This decision tree belongs to the knowledge handover gaps guide. Its job is narrower than the guide's: for one firm in one deal, work out who can say yes to a conversation about its handover records, and when that answer changes.
Who holds the handover records, and who can commit them
Everyone in a transition touches these records. Very few of them decide what happens to them.
| Role | What they hold or know | Can they authorize a licensing discussion? |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge base or tracker administrator | Spaces, version history, archive and purge settings | No: admin rights are not authority |
| Departing practice lead | The tacit rules, and the written answers given during transition | No: consulted, may be named in records |
| Incoming team lead | Questions raised after the handover and how they were resolved | No |
| Operations director | The handover program, the checklist, which systems hold what | Sponsors and convenes; usually not alone |
| Selling owner, as CEO | The firm's records until closing | Yes, before closing, within the purchase agreement |
| Acquirer's integration lead | The integration plan | Sponsors after closing; does not sign |
| Acquirer's CEO | The records after closing | Yes, after closing |
| General counsel on each side | Client engagement terms, deal restrictions, personal data | Sets limits; approval sits with the CEO |
The administrator row matters more than it looks. In Confluence Cloud, purging a trashed page removes it with all its versions and attachments, and deleting a single version is permanent. Someone with those rights can end a record's history in a minute, which is exactly why holding the rights is not the same as deciding what the firm does with its records.
ConfluenceThe yes path: questions to ask in order
Walk the tree in sequence. Stop at the first person who can honestly answer yes to question 4, and make sure counsel is aware by question 5.
- Does this person run a system or the program? An administrator can describe what is kept and for how long. Ask who runs the handover overall.
- Does this person own the handover program? That is usually the operations director. Ask them to sponsor the conversation and to name the decision-maker on each side of the deal.
- Has the deal closed? This is the branch point. Before closing, authority sits with the seller; after it, with the acquirer. Between signing and closing, the purchase agreement may restrict what the seller does with company assets.
- Can this person commit the firm's records to an agreement? If yes, this is the introduction: the firm's CEO, usually the selling managing partner, before closing, and the acquirer's CEO after.
- Is counsel involved? If not, suggest the sponsor brings counsel to the first call, because client terms set scope.
- Do client engagement letters or personal data limit use? Consultancy tickets mention clients and staff. In an acquisition, the UK regulator's due diligence guidance asks firms to identify why personal data was originally collected and the lawful basis for sharing it. Counsel answers this; the partner only notes that it applies.
The usual mistake is stopping at question 2. The operations director is the right sponsor and, in most firms, the wrong signer.
Branches that need counsel, client or deal sign-off
Some records sit behind someone else's permission. Name the branch and leave it to the people who decide.
| Record class | Why it needs review | Who decides | Likely outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process pages and their version history | The firm's own know-how; may quote client specifics | CEO, with counsel checking client terms | Often the cleanest candidate |
| Handover checklists | Internal, low sensitivity | CEO | Often in scope |
| Tracker tickets with client engagement detail | Client confidentiality under engagement letters | Counsel, client by client | Some clients in scope, some excluded or removed |
| Questions and answers naming staff | Personal data about employees | Counsel | Names removed or excluded |
| Anything between signing and closing | Purchase agreement restrictions | Counsel on both sides | Wait for closing or written consent |
Who decides the data scope of a potential partnership covers how scope is set once the right person is in the room, and why data rights matter explains what the rights review checks.
Before closing and after closing: two paths (Illustrative)
The same fictional 230-person compliance consultancy, approached at two points in its acquisition. Neither column describes a real firm or deal.
| Question on the tree | Approached six weeks before closing | Approached three months after closing |
|---|---|---|
| Who describes the records? | Operations director | Operations director, now reporting to the acquirer |
| Who sponsors? | Operations director | Acquirer's knowledge lead |
| Who signs? | Selling managing partner, as CEO | Acquirer's CEO |
| Extra review | Seller's counsel on the purchase agreement; buyer's counsel informed | Acquirer's counsel on client engagement letters |
| Real deadline | Closing date, after which seller authority ends | Planned merge of the seller's spaces into the acquirer's |
| Likely first scope | Process pages and checklists | Pages, checklists, then tickets client by client |
Before closing the path is short but constrained; after closing it is longer but authority is clear. A partner who knows which side of the date the firm is on can name the right person at once. On the finance side of the same transition, the CFO handover document shows who inherits records, and when private credit lenders take the keys covers a different change of control.
What stays open until SourceX's rights review
When the right signer agrees to talk, be clear that these questions remain open:
- Rights: which record classes and years the firm may license, given client engagement terms and the purchase agreement.
- Removal: which client and staff details must come out.
- Demand: whether any buyer wants handover exception histories when SourceX reviews them.
- Terms: whether an offer follows and what it contains.
The firm needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions; the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application, with one partner per company. The system map helps the sponsor describe where records sit, and the referral brief template puts it on one page.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
Once you know which side of closing the firm is on and the operations director has named the signer, register as a partner, check the firm against who qualifies and read the program terms before making the introduction.