Before you automate anything, answer one boring question: who owns the login? If you do not know, the project will probably stall.
What it looks like
Most automation does not break because the tool is bad. It breaks because the wrong person owns the account, or because nobody owns it.
Here are examples I see all the time:
- The CRM is owned by a past employee.
- The email list is under a personal account.
- The calendar is shared, but nobody can change the settings.
- The payment system is locked behind the bookkeeper.
So you start building, then you hit a wall.
A real example
A team wants to automate follow ups. The plan is simple. When a quote is sent, send two follow up emails if the client does not reply.
The build is easy at first, then you find out the quote system cannot send emails from the right address. Or the inbox is not connected. Or the account is owned by the founder and nobody else can add the integration.
Now the project is stalled. Everyone is annoyed. Nothing is wrong with the automation. Access is the problem.
The permission check I do first
This takes five minutes and it saves weeks. I do it at the start of every build.
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Owner Name one person who owns the system.
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Admin access List who has admin access today.
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Must have permission Write the one thing you need. Example: API access, admin role, domain verification, shared inbox access.
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Stop rule Write the line where you pause. Example: "If we cannot get access by Friday, we pick a different project."
It sounds boring, but it prevents the worst kind of waste. The half built system that nobody can finish.
The simple fix
Pick one and do it this week:
- Move the login to a shared company account
- Add a second admin
- Write down the owner and where the login lives
It does not need to be perfect. It just needs to be true.
Why this matters
Permissions problems turn simple projects into long projects. If you check access first, you protect your time and you keep momentum.
If you want help with this, book a discovery call.
What system in your business has a weird or fragile login right now?