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Step-by-Step Checklist: Updating Client Communications After an Email Change

UUnknown

2026-02-28

11 min read

Step-by-step checklist to update contracts, CRMs, billing, e-sign and automations when changing your primary email—avoid missed notices and compliance risk.

Don’t let an email change cost you a client or a compliance breach — use this step-by-step checklist

Changing your firm’s primary email sounds simple, but in 2026 it’s one of the riskiest operational moves you can make if you don’t treat it as a cross-functional project. Missed notices, bounced invoices, unsigned contracts and automated workflows that stop working are the most common failures we see. This checklist gives firms and small businesses a practical, priority-driven roadmap to update contracts, websites, CRMs, billing, e-sign and automation so you don’t miss critical client communications or regulatory deadlines.

Why this matters now (2026 context)

Two trends make this checklist urgent in 2026: first, major platforms like Google have introduced easier ways to change primary addresses and encourage account consolidation — which increases change frequency across organisations. Second, CRMs, e-sign providers and payment platforms now include deeper automation and AI-powered workflows. That means a single email change can cascade across dozens of connected systems.

Regulatory expectations have tightened too: clients expect secure, auditable communication, and regulators (including professional bodies) scrutinise whether firms maintain proper notice and record-keeping. Treat an email change as an operational risk exercise, not a simple IT task.

How to use this checklist

Follow the checklist in four priority phases. Assign an owner for each phase, record completion dates and capture screenshots after update. Where possible use e-signature or acknowledged receipt for formal notices to clients and counterparties.

Immediate actions (Day 0–2) — prevent missed messages
Critical updates (Day 2–7) — systems that send legal notices, invoices and intake emails
Integration and automation review (Week 1–3) — pipelines, APIs and 3rd-party connectors
Documentation, client notice and monitoring (Weeks 2–8) — contracts, policy updates and ongoing checks

Phase 1 — Immediate actions (Day 0–2)

These steps stop inbound mail loss and reduce immediate risk.

Enable forwarding from old to new: Set up server-level forwarding for the entire domain if possible. If using external providers (e.g., Gmail), configure account-level forwarding and keep the old inbox live for at least 90 days.
Auto-reply on old address: Deploy a professional auto-responder that tells senders the new primary address and gives alternate contact methods (phone, portal). Keep it for 60–90 days or until bounce rates drop.
Preserve access: Keep admin access and credentials for the old account, ideally behind your password manager. Do not delete old accounts until cross-system updates are confirmed.
Notify staff and set a communications owner: Appoint a single point of contact responsible for coordinating updates across legal, finance, IT and client services.
Change critical account recovery and 2FA: Update account recovery emails, 2FA devices and phone numbers for business-critical accounts to avoid lockouts.

Phase 2 — Critical updates (Day 2–7)

Focus on systems that send legally significant notices and money-related messages.

Update corporate contact points

Website contact pages and footers: Replace email addresses, update forms to send confirmations from the new address, and publish a short notice about the change on a site banner for 30 days.
Google Business Profile and directories: Update your primary contact email in Google Business, Bing Places and key legal directories and quotation sites.
Client portal and case management: Change notification emails in systems like Clio, PracticePanther, LEAP or your chosen case management tool. Review how the system uses that email — as notification origin, billing sender or recovery address.

Billing and finance

Payment processors: Update email addresses in Stripe, Worldpay, PayPal and merchant accounts — and check the listed contact for chargeback notifications.
Invoicing software: QuickBooks, Xero, Sage and others often send automated reminders. Update sender addresses, “reply-to” fields and support addresses used for reconciliation.
Client billing communications: Send a formal notice to active clients about the billing email change and confirm the invoice delivery method in writing to avoid future disputes.

Contracts and notices

Contract clauses frequently specify the email or address for formal notices. If you don’t update contract counterparties, you risk non-delivery of legal notices.

Identify contracts with specific notice clauses that reference an email address.
Prepare a Notice of Change of Contact Details document — use e-signature so recipients explicitly acknowledge the change.
Where contracts require formal delivery methods, use the agreed method (e.g., email plus recorded delivery or registered post) to avoid disputes.

