No more passwords: sign in to your trade business software with Google, Apple, a code or a passkey
Too many passwords is how trade businesses end up with a reused one, a shared one or a sticky note in the van. Here is how to carry fewer of them, and how TradeYoke removes passwords altogether.
You sign in to the van insurance, the bank, the wholesaler, the accounts package and the job app, usually on a phone, often in a hurry. Every password is another one to forget, reuse or write down. This is a practical way to carry fewer of them, and how TradeYoke removes passwords altogether.
Key takeaways
- Fewer passwords means fewer bad habitsReusing one password, or sharing one login between the team, is the common way small businesses get caught out.
- TradeYoke has no passwordsYou sign in with Google, Apple or Microsoft, with a six-digit code or one-tap link emailed to you, or with a passkey. There is nothing to remember, reuse or leak.
- One account, whichever way inEvery way to sign in leads to the same TradeYoke account, with the same customers, jobs and role. You do not end up with a second, empty one.
- A new way in at a known address takes one codeIf you already use an address with TradeYoke and try a new way in, we email a one-off six-digit code to prove it is you, then connect it for good.
- You stay in controlAdd or remove ways to sign in under My account, Ways to sign in. You can never remove the last one.
- Two-step sign-in and passkeys still applyTwo-step sign-in follows you whichever way you sign in, and a passkey counts as the second step.
Quick answer
Quick answer: TradeYoke has no passwords. On the sign-in page you choose Google, Apple or Microsoft, or enter your email address and we send a six-digit code and a one-tap link in the same email, or you use a passkey. Every one of them lands you in the same TradeYoke account, so signing in with Google on an address you already use does not create a second account. You add or remove ways to sign in under My account, Ways to sign in.
Why a pile of passwords hurts a small business
A one-person business has no IT department. The password for the business software is probably the one you use for something else, because you had to remember it, and on a bad week it is the one you tell the new lad so he can get on. None of that feels risky until a leaked password from one site is tried on another, or someone who has left still has a login.
The aim is not perfect security; it is fewer things to forget and fewer ways in. That means one strong way in that you control, and a separate login for each person on the team.
What helps, whatever software you use
Habits that cut the risk
- Give every person their own loginNever share one between you and the team. Then you can remove one person without changing everyone's password, and you can see who did what.
- Let Google, Apple or Microsoft hold the sign-in, or use a passkeyA long, unique password you never type is better than a clever one you reuse, and a sign-in with no password at all is better again.
- Turn on 2-step verification on the account that holds the keysIf your Gmail or Google account opens other doors, that is the one to protect first.
- Know which email address everything runs onSign-in codes and resets go to your inbox. If that inbox is not secure, nothing behind it is.
- Remove access the day someone leavesA sign-in you forgot about is the one that gets used.
Signing in with Google, Apple or Microsoft: the trade-off to understand
Quick answer: signing in with Google, Apple or Microsoft means they check who you are instead of the business software holding a password for you. It is convenient and one less password to manage, but it makes that account the key, so protect it properly.
With TradeYoke there is no password for us to hold. When you use Google, Apple or Microsoft we receive your name, email address and an account identifier, not your password; if you choose Apple's Hide My Email, Apple gives us a private relay address instead. The detail is in our privacy policy.
Already have a TradeYoke account? You still land in the same one
The usual catch with a "Continue with Google" button is that it can create a brand-new account beside the one you already use, leaving you with an empty second workspace and no idea where your jobs went. TradeYoke does not do that: every way in resolves to one account for each person.
- Choose a way in on the sign-in page, for example Continue with Google, using the account that has the same email address as your TradeYoke account.
- Prove it is you, once. The first time a new way in meets an address that already has a TradeYoke account, we email a six-digit code to that address. Enter it and the new way in is connected for good. (If you use Apple's Hide My Email, TradeYoke asks whether to link it to an account you already have.)
- Carry on as normal. From then on that way in takes you straight to your account, with the same customers, jobs and role.
No password is involved at any step.
Add or remove ways to sign in
Quick answer: open My account and find Ways to sign in. It lists your email address and each of Google, Apple and Microsoft you have added. You can add another, remove one, change your email address with a code sent to the new one, or sign out everywhere. You can never remove your last way in, so you cannot lock yourself out.
Changes need a recent sign-in with Google, Apple, Microsoft or a passkey, rather than one that began with an emailed code or link, so a stranger who only got into your inbox cannot quietly add a way in. Passkeys have their own card on the same page. If a way in is removed, any session it opened ends straight away.
What it does not change
Signing in a different way does not change what anyone is allowed to do in the workspace: roles and permissions stay exactly as they were, and two-step sign-in applies to you as a person whichever way you sign in. In the TradeYoke app, Sign in continues on TradeYoke's secure sign-in page. If you have trouble, write to hello@tradeyoke.net.
Questions people ask
Does TradeYoke use passwords?
No. TradeYoke has no passwords. You sign in with Google, Apple or Microsoft, with a six-digit code or one-tap link emailed to you, or with a passkey, and every one leads to the same TradeYoke account.
Can I sign in to my trade business software with Google?
With TradeYoke, yes: choose Continue with Google on the sign-in page. If you already use that email address with TradeYoke, we email you a one-off code the first time to prove it is yours, then Google signs you in to the account you already have.
Will signing in with Google create a second account?
No. Every way in resolves to one account for each person, so your jobs, customers and role are all still there. The one-off emailed code is what stops a stranger's Google account walking into yours.
What is the six-digit code for?
If you enter your email address instead of choosing Google, Apple or Microsoft, we send one email with a six-digit code and a one-tap link. Use either. The code only works for a few attempts, so a guess cannot be repeated endlessly.
Does TradeYoke see my Google password?
No. Google confirms who you are; we receive your name, email address and an account identifier, not your Google password.
Can I take Google off again?
Yes. Go to My account, then Ways to sign in, and choose Remove next to Google, as long as at least one other way in remains. Any session it opened ends straight away.
What if I lose access to my Google account?
Sign in another way, such as the code we email to your address or a passkey, then add or remove ways to sign in under My account. That is why we never let you remove the last one.
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