--- title: "Starters and Leavers: Closing the Door Properly | StartCloud" description: "Module 9 of our free Microsoft 365 Security Essentials pathway: how to onboard and offboard staff properly. The leaver checklist in the right order, why deleting the account first loses data, and handling shared logins, contractors and personal phones." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": [ "LocalBusiness", "ProfessionalService" ], "@id": "https://startcloud.au/#business", "name": "StartCloud", "legalName": "Start Technologies Pty Ltd", "alternateName": "StartCloud Australia", "identifier": { "@type": "PropertyValue", "propertyID": "ABN", "value": "17 676 121 449" }, "slogan": "Go Beyond", "description": "StartCloud is Perth's cybersecurity-first AI MSP: managed IT, Essential Eight security, Microsoft 365 and cloud, networking, and practical AI for Australian businesses with 5 to 50 staff.", "url": "https://startcloud.au", "logo": "https://startcloud.au/og-image.png", "image": "https://startcloud.au/og-image.png", "telephone": "+61862850001", "email": "web@startcloud.com.au", "priceRange": "$$", "currenciesAccepted": "AUD", "paymentAccepted": "Invoice", "foundingDate": "2023", "contactPoint": { "@type": "ContactPoint", "telephone": "+61862850001", "contactType": "customer service", "areaServed": "AU", "availableLanguage": "English" }, "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "Ground Floor West, 6 Gibberd Road", "addressLocality": "Balcatta", "addressRegion": "WA", "postalCode": "6021", "addressCountry": "AU" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": -31.8648813, "longitude": 115.8095638 }, "openingHoursSpecification": [ { "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": [ "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday" ], "opens": "07:00", "closes": "16:30", "description": "General support hours" }, { "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": [ "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday", "Sunday" ], "opens": "00:00", "closes": "23:59", "description": "Security Operations Centre (SOC) with 24/7/365 threat monitoring" } ], "areaServed": [ { "@type": "City", "name": "Perth" }, { "@type": "State", "name": "Western Australia" }, { "@type": "Country", "name": "Australia" } ], "serviceArea": { "@type": "GeoCircle", "geoMidpoint": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": -31.8648813, "longitude": 115.8095638 }, "geoRadius": "50000" }, "knowsAbout": [ "Cybersecurity", "Managed Security Services", "Essential Eight", "Microsoft 365", "Microsoft Azure", "IT Support", "Network Security", "Disaster Recovery", "Compliance Management", "Microsoft Copilot", "AI Readiness", "AI Governance", "AI Agent Development" ], "hasOfferCatalog": { "@type": "OfferCatalog", "name": "IT and Cybersecurity Services", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Cybersecurity Services", "url": "https://startcloud.au/cybersecurity" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Managed IT Services and Support", "url": "https://startcloud.au/technology" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Microsoft 365 and Cloud Solutions", "url": "https://startcloud.au/cloud" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Managed Networking", "url": "https://startcloud.au/networking" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "AI and Automation", "url": "https://startcloud.au/ai" } } ] }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/startcloudau", "https://www.facebook.com/startcloudaus/", "https://www.cloudtango.net/providers/12375/startcloud", "https://clutch.co/profile/startcloud", "https://abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View?abn=17676121449", "https://www.yellowpages.com.au/balcatta-wa/bpp/startcloud-581735301", "https://www.truelocal.com.au/balcatta-wa/tlp/startcloud-581735301", "https://www.google.com/maps/place/StartCloud/@-31.8648767,115.8069889,739m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x2a32a5b5d9e864b5:0x9f02690968f0e50c!8m2!3d-31.8648813!4d115.8095638!16s%2Fg%2F11vzbgtytj" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "LearningResource", "name": "Starters and Leavers: Closing the Door Properly", "description": "Module 9 of the Microsoft 365 Security Essentials pathway: onboarding by role, the six-step offboarding checklist in the right order, and the awkward cases most businesses get wrong.", "educationalLevel": "Intermediate", "learningResourceType": "Module", "isPartOf": { "@type": "Course", "name": "Microsoft 365 Security Essentials", "url": "https://startcloud.au/learn/microsoft-365-security-essentials", "provider": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "StartCloud", "url": "https://startcloud.au" } }, "author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "StartCloud", "url": "https://startcloud.au" }, "datePublished": "2026-08-12", "dateModified": "2026-08-12", "url": "https://startcloud.au/learn/microsoft-365-starters-and-leavers" } ] --- [![StartCloud](/assets/StartCloud-Logo-ByZE1kzP.svg "StartCloud: Cybersecurity-First Managed IT Services Perth")](/ "StartCloud | Managed IT Services Perth") - Cybersecurity - AI Solutions - Cloud - Technology - Networking - Explore [Contact Us](/contact "Contact StartCloud, Perth IT Support") Open menu Module 9 of StartCloud's Microsoft 365 Security Essentials learning pathway, in five short units with a knowledge check: why the ex-employee account nobody closed is a live security risk, setting up new starters by role rather than copying an existing user, the six-step leaver checklist in the correct order (block sign-in and sign out sessions first, convert the mailbox to shared, hand over files, then reclaim the licence), and the awkward cases including personal