A departed employee can leave customer portal approvals out of reach

The only portal user has left

Imagine the employee who managed a customer's invoicing portal leaves the business. A claim is pending, but the remaining team cannot see its status or respond to an approval query through the account.

Treat this as an access and continuity issue requiring a clear owner. Repeatedly asking the customer for payment will not resolve a query your business cannot currently view.

Establish what information is still available

Locate submission confirmations, exported claim records and the relevant customer contact details held by the business. Identify which invoices or approval steps may be affected by the access gap.

Keep original records intact. Avoid relying on a former employee's memory alone when the portal or business systems may contain the actual submission and response history.

Use the authorised recovery process

Contact the customer's official portal administrator or established accounts contact to request the appropriate business access change. Confirm what evidence and approval are required for a new authorised user.

Do not use another person's credentials or ask staff to bypass access controls. A quick unofficial workaround can create a further problem about who submitted or changed the records.

Protect the current invoice process

Ask whether any queries, document requests or other actions remain outstanding and how they can be handled through an approved route while access is restored. Record the customer's response.

business.gov.au's invoicing guidance emphasises timely, clear invoicing and the information needed for payment. Recovering the submission history helps the team continue that process without creating inconsistent duplicate claims.

Source: business.gov.au: How to invoice

Check the account after access returns

Verify pending invoices, messages, user permissions and notification settings. Reconcile the portal position with your own ledger and claim register rather than assuming nothing changed during the gap.

If a formal deadline or disputed claim may have been affected, seek appropriate advice promptly. Restoring access does not itself determine the legal consequences of a missed communication.

Build the handover into the next departure

Record who owns each important customer portal, the authorised backup arrangement and where business copies of submissions are kept. Review access through the proper process when roles change.

The goal is continuity without relying on one person's login. A business should be able to trace its invoices and respond to approval questions when the staff member who originally submitted them is no longer available.