Employee Exit Checklist

Pull the resignation letter, termination memo, or RIF list. Separation type drives the access-revocation timing — voluntary resignations follow the standard offboarding cadence; involuntary terminations require coordinated same-day access lockout. Work location determines whether equipment is collected in person or by prepaid return label.

For involuntary terminations, IT and the manager align on the exact minute access is cut. Revocations happen during the termination meeting, not after — there's real risk of data exfiltration in the gap. Loop in the head of security if the role had admin access to Shopify, Seller Central, or financial systems.

Draft notifications for the immediate team, cross-functional stakeholders, and recurring external contacts — 3PL account manager, ad agency rep, key suppliers, customs broker. Avoid blanket email until the employee has been informed; use Slack DMs or a calendar hold for the in-person announcement.

Remove the user from Settings → Users and Permissions in every Shopify store the employee had access to. If they were the store owner, transfer ownership before deletion. Confirm they're removed from any connected Shopify Plus organizations, partner stores, and Shopify-connected apps (Klaviyo, Recharge, Gorgias).

Delete the user from User Permissions in Seller Central. If they had developer-level access or SP-API tokens issued under their credentials, rotate those tokens — they remain valid until revoked. Repeat for Walmart Marketplace, eBay, Etsy, and any third-party tools (Helium 10, Jungle Scout, Pacvue) tied to their login.

Remove from Meta Business Manager, Google Ads (Tools → Access and security), and TikTok Ads Manager. If they were the only admin on a Business Manager, assign a new admin first or risk losing access entirely. Also revoke any agency-level access in Northbeam, Triple Whale, or attribution tools.

Identify shared vaults the employee belonged to (1Password, LastPass, Bitwarden) and rotate every credential — not just the ones they actively used. Includes carrier portals (UPS CampusShip, FedEx Ship Manager), supplier extranets, and any account that doesn't support SSO.

Suspend the Google Workspace user — don't delete, in order to preserve the mailbox per retention policy. Revoke OAuth grants and active sessions, then deactivate the SSO identity in Okta or JumpCloud. VPN access drops automatically once SSO is suspended; verify the session is terminated.

Walk through the campaign list in each ad platform with the incoming owner — Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Meta campaigns, Google PMax. Confirm budget caps, dayparting, and any automated rules tied to the departing employee's account. Document last-30-day TACOS and ROAS so the new owner has a baseline before changes start.

Review active flows — welcome series, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase, win-back — and reassign the flow owner. Pause any in-progress A/B tests rather than letting them run unattended. Confirm SMS flows in Postscript or Attentive are also reassigned.

Capture every supplier rep, 3PL account manager, freight forwarder, and customs broker — name, email, phone, account number, contract terms. The departing employee likely has informal context (the rep's preferred channel, what to do when EDI fails, who to escalate to during CNY shutdown) that lives nowhere in your systems.

30-45 minutes with HR or a neutral manager — never the direct manager. Cover what worked, what didn't, why they're leaving, and any harassment or compliance concerns. Document responses and aggregate quarterly to surface patterns. For involuntary departures, focus on knowledge-transfer gaps rather than retention themes.

Pull the SOPs the employee owned — FBA inbound process, returns workflow, Q4 prep checklist, photo studio brief — and either reassign ownership or fold the steps into a teammate's runbook. Stale SOPs are how processes silently break in the months after a departure.

MacBook or PC, charger, YubiKey or hardware token, monitor (if company-issued), keyboard, mouse, headset. Wipe the laptop through the MDM tool (Jamf, Kandji, Intune) before reissue. Don't accept verbal confirmation — physically inspect each item against the original equipment list.

Cut the physical card. Cancel virtual cards in Brex, Ramp, or Divvy. Pull pending transactions and reconcile against expense reports. Final reimbursement requests must be submitted before access is revoked — flag anything still outstanding to the manager.

Use the company UPS or FedEx account to generate a prepaid return label sized for the laptop and accessories. Include packing instructions and a deadline (typically 5 business days from last day). Insure the shipment for replacement value; lost laptops in transit are a recurring expense.

Photograph each item on receipt. Note any damage, missing components, or unauthorized modifications. File a damage claim if shipped (carrier insurance) or deduct from final pay only where state law allows — California, for example, prohibits unauthorized deductions even for damaged property.

Final-pay timing varies by state: California requires same-day payment for involuntary terminations and 72 hours for voluntary; New York is the next regular payday; Massachusetts is day-of for involuntary. Include accrued PTO where state law or policy requires payout. Run separately from regular payroll if the deadline doesn't align.

COBRA election notice must be sent within 14 days of the qualifying event (44 days if the employer also administers the plan). Coordinate with the benefits broker or COBRA administrator (WEX, TASC). Include 401(k) rollover or distribution paperwork and any HSA/FSA balance information.

Send a written reminder — signed acknowledgment if possible — of confidentiality, non-solicit, and IP-assignment obligations from the original employment agreement. Specifically call out customer lists, supplier contracts, and product roadmap as protected. Reference the original agreement by date and section number.

Mark terminated in BambooHR, Gusto, Rippling, or Justworks. Update the org chart, remove from team distribution lists, and archive the personnel file per retention policy (typically 3-7 years depending on state). Confirm payroll system reflects the termination date so no further accruals run.