over from another provider, in the order it should happen.
Step 1
Find the notice period, auto-renewal date, termination fees, and what the provider must hand over when you leave.
You should hold the top admin login for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, your domain registrar, and your DNS. If only the provider has them, get them first.
Know where your domain is registered and where DNS is hosted, and make sure both accounts are in your company’s name.
Where are they, who owns the storage, how long are they kept, and can you export them?
Network diagram, device and software inventory, license list, vendor contacts, and firewall and Wi-Fi credentials.
Step 2
Do not let the old provider leave before the new one has access, documentation, and monitoring in place.
Check whether Microsoft licenses are billed by the provider, on annual or monthly terms, before you move them.
New monitoring and security agents go on first, then the old ones come off. Two security agents fighting each other, or a gap with none, both cause problems.
Internet provider, phone carrier, printers, and line-of-business software: get the account details and who to call.
Shared passwords move to a vault you control, and the old provider’s copies are retired.
Step 3
Who to contact from now on, how to reach the new help desk, and what, if anything, will look different.
Admin accounts, firewall, Wi-Fi, and any shared credentials the old provider knew.
Delegated admin rights on your Microsoft tenant, remote access tools, and VPN accounts.
Check the first backups on the new system actually complete.
Step 4
Confirm the old provider has returned or deleted your data and handed over everything on the list.
Open tickets, monitoring alerts, and anything that surfaced during the move.
The point of all this is that you never have to scramble like this again.
How we handle it
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