This checklist sits under the separation planning guide. The questions are first raised in the 30-minute meeting agenda; this page tracks them until the shared systems go dark.
Anchoring the countdown to documented dates
Before ticking anything, write each milestone's date and where it came from.
| Milestone | Usual source of the date | If it is not set yet |
|---|---|---|
| Signing | Deal timetable held by deal counsel | Start milestone one now; it is cheapest before signing |
| Day 1 | The program office's cutover plan | Record the target quarter and who will fix it |
| End of transition services | The transition services schedule, system by system | Record "per schedule" and ask who holds the schedule |
Transition services often end system by system, not on one date. Note each shared system's end separately: the service desk tool may stop months before the email tenant. Post-closing rights are explained in the carve-out data separation guide.
Give every item a state: confirmed (a named person said so), open (with a name for who will find out) or at risk (the current plan leaves it behind). Keep the sheet to systems, entities, years and owners. No record contents, customer names or samples belong in it.
Milestone one: before the agreement is signed
The data schedule is still negotiable. Historical records can be allocated with one line now, or argued over for months later.
| Confirm | Owner | If skipped |
|---|---|---|
| Which record sets the divested unit created (service cases, engineering documentation, project files, quotes) | The unit's general manager | Nobody knows what to allocate, so history defaults to the parent |
| Which legal entity had the record creators on its payroll | HR and finance leads | Inboxes and drives stay registered to the parent |
| Whether the data schedule covers historical records or only Day 1 systems | Deal counsel | Years of records are left out of the allocation entirely |
| Who can authorize a commercial discussion for the new company after closing | The new company's designated CEO | An interested company has nobody able to say yes |
Finance can help here. Under SEC staff accounting guidance, carve-out income statements are expected to carry the full cost of running the business, including costs the parent covered, split by a sensible method when direct tracing is impractical. If the deal finance team has already split shared system costs by business unit, ask whether that work can guide the record sort. It is already done and already reviewed.
Milestone two: before Day 1
Day 1 is when staff, contracts and some systems change hands. Records follow only where someone has decided they should.
| Confirm | Owner | If skipped |
|---|---|---|
| For each shared system, how the separated company's records will be identified and moved or kept | Data workstream lead | Records of both businesses stay in one parent-owned database |
| Whether transferring employees' historical mailboxes and files move with them | Parent IT lead | The history of the people who move stays behind |
| Which rows of the ownership matrix are still open | Program office | Open rows become the first stall in any later rights review |
| Approximate volume and years for each record set the separated company will hold | General manager | The record set cannot be described to anyone |
Milestone three: before transition services end
Once the parent stops running a shared system for the separated company, access usually ends with it.
| Confirm | Owner | If skipped |
|---|---|---|
| The service end date for each shared system | SMO lead | Access ends before anyone notices |
| That the separated company has a full copy of each record set allocated to it, in a usable form | Separated company's IT lead | Records exist on paper but not in hand |
| Which copies the parent keeps, and for what purpose | Group counsel | Retained copies are mistaken for ownership, in either direction |
| Who decided each shared row, and where the decision is written | Deal counsel | The rights position cannot be shown later |
On copies: IRS guidance says to keep records until the period of limitations for the return they support runs out, generally three years and longer in listed cases, with employment tax records for at least four years. The parent will often keep copies of shared records for its own filings. That explains why a copy exists; it does not show who may license the records.
Reading the finished checklist back to the owner
Illustrative. A 410-person field services division has passed all three milestones.
| Record set | State | Entity holding it after separation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service cases, nine years | Confirmed | Separated company | Copy received before the service desk tool switched off |
| Technician procedures and fault notes | Confirmed | Separated company | Division-owned wiki moved on Day 1 |
| Shared CRM account histories | At risk | Undecided | Split by account owner still under discussion |
| Quotes since 2016 | Confirmed | Separated company | Exported from the shared ERP with an allocation note |
| Transferring staff mailboxes | Open | Parent | Group IT to confirm what moves |
That is a metadata-level description, and it took no exports by the advisor. If the designated CEO wants to explore licensing, disclose first: you are a SourceX referral partner, and if a qualifying license completes and every payment condition is met, SourceX may pay you a reward that is funded separately and never deducted from the separated company's payout. SourceX licenses approved business data directly from companies for AI training and evaluation, and manages agreement, rights review, data preparation, delivery and payout.
Then check fit for the separated company on its own, not the group: 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license the records 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. SourceX's current data needs, the rights review result on undecided rows and any offer stay unknown until SourceX reviews an application.
Sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting. Attribution goes to the first valid introduction within the 90-day window, credited when the company submits a verified application, one partner per company. A reward becomes payable after SourceX has paid the referred company under its signed agreement and the payout conditions in the program terms are met, including finance approval and your tax and payment details. The cumulative cap is $100,000 per referred company.](/rewards). When the owner opts in, use the separation planning introduction email. Wider deal checklists: the divestiture checklist, what IT due diligence means and legal entity rationalization after acquisitions.
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.
When the checklist shows a separated company holding years of its own records and an owner ready to talk before transition services end, register as a partner, confirm it on who qualifies and read the program terms.