What should you do with a Google Workspace account when a team member leaves?

So, a team member has handed in their notice. Offboarding is in full swing, and you’re working through the checklist. You get to their Google Workspace account, and your finger hovers over the ‘Delete’ button.

It makes sense on paper, doesn’t it? Why pay for a licence you aren't using? That’s £15 or £20 a month you could save instantly.

But before you click that button, stop. That click could be the most expensive mistake you make this year.

The Golden Rule: Archive, Don’t Delete

Here is the single most valuable piece of advice we can give you regarding offboarding: Never delete the account. Instead, switch it to an Archived User licence.

For just £5 per month (that’s £60 a year), this licence preserves all the data in that account and keeps it accessible via Google Vault. It is the cheapest insurance policy you will ever buy for your business.

Why saving £60 isn't worth the risk

We see it all the time. Smart business owners try to avoid that small archiving fee. It feels like a savvy cost-cutting measure until the day comes when you need that data. And trust us, that day often comes when you least expect it.

When you delete an account, the data is gone. If a legal issue arises, or a client disputes a previous agreement, you have no evidence.

A Tale of Two Clients

To show you why this matters, let’s look at two real-world examples from our own client base.

The £60 Mistake One of our clients—an accountancy firm—recently had a team member move on. To save the £60 annual fee, they chose to delete the user’s account rather than archive it.

Exactly 12 months later, a dispute arose. A former client claimed this team member had given them incorrect tax advice, resulting in financial loss. Our client needed to check the email trail to verify what was actually said. But because they had deleted the account, the emails were gone.

Without that evidence to defend themselves, they are now facing a significant compensation payout. All because they wanted to save £60.

The £250,000 Save In contrast, another client of ours faced a massive legal challenge. Because they had archived their former team members' accounts using Google Vault, they could instantly retrieve years of communication.

That data proved their case. The result? They avoided a legal liability of over £250,000. That £5 a month investment paid for itself a thousand times over.

Top reasons to archive every single time

If you’re still on the fence, here is the reality of why archiving is non-negotiable:

• Regulatory Compliance: Many of you operate in regulated industries. You might be legally required to retain client communications for six years or more. Deleting an account to save a few pounds isn't just risky; in some sectors, it’s actually breaking the law.

• Continuity: You never know when an old thread will become relevant. A project might be resurrected, or a new team member might need context on a client relationship from two years ago.

• Peace of Mind: For the price of a couple of coffees a month, you eliminate the "what if?" factor.

The Bottom Line

Let’s be honest—if your business cannot afford £60 a year to secure its data, you have bigger problems than IT costs.

Using the Archived User licence allows you to retain everything securely without paying for a full-price Google Workspace licence. It keeps your data searchable, compliant, and safe.

Don’t step over pounds to pick up pennies. Archive the account.

Need help setting this up?

If you’d like an expert to help you implement an offboarding process that keeps your data safe, the next step is to book a video call with us using the form below.