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The handoff feels like the end of a project. For the client, it's the start of living with the work. Most handoff problems don't show up on the day – they show up a year later, when someone on the client side needs a file and can't find it.
I've onboarded more than 400 agencies onto Ferrybox, and final delivery is the part of the process they most often wish they'd done differently. Here's what we've learned.
Why handoffs go wrong a year later#
On delivery day, everything is fresh. The client knows where the files are, the contact who approved them is still there, and the agency is a quick email away.
A year later, none of that is true. The marketing lead has moved on. The new one needs the logo in a format nobody remembers receiving. The transfer link expired eleven months ago. Someone finds a folder called "FINAL_v2_use this one" and hopes for the best.
The agency gets the email, of course. Someone digs through an archive, works out which version was approved, re-exports it and sends it over. It takes an hour, nobody bills for it, and it happens again three months later.
A good handoff is designed for that person a year from now – someone who wasn't on the project and doesn't know the history.
File naming that survives the client's intern#
File names are the first thing that breaks. Names that make sense inside the agency – "logo_final_HP_edit3.ai" – mean nothing to anyone else.
A naming convention for delivered files should answer three questions without opening the file: what is it, which version, and what format is it for. For example:
parcel-pine_logo_primary_full-colour.svgparcel-pine_logo_primary_white.pngparcel-pine_brand-guidelines_v1-2.pdf
Use the client's name first, so files still make sense when they're downloaded into a messy folder. Avoid "final" entirely. Use lowercase and dashes, so names work on every system and in every URL.
What to deliver beyond the files#
The files are only part of what the client needs. The other part is everything required to use them properly, and it's what's most often missing.
Fonts and licences. If the identity uses a commercial typeface, the client needs to know which one, where to licence it and what the licence covers. Don't send font files you're not allowed to share – send the information instead.
Source files. Agree in the contract whether source files are included. If they are, deliver them in an organised form, with linked assets embedded or packaged. A Figma file with broken components or an InDesign document with missing links isn't a source file; it's a puzzle.
Image licences. Stock photography, illustration and music come with licence terms. List them, with links, so the client doesn't reuse an image somewhere the licence doesn't allow.
Usage notes. A one-page summary of how the work should be used – minimum logo sizes, colour values, do's and don'ts – is often more useful day to day than a 60-page brand book.
Getting written sign-off#
The handoff should end with a clear, recorded sign-off: the client confirms they've received everything listed and that the project is complete.
This isn't about protecting yourself in a dispute, although it does that too. It's about closing the project cleanly. Without sign-off, projects drift: small requests keep arriving, the final invoice waits, and the team never quite moves on.
Ask for sign-off on a specific list, not on "everything". "Please confirm you've received the logo pack, the guidelines PDF and the Figma source files" is easy to check and easy to answer. If something is missing, you'll find out now, not in a year.
In Ferrybox, the delivery itself is a deliverable the client approves, so the sign-off is recorded with a name and a date next to the files.
The checklist#
Here's the checklist we share with agencies during onboarding. Adapt it to your work, but keep it written down – a handoff checklist only helps if it's used every time.
- All approved deliverables exported in the formats agreed in the brief
- Files named with the client's name, the item and the variant – no "final"
- A README explaining the folder structure and what each file is for
- Fonts listed with licensing information
- Source files packaged with linked assets, if included in the contract
- Image, illustration and music licences listed with links
- A one-page usage summary
- Files delivered somewhere permanent – not a link that expires
- Written sign-off from the client on a specific list of items
- The final invoice sent with the delivery, not two weeks later
The last two matter more than they look. A handoff without sign-off never quite ends, and an invoice sent while the client is pleased with the work gets paid faster than one that arrives after they've moved on.
After the handoff#
The project isn't quite over when the files are delivered. A week later, check in with a short message: is everything working, and has anyone on the client team had trouble finding something? It's the cheapest moment to fix a gap in the delivery.
Then archive the project properly on your side too. Keep the approved versions, the sign-off and the delivery list together. When the client comes back for the next project – and good handoffs make that more likely – you'll start from a clear record instead of an old inbox.
A year from now, someone on the client's team will need one of these files. Make the handoff for them.
