Guide

How to Hand Off Final Files to a Client: A Checklist

The handoff is the step clients remember six months later, when someone asks them for "the logo, but white". A checklist for what to include, how to name it, how to send it and what to do afterwards.

Published Jul 25, 2026 · Updated Oct 24, 2026 · 3 min read

What should a client handoff include?

The final files in formats the client can open, the source files if your contract includes them, the fonts and licenses they need, and a one-page README that explains what is what. Leave out drafts, rejected versions and anything the client did not pay for. Send it as one link that stays up, not as a pile of attachments, and tell the client how long it will stay available.

Before you send: the checklist

  1. Formats. Export for each use the client mentioned: PDF for print (ask the printer which kind), PNG, JPG or SVG for web, and source files only if they are part of the deal.
  2. Names. Name every file so a stranger understands it: fernway-logo-horizontal-white.svg, not final-v3-USE-THIS.svg.
  3. Grouping. Group by use rather than by app: Print, Web, Social, Source.
  4. Licenses. List the fonts, stock photos and music in the project, and who holds each license. Many commercial font licenses do not let you hand the font files over; the client may need their own license.
  5. README. One page: what each group of files is for, which file to use where, the color values and fonts, and who to contact.
  6. Check. Open every file on a different computer, or at least in a different app, before you send it.

How to send it

For most handoffs, one link with every file on one page is the easiest thing for a client to keep:

  1. Go to droply.so and type a name, for example fernway-final-files.
  2. Select all the files and drop them together. They share one page, where the client can open each file or click Download all.
  3. Sign in, copy the link and send it with the email below.

Two things to know. Do not zip the files first: Droply treats a ZIP as a website, so upload the files themselves (the client can still download them as one ZIP). And mind the size: the free plan holds 10 MB, Starter 100 MB, Plus 1 GB and Pro 15 GB.

For very large source files, such as video footage or RAW photos, a shared cloud folder is the better fit. Mention it in the README so everything is findable from one place.

Avoid transfer links that expire after a few days for anything final. Clients rarely download everything straight away, and an expired link means another email to you.

The delivery email

Subject: Fernway brand files: everything in one place

Hi Maya,

All the final files are here: fernway-final-files.droply.page

Start with README.pdf. It explains which logo to use where. The Web folder covers the website and social; Print has the files for your printer.

The link stays up until the end of January. Download everything you need before then, and tell me if anything is missing.

Thanks for a great project, Ana

After the handoff

  • Confirm it arrived. Your dashboard shows whether the link has been viewed. If it has not after a few days, check in.
  • Keep the link up as long as you promised, then take it offline with Archive. Archived projects can be restored if the client comes back.
  • Keep your own backup of the final files and the README.
  • Ask for a testimonial once the client has used the work, not on the day of delivery.

How you send files during the project is a different question; see How freelancers send files to clients.

Hand off a project as one link that stays up.

Create a handoff link →