Records retention schedule template with a licensing-value column

When should you use a retention schedule with a licensing-value column?

Use it when a client is about to apply, tighten or finally write down a retention policy, because that is the moment records get deleted on a timer. A standard schedule lists record sets, owners and keep periods. The extra column below flags the sets that deserve a short licensing review before the deletion date arrives.

The template is built for fractional CFOs, outsourced controllers and COO advisors who run policy clean-ups for companies of roughly 50-500 employees. It does not set legal retention periods. Those come from the client's counsel and accountant, who should confirm them for the client's industry and states.

What does the schedule template look like?

Copy the table into a spreadsheet and fill one row per record set, not per file. The first six columns are a normal schedule; the last two are the addition.

How do you fill in the licensing flag?

Mark Review when the record set shows years of connected activity with outcomes, and the company created it. Mark Skip when it mainly holds customer personal data, third-party material or anything under a legal hold.

Use the 3-test flag rule on each row:

1. Depth: does the set cover several years and link to other systems (ticket to invoice to renewal, for instance)?
2. Outcome: do records show a result, such as approved, paid, resolved, won or lost?
3. Rights: did the company create the records, and is there no contract or notice that blocks licensing?

Two yes answers and no obvious rights problem earns a Review flag. A flag is a prompt for a conversation, not a judgment that the records qualify, and nothing about it overrides a legal hold.

How do you roll the flags up for the CFO or CEO?

Summarize the flags in a short table the sponsor can read in a minute.

What should you not put in the template?

Keep the schedule at metadata level. Never paste record contents, customer names, personal data, contract terms or rewards into it. Do not promise a client any payment or outcome, and never type reward figures; program terms are on the rewards page.

Store the completed schedule with the client, not in your own files. The data inventory builder is a companion for listing systems and years, and a worked example of a metadata-only layout is the Intercom inventory template.

How do you tailor it to different clients?

What timing should you follow?

Run the schedule review at least a quarter before any scheduled bulk deletion, system sunset or migration. Hold deletions on Review rows until the sponsor decides. If a business is closing, preserve exports first; the notes on keeping Xero records after a business closes show the pattern for ledgers.

How does the referral fit, and who earns what?

The advisor's role is the introduction plus basic fit facts. Record contents never pass through the advisor; the company handles inventory, price, terms, redaction and delivery with SourceX directly. The company must meet the who qualifies baseline: 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), several years of documented operations, rights to license and an authorized sponsor.

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company, payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. No reward is guaranteed. Check your firm's engagement letter and professional rules on referral fees first. More on the role is on the page for fractional CFOs.

Next step

Add the licensing flag to your next retention policy engagement. If a client has Review rows and an engaged sponsor, register as a partner and make the introduction, or send the sponsor to sourcex.si/apply.