Security Checkup

Price captures verified 2026-08-09; overall scores unpublished

Password Manager Checklist for Small Businesses

Ban chat sharing before you buy seats: small businesses should inventory shared vendor logins, assign an owner for every critical system, require MFA on email and cloud admin portals, then roll out a vault with revoke-on-exit. A paid business plan is secondary to those habits. Consumer ledger prices from 2026-08-09 are context only (1Password Individual $2.99/mo billed annually; NordPass Premium from $1.39/mo on a 2-year USD plan). Business SKUs (Teams/Business lines) must be verified at checkout; we invent no per-seat business quotes. Overall scores stay unpublished. Who should not buy: solo operators with no shared credentials, or teams that need a full SSO/IdP program this page does not cover.

Start Password Manager Finder →
  • Guide · Free-first · ~12 min read

Fastest free path

  1. 1Ban password sharing in chat, email, and SMS
  2. 2Enable MFA on domain email and cloud admin portals
  3. 3Assign an owner for every critical login (bank, registrar, M365/Google)
  4. 4Inventory shared secrets currently living in docs or Slack
  5. 5Deploy one shared vault and train unlock + MFA
  6. 6Run an access review every quarter and on every offboard
Start Password Manager Finder →

Step-by-step guide

  1. 1

    Policy before purchase

    Free

    Write a one-page rule: unique passwords, vault-only sharing, MFA required on email and admin portals. Name an admin who owns offboarding. Without that owner, paid seats will not invent governance.

    • Draft the one-page rule and share it with the team
    • Name a vault admin and a backup
    • List critical systems (email, bank, domain, payroll, cloud admin)
  2. 2

    Admin hygiene on the free path

    Free

    Turn on MFA for Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace admins, domain registrar, and banking before comparing logos. Rotate any password that still lives in a spreadsheet. Stolen admin email is usually worse than a missing vault brand.

    • MFA on domain email and cloud admins
    • Unique passwords on registrar and bank
    • Remove shared inbox passwords from chat history where possible
  3. 3

    Choose a vault fit without confusing SKUs

    Optional paid

    1Password fits when team vault rules and recovery matter; confirm current Teams Starter Pack / Business checkout separately from consumer Families. NordPass can fit very small groups prioritizing simplicity; personal Family seats (six accounts, vendor-stated) are not a substitute for business policy controls. Consumer Individual $2.99/mo and NordPass Premium from $1.39/mo (2026-08-09) are context only, not your company quote.

    • Decide personal vs business plan needs honestly
    • Confirm seat counts and admin controls at live checkout
    • Train the team on unlock + vault MFA before day-two chaos
  4. 4

    Roll out shared vaults with least privilege

    Free

    Move vendor logins into shared vaults by team or function. Avoid a single “everyone” vault that makes offboarding painful. Contractors get the minimum items and a review date.

    • Create vaults by function, not one mega-share
    • Document who can export and who can invite
    • Set a calendar reminder for quarterly access review
  5. 5

    Offboard cleanly every time

    Free

    When someone leaves, revoke vault access the same day and rotate shared credentials they could see. Confirm device wipe or account removal where appropriate. A forgotten SaaS admin login is how spreadsheet culture returns.

    • Revoke seat on exit day
    • Rotate shared secrets that person could open
    • Confirm no personal devices still hold exports

What cannot always be removed

  • Vendors that still email shared credentials to a group inbox
  • Owners who refuse MFA on admin email
  • Shadow IT accounts nobody listed in the inventory
  • A full SSO/IdP or compliance attestation program
  • Invented business per-seat prices or unpublished scores

Sources

  • Security Checklist methodology, SMB checklists stay free-first; business SKUs verified separately from consumer captures
  • 1Password claim ledger, data/claim-ledgers/1password.json#1password-starting-price; Individual $2.99/mo billed annually (consumer context, 2026-08-09); Teams/Business verify at checkout
  • NordPass claim ledger, data/claim-ledgers/nordpass.json#nordpass-starting-price; Premium from $1.39/mo (2-year USD, 2026-08-09); business seat dollars not invented from blank widgets
  • Claim ledgers (T014), nordpass.json, 1password.json, bitwarden.json, dashlane.json: starting prices verified 2026-08-09; scores unpublished
  • Vendor marketing pages, Feature and architecture claims from official sites, not independent lab evidence; re-verify same-day before purchase advice
  • Security Checklist methodology, How password-manager reviews are structured before scores publish, /methodology/

Next steps

Frequently asked questions

Internal links

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