Pomio CRM separates the person from the data: an admin suspends a user’s login, while the deals, contacts and activities that user worked on stay in the CRM with their history.
Why accounts stay open too long
When someone leaves, the laptop goes back and the email account is closed, but the CRM login is often forgotten. Nobody owns the step, the person “might still need to finish something”, or the licence simply keeps running. Meanwhile a former colleague can still open the customer list, the pipeline and every note from a phone or a home computer. Even with good intentions, that is customer data outside your control.
Hand over first, then suspend
Suspending a login before the handover leaves orphaned work: deals without an owner, tasks nobody sees and contacts nobody follows up. Plan the handover in the last week instead. Reassign open deals when the owner leaves, move open tasks to a named colleague, and transfer contact and company ownership. On the last working day, check that nothing open is still in the leaving person’s name, then suspend the account.
Why suspend instead of delete
Deleting a user can take their name off past activities, notes and stage changes, so the history of a deal no longer says who did what. A suspended user cannot sign in, but their name stays on the timeline and in the audit log. That keeps reports on past results explainable and makes it possible to answer a customer’s question about an old agreement. It only works when every CRM user has their own login; a shared account cannot be suspended for one person.
Who should do it, and when
Give one role the responsibility, usually the organisation admin, and tie the step to the leaving date that HR already knows. Suspend at the end of the last working day, or immediately when someone leaves on bad terms. Reset multi-factor authentication along with the account, see whether a CRM needs MFA, and check that the role and scope of the person taking over fit the new work; see own, team and tenant scope.
How Pomio CRM supports offboarding
An organisation admin can activate and suspend users, change roles and reset passwords and multi-factor authentication. Ownership of deals, companies and contacts can be reassigned, so open work moves to a colleague before the login is closed. Important actions are recorded in the audit log, so it stays clear who suspended which account and when, without passwords or secrets in the log.
A practical offboarding checklist
For every leaving colleague: note the last working day as soon as it is known; reassign open deals, tasks, contacts and companies in the last week; check that no open item is still in their name; suspend the account at the end of the last working day; reset multi-factor authentication; review the role and scope of the colleague taking over; suspend rather than delete, so history keeps a name; review suspended accounts once a quarter.
Go deeper
Should we suspend a CRM account during long leave?
Often yes. For long leave, suspend the login and reassign open work, then reactivate the account on return. History and ownership trails stay in place while the account is suspended.
Can a leaving colleague export contacts first?
Only if their role allows it. Keep exports with managers or admins so a full customer list does not leave with someone on their last day; see exporting CRM contacts to CSV.
What about freelancers and temporary staff?
Treat them the same way. Give each person their own login with a narrow scope, and suspend it on the last day of the assignment.
Does Pomio CRM suspend users automatically?
No. Your organisation decides when someone leaves. Pomio CRM gives admins the controls to suspend, reactivate and reassign, and records important actions in the audit log.