phones, shared logins, contractors and sudden departures. Course contents [Pathway overview](/learn/microsoft-365-security-essentials) Pathway Microsoft 365 Security Essentials 0 of 5 units done in this module 1. [Turn on MFA ](/learn/microsoft-365-multi-factor-authentication) 2. [Protect admin accounts ](/learn/protect-admin-accounts-microsoft-365) 3. [Preset security policies ](/learn/microsoft-365-preset-security-policies) 4. [Stop email spoofing ](/learn/stop-email-spoofing-spf-dkim-dmarc) 5. [Sharing controls ](/learn/sharepoint-onedrive-sharing-controls) 6. [Conditional Access, properly ](/learn/conditional-access-done-properly) 7. [Data protection with Purview ](/learn/data-protection-microsoft-purview) 8. [Backups and retention ](/learn/microsoft-365-backups-and-retention) 9. Starters and leavers 1. The account nobody closed 2 min 2. The new starter, done right 2 min 3. The leaver checklist, in the right order 3 min 4. The awkward ones 2 min 5. Knowledge check 2 min 10. [Devices with Intune ](/learn/managing-devices-with-intune) # Starters and Leavers: Closing the Door Properly Module 9 · People Unit 1 of 5 · about 2 min ## The account nobody closed Every module before this one has been about keeping the wrong people out. Strong sign-in, protected admins, filtered mail, controlled sharing, shaped access, classified data. All of it points outward. This module is about a door that opens from the inside, and it is the one most businesses forget to close. Somebody leaves. Their laptop comes back, their farewell card gets signed, and **their account keeps working perfectly**. Mail still arrives. Files are still reachable. The phone in their pocket still syncs company email on the drive home. The account left running A live login with a password that has not changed, sitting outside your building and outside your control. If that password turns up in a breach at their next employer, or on a personal service where they reused it, an attacker gets a working account with real permissions and nobody watching it. The account deleted too fast The opposite mistake, and it costs just as much. Delete the account on the last day and you have started a 30 day clock on their mailbox and their OneDrive. Miss it, and the client history, the quotes and the half-finished handover go with it, permanently. Offboarding is a security control, not an HR chore It usually lives on somebody's mental checklist somewhere between the exit interview and returning the parking pass, which is exactly why it gets missed on a busy fortnight. Treat it the way you treat MFA: written down, done the same way every time, and not dependent on anyone remembering. The good news is that the fix is not complicated. It is a short list done in the right order, and the order genuinely matters. Most businesses that get this wrong are not lazy, they simply do the right steps in the wrong sequence and lose something along the way. We will do starters first, because a tidy leaver process is much easier when the account was set up sensibly in the first place. Mark done and continue ![StartCloud](/assets/StartCloud-Logo-ByZE1kzP.svg "StartCloud: Cybersecurity-First Managed IT Services Perth") Cybersecurity-led IT for Australian businesses. We manage security, compliance, and modern IT environments, so risk is governed, not guessed. Ground Floor West, 6 Gibberd Road, Balcatta WA 6021 [08 6285 0001](tel:+61862850001 "Call StartCloud on 08 6285 0001") Serving Perth businesses from Balcatta, Western Australia. ![Microsoft Solutions Partner - Modern Work](/assets/microsoft-solutions-partner-DqvNMv91.png "Microsoft Solutions Partner: Modern Work") ### Services - [Cybersecurity](/cybersecurity "Cybersecurity Services Perth | StartCloud") - [AI Solutions](/ai "AI & Automation Services Perth | StartCloud") - [Cloud](/cloud "Cloud Services Perth | StartCloud") - [Technology](/technology "IT Services and Support | StartCloud") - [Networking](/networking "Business Networking Perth | StartCloud") - [Packages](/packages "IT Support Packages Perth | StartCloud") ### Company - [About](/about "About StartCloud, Perth IT Support Team") - [Company Facts](/facts "StartCloud Company Facts | Perth Cybersecurity-First AI MSP") - [Resources](/resources "IT Resources & Guides | StartCloud Perth") - [Service Areas](/it-support-perth "IT Support Perth | StartCloud") - [Contact](/contact "Contact StartCloud, Perth IT Support") ### Locations - [All Service Areas](/locations "Perth IT Support Areas | StartCloud") - [IT Support Perth](/it-support-perth "IT Support Perth | StartCloud") - [Cybersecurity Perth](/cybersecurity-perth "Cybersecurity Perth | StartCloud") - [MSP Perth](/managed-service-provider-perth "Managed Service Provider Perth | StartCloud") - [Industries We Serve](/industries "IT Support by Industry Perth | StartCloud") © 2026 Start Technologies Pty Ltd trading as StartCloud. All rights reserved. ABN 17 676 121 449 [](https://www.linkedin.com/company/startcloudau "StartCloud on LinkedIn")[](https://www.facebook.com/startcloudaus/ "StartCloud on Facebook")[](https://www.google.com/maps/place/StartCloud/@-31.8648767,115.8069889,739m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x2a32a5b5d9e864b5:0x9f02690968f0e50c!8m2!3d-31.8648813!4d115.8095638!16s%2Fg%2F11vzbgtytj "StartCloud on Google") [Terms of Service](/terms-of-service "Terms of Service | StartCloud")| [Privacy Policy](/privacy-policy "Privacy Policy | StartCloud")| [Modern Slavery Policy](/modern-slavery-policy "Modern Slavery Policy | StartCloud")| [Cookie Policy](/cookie-policy "Cookie Policy | StartCloud") StartCloud Assistant Online G'day! 👋 I'm the StartCloud Assistant. How can I help you today? Tell me about your servicesBook a discovery callI need IT support Find Your Solution