Software agency · Delivery
Software project handover
End a project with the client owning everything they paid for, and proof that they do. The client confirms each transfer through a shared link, and nothing goes to the client until the project manager approves the handover summary.
- Duration: 1 to 2 weeks
- How often: At the end of every project
- Steps: 8 steps
- AI agents: 1 AI agent
- Approvals: 1 approval
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What changes with this template
Without it
The repository and hosting stay in the agency's accounts for years.
The documentation is whatever the last developer remembered to write.
Nobody can say when the warranty started.
Former team members still have access to the client's production systems.
With it
Code, hosting, domains and third-party accounts move to the client during the handover.
The engineering lead brings the documentation up to date against a fixed checklist.
The warranty start and end dates are recorded with the handover.
The team's access is removed after the client confirms ownership.
The template, step by step
Each step says who does it: someone on your team, an AI agent, or the client through a shared link. An approval keeps every later step locked until it is given.
- Done by your team
- Done by an AI agent
- Done by the client, through a shared link
Starts when
The client has accepted the final milestone, or the contract ends. The project manager starts a run with the client name and the handover date.
- 1
Plan the handover
Day 1Project manager · Team
List what the client receives under the contract, agree the handover date and send the client's technical contact the shared link.
Checklist
- Deliverables listed from the contract
- Support after handover agreed or offered
- Shared link sent
Fields to fill in
- Client name (required)
- Handover date (required)
- Technical contact email (required)
- Deliverables under the contract (required)
- 2
Bring the documentation up to date
Days 1 to 5Engineering lead · Team
Update the README, the architecture overview, the setup and deployment guide and the list of third-party services, and write down the known issues.
Checklist
- Architecture overview current
- Setup and deployment guide tested
- Third-party services and their costs listed
- Known issues listed
Fields to fill in
- Link to the documentation (required)
- Known issues and technical debt
- 3
Transfer code, hosting and accounts
Week 1DevOps engineer · Team
Move the code repository, hosting, domains and third-party accounts to the client's ownership, and rotate every secret the team used.
Checklist
- Repository ownership transferred
- Hosting and domains under the client's account
- Third-party accounts transferred
- Secrets and keys rotated
Fields to fill in
- Link to the transferred repository (required)
- What could not be transferred yet
- 4
Check the handover and draft the summary
Week 1Handover writer · AI agent
The handover writer compares the checklists and fields on the run with the handover list in its instructions, lists what is missing and drafts the summary the client receives: what they own, where it lives, the known issues and the warranty terms from its instructions.
Fields to fill in
- Missing items
- Draft handover summary (required)
Checked by: The project manager resolves the gaps and approves the summary in step 5.
- 5
Review and approve the handover summary
Week 2Project manager · Team
Resolve the missing items, correct the summary, then approve it and email the final handover document to the technical contact at the client.
Checklist
- Missing items resolved
- Warranty terms match the contract
- Support options described
Fields to fill in
- Link to the final handover document (required)
Approval: The client is not asked to confirm the handover until the project manager approves the summary.
- 6
Client confirms ownership
Week 2Client technical contact · Shared link
Using the handover document the project manager emailed, the client's technical contact signs in to each transferred account, opens the documentation and confirms through the shared link what they received.
Checklist
- Signed in to the code repository
- Signed in to hosting and domains
- Documentation opened
- Third-party accounts checked
Fields to fill in
- Confirmation (required)
- What is missing
- 7
Remove the team's access
Week 2DevOps engineer · Team
Remove the team's access to the client's systems, unless a support agreement continues, and record any access that remains and why.
Checklist
- Team access removed
- Agency copies of credentials deleted
- Remaining access recorded
Fields to fill in
- Access that remains and why
- 8
Start the warranty and send the final invoice
Week 2Finance manager · Team
Record the warranty start and end dates from the contract and send the final invoice.
Checklist
- Final invoice sent
- Warranty dates shared with the client
Fields to fill in
- Warranty starts (required)
- Warranty ends (required)
- Final invoice number (required)
Done when
The client owns the code, accounts and documentation, the team's access is removed, and the warranty period has a start and end date on record.
Make it yours. Rename steps, change owners and add checklist items, fields or approvals. The template is a starting point for the way your team works.
The AI agents in this template
An agent only works on its own steps, and a person on your team checks what it did. Anything an agent writes to a connected app waits for approval unless you allow it.
Handover writer
Checks the handover for gaps and drafts the summary the client receives.
What it does
- Compares the run's checklists and fields with the handover list in its instructions
- Lists anything missing or unclear
- Drafts the handover summary from the values on the run
- Completes its step, so the project manager can review
Checked by: The project manager resolves the gaps and approves the summary in step 5.
Questions this template answers
Transfer the code, accounts and documentation into the client's ownership, have them confirm it, and only then remove your own access. Steps 2 to 7 do that in order, from the documentation update to the client's confirmation in step 6 and the access removal in step 7.
Where the code and accounts live, how to set up and deploy, the third-party services, the known issues and the warranty and support terms. In step 4 the handover writer drafts that summary from the run, and in step 5 the project manager corrects and approves it.
Ask the client to sign in to every transferred account and confirm it, instead of assuming an email was enough. In step 6 the client's technical contact ticks each account and records their confirmation through the shared link.
After the client has confirmed ownership, unless a support agreement continues, and with every shared secret rotated. Step 3 rotates the secrets during the transfer, and step 7 removes the team's access and records what remains and why.
Agree on a clear start and end date and record them with the handover, so warranty work and billable work are easy to tell apart later. In step 8 the finance manager records both dates and sends the final invoice.
Let AI check the handover for gaps and draft the summary, and keep the approval with the project manager. The handover writer does that in step 4, and step 5 is an approval gate before the client is asked to confirm anything.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.