Document Retention and Vendor Exit Readiness (Retention)

Document Retention and Vendor Exit Readiness (Retention)

1. 01

   Inventory every document store the client's files touch, including shadow copies

   List the primary repository plus any eSignature, PDF editing, and storage tools where client files have landed. Agencies routinely find three to five stores per account because a signed contract in Dropbox Sign, an edited PDF in DocHub, and the final deliverable in Dropbox are all separate copies.

2. 02

   Tag each document class with a legal retention floor before deleting anything

   Signed contracts, tax records, and compliance deliverables usually carry multi-year minimums; creative working files rarely do. Confirm the floor with the client's counsel in writing rather than assuming a default.

3. 03

   Export a full archive in open formats and verify it opens without the vendor

   Pull PDF/A for signed documents and original source formats for working files. Open a random sample of 20 files from the archive on a machine with no vendor software installed; if any fail, the export is not complete.

4. 04

   Confirm what the vendor keeps after termination and for how long

   Ask each provider in writing how long documents and audit trails persist post-cancellation and whether the client can retrieve them later. Retention-after-exit terms are the part of a contract nobody reads until it matters.

5. 05

   Map every API key, webhook, and embedded signing flow tied to the account

   An embedded signing component or webhook feeding a client portal will break silently when the account closes. Document each integration endpoint and its owner so decommissioning is sequenced, not discovered.

6. 06

   Set a quarterly terms review on the document stack

   Monetization and data-handling terms move fast: an audit of 175 AI tools found 105 changed monetization-relevant terms between June 23 and October 3, 2026. Put the review on the same calendar as the client's contract renewal so changes surface before they bite.

7. 07

   Run a restore drill from the archive once per engagement

   Have a delivery lead reconstruct one complete signed document set from the archive alone, including the audit trail. Time the drill; anything over a working day signals the archive is a backup in name only.

8. 08

   Record the exit plan in the client handoff file

   Write down the archive location, retention dates, integration owners, and vendor contacts. A retainer that ends without this file leaves the client dependent on the agency's memory.