01
The business account is frozen
The bank learns of the death and freezes access until a grant of probate or power of attorney is presented. Wages, rent and supplier invoices keep coming due — the money to pay them just isn't reachable.
For Founders & the Self-Employed
If you're out, your business is out too
You're the sole signatory — probably the only person with access to the business account, supplier portals, hosting and your accountant. If that access disappears, it's not just your family standing at locked doors, it's your business too. Erbnis documents the access your business runs on, kept cleanly separate from personal accounts.
Three situations founders underestimate
None of these are exotic — they hit any business that depends on one person.
02
Nobody can reach customer data
CRM, accounting software, the online shop backend, domain management: all locked behind logins only you know. Without them, nothing can be wound down or continued — not even an invoice sent.
03
Your accountant doesn't know
VAT filings and payroll deadlines keep running regardless of whether anyone is able to act. Whoever knows the contact and the access can at least keep things going.
What belongs inside
What to document for your business
Kept separate from your personal estate, so it's immediately clear what belongs to the company.
Business account & payments
Bank, business credit cards, payment providers like Stripe or PayPal Business — plus your contact at the bank.
Supplier & customer logins
Portals from suppliers, wholesalers and key B2B customers, without which orders and deliveries stall.
Domain, hosting & software
Registrar access, hosting provider, shop system, mail server — so the site doesn't just lapse while nobody's watching.
Accountant & bookkeeping
Contact details, client number and access to your accounting software, so deadlines don't get missed.
Payroll & staff
Access to payroll and the right contact, so wages still go out on time even if you're unable to act.
Business continuity isn't a software problem — it's a legal one
A folder of access details only helps if someone is legally entitled to use it. Three instruments belong on every founder's radar, ideally drafted with legal advice:
Power of attorney
Determines who can act for you if illness or an accident leaves you unable to — ideally with explicit reach over the business account.
Succession clause in the articles
Sets out what happens to shares on death — automatic transfer, a right of first refusal for co-shareholders, or dissolution. Without a clause, statutory inheritance rules apply.
Commercial proxy
A representation authority registered with the commercial register that makes a trusted person able to act today — regardless of whether you've become incapacitated.
These three instruments belong with a notary or lawyer, not an app. What Erbnis contributes: a clean, current overview of which accounts, logins and contacts actually exist — so the power of attorney and succession clause know what they're referring to when it matters. More on the difference between power of attorney and guardianship in the guide.
„I had a personal power of attorney, but nobody would have known where our shop hosting lived or who our accountant was. We documented that separately now.“
Common questions from founders
Related reading
Pricing
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Up to 5 vaults, shared management, preferred support.
- Up to 5 linked profiles
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