IT HELP & GUIDES

New Real Estate Agent IT Setup Checklist

A new agent should spend their first morning learning the office, not trying to find a printer or recover an email password. A little preparation makes the handover much easier.

Use this checklist when someone joins your brokerage. It covers the office technology your team controls; access to an MLS, transaction platform, or other third-party service may need to be arranged with that provider.

1. Confirm what the agent actually needs

Ask the office manager and the new agent which systems they will use. A person bringing their own laptop needs a different handover from someone using a brokerage-owned computer.

• Start date, office location, and the person approving access.
• Company-owned or personally owned computer and phone.
• Business email, calendar, shared folders, and office applications.
• Printers, scanners, desk phone, and remote access where required.

Give the setup a named owner. Otherwise, each supplier may complete their part while the overall job remains unfinished.

2. Prepare business email and sign-in protection

Create the individual account, confirm the email address and display name, and check which Microsoft 365 license is appropriate. Not every subscription includes the same applications.

Arrange multifactor authentication and a suitable recovery method. The agent should understand how to approve a legitimate sign-in and what to do if an unexpected prompt appears. Do not send passwords through the website inquiry form or pass a shared office login from one person to the next.

Check whether the agent needs access to a shared mailbox, a team calendar, or a distribution list. Those are separate decisions from creating their personal email account.

3. Set up the computer for office work

Install approved applications, apply the agreed updates and device protection, and confirm the computer can connect to the correct office network. If the office uses a Windows domain, include that setup in the handover.

• Open Outlook and send a test message to an agreed recipient.
• Check access to the folders the agent needs, without granting unrelated access.
• Print a document and test the normal scanning workflow.
• Check the headset, microphone, and Microsoft Teams sign-in if used.

A successful login is only part of the test. Have the agent carry out the work they will actually do.

4. Check phones and work away from the office

If the agent needs a phone extension, check the name, voicemail, call routing, and any provider-managed settings. For remote work, agree on the approved connection method and the devices that may use it. Do not improvise remote access by exposing a workstation directly to the internet.

5. Finish with a short handover

Record which accounts, licenses, and equipment were assigned. Show the agent where business files belong and how to request help. Keep administrative access and recovery details in an approved secure location, not in an open spreadsheet.

Also record what should happen when the agent leaves: who approves the access change, who receives business information, and which equipment must be returned. Planning that now avoids a rushed decision later.

One final check before the first day

Can the agent sign in, send email, open the right files, print, and scan? If those five tasks work on the actual equipment they will use, you have checked far more than a list of usernames.

For help with the setup itself, see our IT support for real estate offices and Microsoft 365 support.