What should I get from my old IT provider before switching?

Administrative credentials for every system (servers, software, network, email, domain, ISP), software license records, access to your backups with a tested restore, and documentation of how the environment is configured. Collect these while the old provider is still engaged, since extraction is harder after you give notice.

What if my current provider will not hand over credentials?

A provider that controls your systems and will not document access is a reason to leave, not to stay. Your administrative access to your own infrastructure is yours. Request it in writing, and if they resist, that resistance is exactly the lock-in a transparent provider is designed to prevent.

What is the single most important item on the list?

A verified backup restore before the old provider loses access. Credentials and documentation can be reconstructed with effort; a practice-management database that cannot be restored cannot. Prove a real restore first, and the rest of the transition is low-risk.

The dental IT transition checklist: credentials, BAAs, and backups

6 min read · Published 2026-06-29 

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What do I need before switching dental IT providers?

Before you switch, collect and verify five things from your current setup: administrative credentials for every system, software licenses, a signed BAA, backup access plus a tested restore, and documentation of how everything is configured. Gather these while the old provider is still engaged - it is far harder to extract them after you have given notice. Use the checklist below.

1. Administrative credentials

You should hold (or be able to obtain) admin access to all of it. If the old provider holds these and will not document them, that is itself a reason to be glad you are leaving.

Server and workstation administrator accounts
Practice-management and imaging software admin logins
Network gear: firewall/router, switches, Wi-Fi controller
Email/Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace admin
Domain registrar and DNS, and the internet account with your ISP

2. Software licenses and accounts

Practice-management and imaging software license records
Antivirus/security, backup, and any monitoring tool licenses
Any subscriptions billed through the IT provider you will need to move

3. A signed BAA with the new provider

If a provider touches systems with access to PHI, HIPAA expects a Business Associate Agreement. Have the new provider's BAA signed before they begin, and keep a copy. (See Security & Compliance.)

4. Backup access - and a tested restore

This is the one people skip and regret. Confirm where backups run, get access to them, and verify an actual restore of the practice-management database before the old provider loses access. "The backup runs nightly" is not evidence; a successful restore is. (See do my dental backups actually work?)

5. Documentation of the environment

A network diagram and an asset list (machines, ages, warranties)
How the practice-management server, database, and images are configured
Integrations and bridges (imaging, e-claims, payments)
Any custom settings or scripts the old provider put in place

6. After cutover: revoke and confirm

Once the new setup is verified, revoke the previous provider's remote access and accounts - and confirm the revocation rather than assuming it. Lingering vendor access is a standing security risk. (See is my IT vendor my biggest security risk?)

Print this, work it in order

Worked top to bottom while the old provider is still engaged, this list turns "switching is scary" into a sequence of confirmable steps. The transition itself - the zero-downtime cutover - is covered in how to switch dental IT without downtime.