Best practice: treat the email change itself as a notice and log recipient acknowledgements — this becomes critical evidence if service or deadlines are disputed.

Phase 3 — Integration and automation review (Week 1–3)

Automations and connectors are the most common places where an email change silently breaks workflows. Audit every integration.

CRM updates

Primary account and notification address: Update the CRM org email and the user accounts used for notifications. CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Zoho also have multi-channel notification rules — review each.
Owner and workflow mappings: Replace the old email in workflow triggers, lead assignment rules, and email templates. Run test leads and confirm deliverability.
Third-party synced fields: If your CRM synchronises with financial software or document storage, ensure field mappings still resolve correctly to the new email.

E-signature and document systems

Update account emails at providers: DocuSign, Adobe Sign, HelloSign and others use the sender email for envelope tracking and audit trails. Change the account email and update sender profiles.
Check branding and reply-to: Confirm the signed document copy comes from the new address and that reminders don’t originate from the old address.
Audit API keys and webhooks: If e-sign is integrated via API, update webhook endpoints and service accounts. Test signature flows end-to-end and record the audit trail.

Booking and intake forms

Calendars and booking tools: Update emails in Calendly, Microsoft Bookings, Acuity and Google Calendar to ensure booking confirmations and reminders come from the new address.
Online intake forms: Change sender addresses in Typeform, JotForm, Law intake portals and make sure SMS/MMS fallbacks are set in case emails bounce.
Client notifications and triage: If you route intake emails into a shared mailbox or support queue, update those routing rules so new matters are assigned correctly.

Automation platforms and connectors

Zapier, Make, IFTTT: Replace login credentials and check all zaps/scenarios that reference the old address as trigger or action.
Internal scripts and cron jobs: Search code repositories for hard-coded addresses and replace them. Re-run unit tests where available.
Logging and alerting: Set up alerts for email bounce rates, automation failures and delivery errors in the first 30 days.

Phase 4 — Documentation, client notice and monitoring (Weeks 2–8)

Complete the legal and operational wrap-up to create an audit trail and minimise future risk.

Send a formal client notification: Use e-sign to get an acknowledgement for the change of contact details and any change in how notices are delivered.
Confirm preferences: Give clients the option to confirm preferred contact method (email, portal, phone, SMS) and record consents for electronic communications.

Update internal policies and training

Communication policy: Add a checklist for future changes — who must be notified, which systems to update and required retention periods.
Staff training: Run a 30-minute session that covers where to find the approved sender address, templates and escalation if a client reports a missed notice.

Monitoring and validation

Monitor DMARC reports and bounce logs: Watch for misconfigured SPF/DKIM issues and unblock legitimate senders.
Check delivery and open metrics: Over the first 60 days, track open, delivery and bounce rates for transactional emails.
Audit trails: Keep screenshots and logs showing the date and method of contract notifications — these are vital if service or receipt is disputed.

Technical checklist (DNS, authentication and security)

Good email hygiene prevents delivery failures and impersonation risk.

Update DNS records: Change MX records if moving domains. Add or update SPF, DKIM and DMARC records to authorise new sending sources.
Rotate API keys and OAuth tokens: Replace any keys linked to the old email that grant API access to CRMs, payment gateways or cloud storage.
Review mailbox permissions: Update shared mailbox delegates, group aliases and distribution lists. Revoke access for departed staff.
Set secure retention: Confirm retention and e-discovery settings for the new mailbox align with data protection obligations.

Sample Notice: “Change of Contact Details” (use with e-sign)

Use this short template as the basis for contracted notices. Send via e-sign and record acceptance:

Notice of Change of Contact Details
Date: [DATE]
To: [CLIENT / COUNTERPARTY NAME]
From: [FIRM NAME]
This notice confirms that, effective [DATE], the primary email address for formal notices, invoices and contract communications will change from [old@example.com] to [new@yourdomain.com]. All other contact details remain unchanged. Please acknowledge receipt by signing below or replying to this notice. If your contract requires a different notice method, follow the contract terms for service of notices.

