Client offboarding checklist: how to close a project properly

Onboarding gets checklists; endings usually get a last email and silence. A clean close gets you paid faster, protects you if a question comes up a year later, and is the best moment to ask for a review or a referral. This is the closing half of the client onboarding checklist, part of the time and projects hub.

1. Get paid

1. Confirm the last deliverable is approved in writing: an email, a signed acceptance, or an approval in your client portal.
2. Bill any unbilled hours and approved change orders on the final invoice, with the date range or reference for each.
3. Send the final invoice the day of approval, not at the end of the month.
4. Check that deposits and earlier milestone payments are credited, so the balance is right the first time.

2. Hand over

1. Deliver the final files in the formats your contract lists, in one place with clear names ("Acme_logo_final_RGB.svg", not "final-v7").
2. Send any transfer of rights or license the contract promises once the final payment clears.
3. Hand over passwords and accounts you created for them through a password manager share, and ask the client to change them.
4. Write a one-page handover note: what was delivered, where it lives, how to update it, and anything left open.

Many freelance contracts deliver final files on final payment. If yours does, say so again in the final invoice email; it is the fairest way to keep the order of events clear without holding anything hostage later.

3. Lock down

1. Remove yourself from their accounts: website admin, analytics, social media, shared drives, design tools. Or ask them to remove you, and keep the confirmation.
2. Turn off or rotate any shared links and portals you created for the project.
3. Delete client data you no longer need, such as personal data in form responses, unless the law or your contract says to keep it.
4. Archive the project in your tools, so it stops appearing in active lists but stays searchable.

4. Keep the right records

Keep the contract, the accepted proposal, change orders, invoices, payment records and the final approval together. The IRS asks businesses to keep records that support the income and expenses on their tax return (Publication 583). Its general rule is 3 years from the date you filed; 6 years if you failed to report income that's more than 25% of the gross income shown on the return; 7 years if you claim a loss from a bad debt or worthless securities; and indefinitely if you didn't file (IRS, "How long should I keep records?"). Contracts may also carry warranty or confidentiality terms that run longer. How long to keep business records has the full table.

5. Ask, at the right moment

Ask for feedback a week after the final invoice is paid, when the work is fresh and money is settled. Under the FTC's Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465, in effect since October 21, 2024), you can't buy reviews or offer a reward that depends on the review being positive, and you can't suppress negative ones. Asking every client in the same way is fine. A referral ask fits the same email or a later one; how to ask for referrals has wording.

The closing email

Subject: [Project] is complete: files, final invoice and next steps

Hi [first name],

[Project] is done. Thank you for [one specific thing: quick feedback, clear content].

Here is everything in one place:
- Final files: [link]. Formats: [list].
- Handover note: [link]. It covers [how to update X, where Y lives].
- Logins I set up for you: shared through [password manager]. Please change the passwords.
- Final invoice: [number], $[amount], due [date]. [Pay link]

I've removed my access to [accounts]. If you'd rather keep me on [account] for support, tell me and I'll stay on until [date].

If anything comes up with the work in the next [30] days, reply here and I'll fix it.

[Your name]

In SoloWOS

1. Use Add unbilled time on the final invoice in SoloWOS Invoicing so every billable hour is on it; the client can pay by card if your Stripe account is connected, and reminders go out 3 days before and 3 and 7 days after the due date.
2. Share final files for approval through the client portal; the client approves or asks for changes, and each version keeps its history. Turn the portal link off when the project ends.
3. Archive the project on the Projects page so it leaves your active lists; its tracked hours stay in reports.
4. Turn on the Ask for a review automation, which emails the client 7 days after an invoice is paid. It is one of the automations every freelancer should set up.
5. To keep your own copy of the records, export your workspace from Settings > Data & privacy.