You should absolutely have keys to hand over.

— I just wanted to chime in as the owner of a Managed IT Services company (MSP) for nearly three decades. I’ve seen this exact type of scenario play out many times, and first off, I want to say: I’m sorry you’re going through this. It sounds like you provided a lot of value — especially immediate, hands-on support that’s worth more than most people realize until it’s gone.

That said, it’s important to acknowledge that new ownership absolutely has the right to choose who manages their IT. But where things get confusing is the mention of legal action — especially in a situation where, by your account, there was no contract, and everything was paid in cash. That seems disproportionate unless there’s some misunderstanding on their end about access, control, or ownership of assets like the domain, backups, etc.

I’ve found that this kind of friction usually happens in one of two situations:

1. Change of ownership — new leadership comes in, wipes the slate clean, and doesn’t understand the value of the current IT setup or relationships.
2. Growth pains — the business is maturing and thinks they’ve outgrown the current setup, often without a solid grasp on what’s involved in transitioning IT services responsibly.

Even in situations where there is a formal contract, the language matters — some agreements allow for assignment or transfer of service under new ownership, others do not. But again, in your case, no contract means it’s all a bit fuzzy.

The truth is, it’s very common in our field for new management to “kick the IT guy to the curb,” only to realize shortly after that they’ve made a critical error — especially in non-tech-savvy businesses where no one knows what a registrar is, how DNS works, or why email suddenly breaks.

You’re not alone here. And while I can’t weigh in on the legal side, I’d encourage you to document your efforts, your communications, and — most importantly — take the high road. Don’t do anything that could be construed as withholding access out of spite, but also don’t hesitate to explain the implications of abruptly halting services. If you still have access to systems that could impact the business if shut off, communicate clearly and professionally, and offer to assist with a clean transition. It’s the right thing to do, and it protects you in case this does escalate for any reason.

Lastly — for your future gigs: have a basic contract. Nothing fancy, but something in writing that outlines scope, fees, access, data ownership, and offboarding processes. It’ll protect both sides.

And to the rest of the thread: If you have someone managing your IT (internally or externally), make sure you always maintain access to full documentation and credentials. It’s a nightmare for everyone when someone walks away and you’re left locked out of your own systems.

Happy to help if you ever want to bounce ideas or need tips — you clearly care about your clients and did right by them. Best of luck.

— I just wanted to chime in as the owner of a Managed IT Services company (MSP) for nearly three decades. I’ve seen this exact type of scenario play out many times, and first off, I want to say: I’m sorry you’re going through this. It sounds like you provided a lot of value — especially immediate, hands-on support that’s worth more than most people realize until it’s gone.

That said, it’s important to acknowledge that new ownership absolutely has the right to choose who manages their IT. But where things get confusing is the mention of legal action — especially in a situation where, by your account, there was no contract and everything was paid in cash. That seems disproportionate unless there’s some misunderstanding on their end about access, control, or ownership of assets like the domain, backups, etc.

I’ve found that this kind of friction usually happens in one of two situations:

1. Change of ownership — new leadership comes in, wipes the slate clean, and doesn’t understand the value of the current IT setup or relationships.
2. Growth pains — the business is maturing and thinks they’ve outgrown the current setup, often without a solid grasp on what’s involved in transitioning IT services responsibly.

Even in situations where there is a formal contract, the language matters — some agreements allow for assignment or transfer of service under new ownership, others do not. But again, in your case, no contract means it’s all a bit fuzzy.

The truth is, it’s very common in our field for new management to “kick the IT guy to the curb,” only to realize shortly after that they’ve made a critical error — especially in non-tech-savvy businesses where no one knows what a registrar is, how DNS works, or why email suddenly breaks.

You’re not alone here. And while I can’t weigh in on the legal side, I’d encourage you to document your efforts, your communications, and — most importantly — take the high road. Don’t do anything that could be construed as withholding access out of spite, but also don’t hesitate to explain the implications of abruptly halting services. If you still have access to systems that could impact the business if shut off, communicate clearly and professionally, and offer to assist with a clean transition. It’s the right thing to do, and it protects you in case this does escalate for any reason.

Lastly — for your future gigs: have a basic contract. Nothing fancy, but something in writing that outlines scope, fees, access, data ownership, and offboarding processes. It’ll protect both sides.

And to the rest of the thread: If you have someone managing your IT (internally or externally), make sure you always maintain access to full documentation and credentials. It’s a nightmare for everyone when someone walks away and you’re left locked out of your own systems.

Happy to help if you ever want to bounce ideas or need tips — you clearly care about your clients and did right by them. Best of luck.

u/cantITright

— I just wanted to chime in as the owner of a Managed IT Services company (MSP) for nearly three decades. I’ve seen this exact type of scenario play out many times, and first off, I want to say: I’m sorry you’re going through this. It sounds like you provided a lot of value — especially immediate, hands-on support that’s worth more than most people realize until it’s gone.

That said, it’s important to acknowledge that new ownership absolutely has the right to choose who manages their IT. But where things get confusing is the mention of legal action — especially in a situation where, by your account, there was no contract and everything was paid in cash. That seems disproportionate unless there’s some misunderstanding on their end about access, control, or ownership of assets like the domain, backups, etc.

I’ve found that this kind of friction usually happens in one of two situations:

1. Change of ownership — new leadership comes in, wipes the slate clean, and doesn’t understand the value of the current IT setup or relationships.
2. Growth pains — the business is maturing and thinks they’ve outgrown the current setup, often without a solid grasp on what’s involved in transitioning IT services responsibly.

Even in situations where there is a formal contract, the language matters — some agreements allow for assignment or transfer of service under new ownership, others do not. But again, in your case, no contract means it’s all a bit fuzzy.

The truth is, it’s very common in our field for new management to “kick the IT guy to the curb,” only to realize shortly after that they’ve made a critical error — especially in non-tech-savvy businesses where no one knows what a registrar is, how DNS works, or why email suddenly breaks.

You’re not alone here. And while I can’t weigh in on the legal side, I’d encourage you to document your efforts, your communications, and — most importantly — take the high road. Don’t do anything that could be construed as withholding access out of spite, but also don’t hesitate to explain the implications of abruptly halting services. If you still have access to systems that could impact the business if shut off, communicate clearly and professionally, and offer to assist with a clean transition. It’s the right thing to do, and it protects you in case this does escalate for any reason.

Lastly — for your future gigs: have a basic contract. Nothing fancy, but something in writing that outlines scope, fees, access, data ownership, and offboarding processes. It’ll protect both sides.

And to the rest of the thread: If you have someone managing your IT (internally or externally), make sure you always maintain access to full documentation and credentials. It’s a nightmare for everyone when someone walks away and you’re left locked out of your own systems.

Happy to help if you ever want to bounce ideas or need tips — you clearly care about your clients and did right by them. Best of luck.