Turnaround first 30 days checklist: cash, control, systems and records

What the first 30 days of a turnaround need to achieve

The first month has four jobs: get control of cash, settle who decides what, steady lenders, customers, suppliers and staff, and stop irreversible changes until you know what they would destroy. System shutdowns belong in that last group, which is why a records review sits in week one rather than month three.

Most CROs and interim CEOs arrive with a cash forecast template and a stakeholder map. Fewer arrive with a systems list. Yet the same cost review that finds overdue payables also finds dozens of software subscriptions, and those are among the easiest lines to cut.

Why systems and records belong in week one

Cancelling a CRM, help desk or chat workspace can end years of history in one billing cycle. Those records support lender reporting, disputes, insurance claims, tax filings and any later sale diligence. For some companies, they may also be an asset: developers training AI agents pay for permissioned records of how work actually gets done, such as decisions, tickets, projects and their outcomes, since little of it is ever published.

The goal is not to keep every subscription. It is to cancel each one only after its data has been exported or someone with authority has signed off that it is not needed.

The turnaround first 30 days checklist

Assign an owner and a due date to every line. Items marked open on day 30 go on the board agenda.

Days 1-7: cash, authority and communication

• Bank accounts, signatories and payment approval limits confirmed, with dual approval on disbursements
• 13-week cash flow forecast started, with a named owner and a weekly update
• Authority matrix agreed with the board, setting what the CRO or interim CEO decides alone
• Lender contacts, reporting deadlines and covenant tests listed
• Holding messages ready for employees, key customers and critical suppliers

Days 1-10: systems and access freeze

• Freeze on cancelling or downgrading any system until it has an owner and an export decision
• Every system listed with admin, billing owner, renewal date and monthly cost, pulled from payables and corporate card statements as well as IT
• Admin credentials and multi-factor devices moved off departing staff
• Offboarding changed so departing employees' accounts are suspended, not deleted

Days 8-20: records and retention

• Auto-delete and retention settings checked on email, chat and file storage
• Litigation holds confirmed with counsel wherever disputes exist or are likely
• Exports tested for every system on the cancellation list, with archives stored where the company controls them
• Retired systems and old backups located, including those from acquired businesses
• For call recording archives, how callers were notified documented

Days 15-30: rights, approvals and options

• Who created each major record set: employees, contractors or clients
• Customer contracts and privacy policy terms on data use pulled for counsel
• Credit agreement checked for limits on selling or licensing intangibles
• Board and lender approvals mapped for any sale or license of records
• Final call recorded for each system: retain, archive then cancel, or downgrade to read-only

The system ownership checklist has more detailed questions for the rights lines.

How to read the results

What to say in the first meeting with management and lenders

Raise records as a control issue first and an opportunity second. That framing gets the freeze approved.

To the management team:

To the lender group:

What approvals would a license of records need?

It depends on who controls the company's assets at the time.

In chapter 11, the federal courts' chapter 11 overview explains that the debtor ordinarily keeps possession and control of its assets as debtor in possession and proposes a plan, so management still runs the business but under court oversight; ask restructuring counsel which steps need a motion.

Two record types need extra care. Call recordings: the federal Wiretap Act at 18 U.S.C. section 2511 generally permits recording when one party consents, but California's Penal Code section 632 requires the consent of all parties to record a confidential communication, so document how callers were notified before treating an archive as an asset. Customer data: FTC staff warned in February 2024 that adopting more permissive practices, such as using customer data for AI training, and disclosing them only through a quiet retroactive change to terms or a privacy policy may be unfair or deceptive. Do not rewrite the privacy policy to make records licensable; let counsel assess what the original terms allow.

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel before acting.

Red flags for any records license

• History already purged, or no one left who can run an export
• Work product that belongs mainly to the company's clients, without their consent
• Data made up mostly of consumer profiles or patient records
• An existing license of the same records for AI training
• A board or owner who will not consider an exclusive license for an agreed term
• A lender, court or assignee that controls the assets and has not been involved

Where a data license fits in a turnaround

Screen a company when it is US-based, had 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), has kept documented operations for several years, generated its own records and has someone who can sign for it: the owner, CEO, CFO or another authorized representative. Status does not rule it out: a business that is still trading, has been sold or is winding down can qualify as long as the data survives. The who qualifies page has the full baseline.

1. You introduce the company through the referral form or a referral link; your part ends there.
2. SourceX checks scale, history, data breadth and rights with the sponsor.
3. Management completes a data inventory of systems and date ranges.
4. Price and terms are agreed, and nothing binds the company until it signs.
5. Buyers look at the opportunity; once a company is deal-ready they typically respond within about two weeks.
6. With the agreement signed, the selected dataset is redacted to the agreed standard and handed over, and the company receives one all-in payment, typically within about 60 days of invoicing once the buyer selects the data.

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, paid only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. If you are engaged by the company, a personal reward raises conflict questions, so check your engagement letter and the compliance review checklist first.

Next step

Put the systems freeze on your day-one list. If the company fits, register as a partner and use the introduction email builder to prepare a brief message the sponsor can approve. For sponsor-owned businesses moving from stabilization to a growth plan, the 100-day plan template carries the records step forward.