The polite email from the new agency
A client's new agency writes to ask for the site files, database, hosting access and the domain transfer code. The studio is happy to help, but the site was built years ago. The domain is in the studio's registrar account. The site is on a shared server. Some premium plugins run under the studio's licences. The client's analytics were set up under the studio's account. Someone has to work out all of this, from memory, while other client work waits.
Two weeks later, the new agency comes back: the contact form stopped working after the move, because the sending service was on the studio's account. The client is unhappy with everyone.
Why exits are messy
- Assets for one client are spread across registrar accounts, servers, tool accounts and licences.
- Nothing records which of those belong to the client and which to the studio.
- Exits are rare for any single client, so there is no practised routine.
- Handover happens under time pressure, often while the relationship is cooling.
- Things missed in the handover break later, and the studio gets blamed.
The same records that help you run a client's site are the ones you need to hand it over. Most studios do not have them in one place.
What a messy exit costs
Unbillable time goes into handing over. Things break after the move and damage the studio's reputation, which matters because clients talk to other businesses. The studio keeps paying for hosting, licences or tools for a client who has gone. Access that should have been removed is left in place, on both sides.
The exit checklist we build
- When a client is marked as leaving, the checklist is generated from your site inventory, domain register, hosting register, licence register and access records.
- Each item is marked transfer, export, cancel or remove: domain transfer, DNS details, site files and database export, email and sending service, analytics and tag manager, premium plugin licences, stock and font licences, backups.
- The export of site files and database is produced automatically, along with a document listing plugins, themes, custom code and any configuration a new host needs.
- Items that depend on studio-held accounts, such as a sending service or licence, are highlighted with what the client will need to set up themselves.
- The handover pack is shared with the client through a secure link, and the transfer steps are tracked to completion.
- Studio access to the client's systems, and the client's access to studio systems, is removed once the handover is confirmed.
- Hosting, licences and subscriptions for the client are cancelled or reallocated, and billing is stopped.
| Item | Action | Why it breaks if missed |
|---|---|---|
| Domain | Transfer or change registrant | Site and email tied to your account |
| Site files and database | Export with documentation | New host cannot rebuild the site |
| Email sending service | Client sets up their own | Forms stop delivering |
| Premium plugin licences | Client buys own licences | Updates stop, or licence terms broken |
| Analytics and tags | Transfer ownership | Client loses data history |
| Hosting and billing | Cancel after migration | You keep paying for a site you no longer run |
A clean exit
The new agency writes. The studio marks the client as leaving, and the checklist is ready with every item listed. The export and documentation go out through a secure link. The client is told clearly which licences and services they need to set up. The domain transfer is tracked. After the move, the hosting is cancelled and access removed. The form keeps working, because the client set up their own sending service before the switch.
Would a client exit catch you out?
- Client domains, hosting and licences are held in your accounts.
- There is no standard process when a client leaves.
- Handover packs are put together from memory.
- Things have broken after a client moved to another provider.
- You still pay for hosting or tools for former clients.