---
title: "Take over software from a vendor or departing developer"
description: "A four-step handover checklist so the company owns its code, accounts and knowledge when a vendor contract ends or a key developer leaves."
url: https://lidvizion.ai/guides/take-over-software-from-a-vendor/
site: Lid Vizion
index: https://lidvizion.ai/llms.txt
---

[Field guides](https://lidvizion.ai/guides/) 4 steps

# Take over software from a vendor or departing developer

A four-step handover checklist so the company owns its code, accounts and knowledge when a vendor contract ends or a key developer leaves.

For: Founders and operators whose product was built by an agency, a freelancer or one in-house developer.

Many companies discover at handover that the code, domain or cloud account sits in someone else’s name, and that the knowledge to run the system was never written down. A planned handover avoids both. These four steps secure ownership first, then capture how the system works, then prove someone else can run it.

## Step 1 — Secure ownership and access

**Goal:** Make sure the company, not a person or vendor, holds every key.

1. List every account: code repository, cloud, domain, DNS, email sending, app stores, payment and analytics.
2. Move ownership to company accounts, with at least two company admins on each.
3. Collect credentials into a company password manager and rotate shared secrets.
4. Check the contract for code and IP ownership and any licences in use.

**You finish with:** An account inventory with company ownership and rotated credentials.

## Step 2 — Capture how it works

**Goal:** Write down what only the departing party knows.

1. Ask for an architecture overview: components, data stores and integrations.
2. Document how to build, test and deploy, including environment settings.
3. List scheduled jobs, third-party services and their renewal dates.
4. Record known bugs, workarounds and anything fragile.

**You finish with:** A handover pack the next team can follow.

## Step 3 — Prove it can be run without them

**Goal:** Test the handover while help is still available.

1. Have the new owner build and deploy from a clean machine using only the documentation.
2. Restore a backup into a test environment.
3. Walk through one real support issue end to end.
4. Fix gaps in the documentation as they appear.

**You finish with:** A successful deploy and restore by the new owner.

## Step 4 — Close out and plan next

**Goal:** End the old arrangement cleanly and set direction.

1. Remove the departing party’s access once the new owner is confirmed.
2. Agree a short paid support window for questions if needed.
3. Rank the known risks and decide what to fix first.
4. Set the first milestone for the new team with a clear scope.

**You finish with:** Access closed, risks ranked and a first milestone agreed.

## Common pitfalls

- Starting the handover in the last week of the contract.
- Accounts in a personal name or on a personal card.
- Documentation nobody has tested by actually deploying.
- Removing access before the new owner can run the system.

Want a hand getting started?

## Milestone & Custom Delivery

When the work is bounded, we can own the delivery directly—from integration and automation through a custom application or migration.

[See how it works](https://lidvizion.ai/services/milestone-delivery/) [Talk this playbook through](https://lidvizion.ai/contact/?need=milestone-delivery&from=%2Fguides%2Ftake-over-software-from-a-vendor%2F#write)

## More guides like this

- [Write acceptance criteria for a milestone](https://lidvizion.ai/guides/write-acceptance-criteria-for-a-milestone/)
- [Plan a legacy system migration](https://lidvizion.ai/guides/plan-a-legacy-system-migration/)

## Related answers

- [How should a company scope a technology or AI milestone?](https://lidvizion.ai/answers/how-to-scope-a-technology-milestone/)
- [When should a company build custom AI software instead of using existing tools?](https://lidvizion.ai/answers/when-should-a-company-build-custom-ai-software/)

Bring the messy version

## One workflow. A better way to run it.

Show us the tools, the handoffs, and the part that keeps slowing your team down.

[Let’s map your workflow](https://lidvizion.ai/contact/) · [Read our approach](https://lidvizion.ai/approach/)