{"id":132,"slug":"ownership-checklist-at-agency-separation","title":"Ownership Checklist: what an SMB must be able to walk away with at agency separation","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","claude-code","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["agency-methodology","platform-lock-in","data-portability","domain-registration"],"reference_body":"**The practical deliverable from [[research-brief-owning-your-stack]].** At agency separation, an SMB should be able to walk away with **all** of the following, with **no agency cooperation required**:\n\n### Domain & DNS\n- [ ] Registrar account login under the business's own credentials (not agency master account)\n- [ ] **Registrant listed as the business or business owner — not the agency** (see [[icann-registrant-is-legal-owner]])\n- [ ] Auto-renew enabled with billing card under the business's name\n- [ ] DNS provider login under business credentials (if separate from registrar)\n- [ ] Documented list of all DNS records (A, AAAA, MX, CNAME, TXT, CAA)\n\n### Email\n- [ ] Google Workspace / Microsoft 365 tenant owned by the business (super admin = business email, not agency email)\n- [ ] At least two super admins in the business\n- [ ] Mailbox export procedure documented (Workspace Takeout / Microsoft Compliance Export)\n- See [[google-workspace-no-cross-tenant-file-transfer]] for why this is hard to fix after the fact\n\n### Code\n- [ ] Git repository hosted under business's own account (GitHub Org, GitLab Group) — not agency's\n- [ ] Business has owner-level access to the repo\n- [ ] README documents build/deploy steps\n- [ ] No private/proprietary agency npm or Composer dependencies without source access\n- [ ] License terms for any agency-developed code clearly assign IP to the business\n\n### Content\n- [ ] Database export procedure documented AND tested (see [[rule-require-database-export-day-one]])\n- [ ] Media library export (full-resolution, not optimized thumbnails) accessible\n- [ ] Content stored in standard formats (Markdown, HTML, JSON) or a documented schema\n- [ ] No page-builder shortcodes / proprietary JSON in critical content (or a clean export path exists)\n\n### Infrastructure\n- [ ] Hosting account billed to the business (not the agency)\n- [ ] SSH / admin credentials transferable\n- [ ] Backup procedure runs to a location the business controls (S3 with business's keys, not agency's)\n\n### Analytics & Search\n- [ ] GA4 property under business's Google account (with agency as delegated user, not the other way around)\n- [ ] Google Search Console verified by DNS TXT or HTML file controlled by the business — **owner = business**\n- [ ] Google Business Profile owned by the business email, not the agency\n- [ ] Meta Business Manager assets (pixel, ad account) owned by the business\n\n### Customer relationships\n- [ ] CRM / email-list / customer database export under business control\n- [ ] Payment processor (Stripe, Shopify Payments, etc.) account in business's name\n- [ ] Reviews on platforms tied to a business-controlled email\n\n## Red flags — you're already hostage if:\n\n- Your domain WHOIS shows the agency name as Registrant\n- You can't log into Google Search Console without the agency\n- Your hosting bill is paid by the agency\n- Your site uses an agency-proprietary CMS with no documented export\n- You can't get a database dump on request\n- Your email is on the agency's Workspace tenant","rationale_body":"This checklist is the deliverable most readers will save and act on. Treat it as the article's primary artifact. Each item maps to an atomic claim entry in the KB for the underlying reasoning.","metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"icann-registrant-is-legal-owner","title":"ICANN: listed Registrant is the legal owner of a domain — admin/technical contact is NOT ownership","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"google-workspace-no-cross-tenant-file-transfer","title":"Google Workspace: cannot transfer file ownership to external accounts; client separation requires IMAP+DNS migration","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"agency-domain-hostage-pattern-recurring","title":"Agency-as-Registrant \"domain hostage\" pattern — practitioner-documented but rarely litigated","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"rule-document-exit-transition-in-contract","title":"RULE: Standard agency contract includes a written exit-transition clause naming deliverables and timelines","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"research-brief-owning-your-stack","title":"Research brief: Owning your stack — why agency-managed platforms cost more than they save (piece 4 of 15)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-22T19:17:26.873Z","updated_at":"2026-05-22T19:17:26.873Z"}