A new committee means new people at the helm — and sometimes the outgoing committee didn't get around to handing over the keys before they left. Whether your predecessor is readily available or has gone completely off the grid, there's a path forward.
Before you start: TidyHQ has two distinct levels of access. The Account Owner is a single person who holds the highest level of control — including the ability to transfer ownership, manage billing, and cancel the account. Other committee members can be given Admin access to specific parts of TidyHQ, but only the Account Owner can hand over that top-level control.
Scenario A: Your predecessor is available
This is the straightforward path. The previous Account Owner needs to log in and do two things — you can share these steps with them directly.
Step 1: Add you as an Administrator
They should go to Admins and Roles and add you with the appropriate permissions — or Full Access if you're taking over the whole account. See Add Administrators to your organisation.
Step 2: Transfer Account Ownership to you
Once you're in the Admins list, they go to Organisation Settings > Organisation Account Owner, type your name in the "New Organisation Account Owner" box, and click Change Account Owner, then OK to confirm.
Note: You must be in the Admins list before ownership can be transferred to you — these two steps cannot be reversed.
Once that's done, skip to Once you're the Account Owner below.
Scenario B: Your predecessor is unreachable
This is unfortunately common — the previous president set the account up with their personal email years ago and nobody's heard from them since. Here's how to approach it.
Step 1: Check what access you already have
Before assuming the worst, check whether you or anyone on your committee already has Administrator access. Someone from a previous committee may have been set up with Full Access, which is enough to run the organisation day-to-day even without Account Ownership.
Log in at your organisation's TidyHQ address (e.g. yourclub.tidyhq.com) and click your name or initials in the top-right corner. If you can see Admin Dashboard in that menu, you have at least some admin access.
If you can get into the Admin Dashboard, check the bottom of the left-hand sidebar. If you can see Organisation Settings, you have full admin access.
Not seeing Organisation Settings doesn't mean something is broken — many committee roles only need access to certain areas. But you'll need full access (or Support's help) to transfer Account Ownership.
Step 2: Contact TidyHQ Support
If nobody on the current committee can access the account, reach out to TidyHQ Support. We can help verify your organisation's identity and assist with restoring access to the right people.
When you get in touch, it helps to have the following ready:
The name of your organisation as it appears in TidyHQ
Your organisation's TidyHQ web address (e.g. yourclub.tidyhq.com)
Evidence that you are an authorised representative — for example, meeting minutes confirming your election to the committee, or a letter from a governing body
We take account security seriously and will need to verify your identity before making any changes. The more evidence you can provide, the faster we can help.
Once you're the Account Owner
Whether you got here via Scenario A or with Support's help, a couple of things are worth taking care of straight away.
Confirm you actually have ownership. Go to Organisation Settings > Organisation Account Owner. If you can see the "New Organisation Account Owner" input box, you are the Account Owner.
Update your billing details. The payment method and billing contact may still be linked to your predecessor's bank account or email address. Go to Billing in the Dashboard menu to review and update these.
Australian customers: Direct Debit is available as a payment option — often more practical than a personal credit card for ongoing committee use. You can set this up under Billing > Payment Methods.
See Guide to Billing at TidyHQ for a full walkthrough.