Client offboarding is the last deliverable of a video project: the work closed and recorded, the access closed and cleaned, and the relationship left warm enough to reopen — ten steps across three phases. Teams that skip it pay in familiar currency: review links that quietly outlive the project, a testimonial never asked for, and "can you resend the files?" six months later with no archive to resend from. This checklist takes over where the delivery checklist ends.
Phase A — Close the work (steps 1–4)
- 1. Record the final approval. Which version, approved by whom, on what date — exported or screenshotted from the review tool. This is the receipt that ends every future "but we approved a different direction" conversation before it starts.
- 2. Confirm the delivery landed. A one-word "confirmed" from the client on the delivery email (the delivery checklist's Phase C produces this). Do not close the project on a sent email; close it on a confirmed one.
- 3. Settle the file disposition. One line, agreed in writing: what was handed over (project files? source assets? licenses list?), what you retain, and what a future re-edit costs. This is the difference between a quote and an excavation next year.
- 4. Recap usage rights. Where the client may use the video, for how long, and what music/stock licenses say — thirty seconds of writing now prevents the "can we put it on a billboard?" renegotiation being improvised later.
Phase B — Close the access (steps 5–7)
- 5. Expire or read-only every review link. Passwords can stay as archive locks; what must end is live access. Links that outlive projects are the slow leak — the security post's stale-link row exists because this step gets skipped.
- 6. Remove guest access and close seats. Guest reviewers lose the workspace; any client-owned seats or storage directories are handed back or transferred. Offboarding is also a billing-hygiene step.
- 7. Export the archive bundle. Masters, project files, assets, and the version/comment history that produced the approval — one bundle, one location, metadata attached so "the 2025 campaign spot" is findable in 2027 (the asset management practices list covers the metadata habit).
Phase C — Keep the door open (steps 8–10)
- 8. Ask for the testimonial while the glow is fresh — the wrap email below carries it, and asking at delivery+one-week converts far better than asking at renewal time. If the client is public-facing, offer a case-study trade: their results story, your credit, both opt-in.
- 9. Leave a findable re-entry point. One line in the wrap email: where their assets live, how to request a re-edit or re-send, and that the archive makes both a one-day turnaround.
- 10. Schedule the natural next touch. Not a newsletter — a calendar note to yourself: the campaign's results window, the seasonal follow-up, the footage anniversary ("we shot this a year ago — want the anniversary cut?"). Offboarding done well is the top of the next pipeline.
What skipping a step costs
| Skipped | What bites you later |
|---|---|
| Approval record | The scope dispute with no receipt, six weeks after goodbye |
| Link cleanup | A rough cut with temp music surfaces somewhere, origin unknown |
| Archive export | The re-edit request becomes unpaid archaeology |
| Testimonial ask | Portfolio says "work available upon request" forever |
| Next touch | The client re-engages through a cheaper door because you left none open |
Offboarding is also where freelance businesses quietly compound: the testimonial feeds the portfolio, the approval record makes the round rules credible in the next proposal, and the retained-and-documented archive is what lets you quote re-edits in a day. Close the account like you plan to be hired again — because that is usually how it happens.
FAQ
When should client offboarding start?
At confirmed delivery — not at the final approval. The offboarding window is the week after the client confirms the files play correctly on their side; starting earlier conflates delivery with closure, and starting later (month two) loses the freshness that makes testimonials and referrals easy.
Should I hand over project files when a project ends?
Whatever the contract says, stated once more in writing at offboarding: either the files are handed over with the licenses list, or you retain them with a named re-edit price and turnaround. The failure mode is silence — an unstated assumption that surfaces as an unpaid "quick favor" or a dispute.
How long should review links stay alive after delivery?
Two to four weeks of download access for the final files (stated in the delivery email), then expired — with the approval history exported first if you want it on file. Review links for the round history can go read-only rather than deleted; the goal is no live, uncontrolled access, not erasing the record.
What should a video team archive from a project?
One bundle per project: delivery masters, the project files, the source assets, the license receipts, and the review history that shows the approval. Attach fields (client, year, deliverable) so it is findable, and store it where the offboarding email says it lives — the archive's location is part of the deliverable.