The Client Exit Playbook
A step-by-step exit plan with word-for-word scripts, a handover checklist and a final-invoice process so you can let a client go cleanly.
Published Nov 4, 2026
Preview
This guide takes you from "I want this client gone" to a finished exit: a checked end date, one settled final number, a five-sentence notice, and a single handover package. It includes word-for-word scripts for the conversation, the usual pushback, and the review threat. Plan on an hour or two of prep, plus any wait for an attorney's answer, before the client hears anything.
1. Score the client before you decide
Open your time records, invoices, and messages for last month. Write down three numbers:
- Hours: all of them, including calls, texts, and invoice arguments.
- Revenue: what they actually paid or will pay for that month.
- Incidents: each disputed invoice and each crossed boundary, such as a late-night message or unpaid extra work.
Divide revenue by hours. Do the same for one or two clients you like. That comparison matters more than any general rule.
That is where the free part ends.
The rest walks the whole thing through, step by step — including the parts people get wrong and what to do when the normal route fails.