Real-world example (anonymised)

A 12-person legal practice changed from a team Gmail account to @firmdomain.com in 2025. They updated staff accounts but missed two critical places: their e-sign provider sender profile and the firm’s bill-pay merchant account. Result: one client reported a missed invoice and another contract notice was returned as undeliverable. The firm had to produce signed proof of service and re-send invoices; they fixed it by following a documented checklist and using e-sign acknowledgement for the notice to prove delivery.

Tools and workflows checklist (recommended tools in 2026)

Pick tools that centralise notifications and make it easy to swap sender addresses without breaking integrations.

CRMs: Salesforce, HubSpot, Clio Grow (for legal intake), or Pipedrive — ensure org-level sender management.
E-sign: DocuSign, Adobe Sign, or OneSpan — update sender and webhook configs and use identity verification for high-risk notices.
Intake & Forms: Typeform, JotForm, Clio Forms, LawConnect — ensure confirmation emails are branded and from the new address.
Booking: Calendly, Microsoft Bookings, or Google Calendar — update host emails and calendar resource accounts.
Automation: Zapier, Make, or platform-specific automation (HubSpot Workflows) — run test automations and check error logs.
Monitoring: DMARC monitoring tools (e.g., Dmarcian), bounce dashboards and SIEM for critical alerting.

Advanced strategies and future-proofing (2026+)

Use these advanced steps to reduce risk on future changes and leverage current 2026 trends.

Adopt a primary domain-first strategy: Operate all client-facing addresses under a single firm domain (e.g., @yourfirm.com). It’s easier to rotate aliases than to migrate users between external providers.
Use role-based addresses: prefer role@ (billing@, notices@, intake@) instead of personal addresses. Role addresses make future personnel changes less disruptive.
Centralise email sending: Use a transactional email service (SendGrid, Amazon SES) for system emails so sender changes are made in one place and propagated everywhere.
Implement change control: Make email changes subject to a formal change request with checklist sign-off from legal, finance, IT and compliance.
Leverage modern identity verification: In 2026 e-sign platforms offer stronger identity checks — use them for notice acknowledgements where service of documents is legally significant.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Pitfall: Forgetting third-party services — comb through app password lists, OAuth consents and account admin pages.
Pitfall: Relying on staff memory — use documented templates and a single owner for the change project.
Pitfall: Not testing end-to-end — verify each workflow by simulating client interactions (intake to invoice to e-sign).
Pitfall: Deleting old accounts too soon — keep old accounts in read-only mode and maintain forwarding for at least 60–90 days.

Quick prioritised checklist (printable)

Set forwarding and auto-reply on old addresses.
Update DNS/SPF/DKIM/DMARC and verify.
Update website, Google Business and directories.
Change CRM org email and notification senders; test workflows.
Update billing, payment processors and invoicing senders.
Update e-sign sender profiles and webhook endpoints; sign a test document.
Update booking tools and intake forms; test confirmation emails.
Search code repos and automation scripts for hard-coded addresses.
Send e-sign Notice of Change of Contact Details to clients and counterparties.
Monitor DMARC reports, bounce rates, and automation error logs for 90 days.

Final takeaways

Changing your firm’s primary email is a multi-step operational project in 2026. The most serious consequences are missed legal notices and billing disputes — both avoidable with structured planning. Prioritise forwarding and DNS, update critical systems first (CRM, e-sign, billing), communicate formally to clients using an e-signed notice, and set monitoring to catch issues early.

Assign owners, document actions and keep the old inbox live in parallel until you confirm all systems are updated. Use the templates and phase plan in this checklist to reduce risk and create an auditable trail for compliance.

Need a quick audit or a ready-made notice?

If you want a customised checklist for your firm, a pre-populated Notice of Change of Contact Details for e-signing, or a 30-minute audit of your CRM and billing integrations, solicitor.live can help. Book a consultation and we’ll run a targeted review to make sure you don’t miss critical systems or regulatory obligations.

Act now: set a change owner, schedule the DNS and forwarding updates, and prepare your e-sign notice — then work through the checklist to closure.

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