You are choosing a supplier you hope to work with for years. It still helps to understand how another team could take over. Budgets, team availability and your needs can change.
Discuss handover while both sides are planning a successful relationship. This gives you time to agree what the project produces and who will have access to it.
List what another team would need
Include source code and its history, setup instructions, environment configuration, data structures, integration documentation and design files. Add accounts for domains, hosting and external services.
For each item, record the owner, storage location and transfer method. With a commercial product, establish the available export options and conditions for continued use. Do not assume the product's source code will be included.
Check that the materials are usable
An archive of files does not prove that another team can run the system. Ask to walk through the environment setup instructions and data export. Agree how completeness will be checked and whether time is included for questions from an incoming team.
Transfer credentials and secrets through an agreed secure channel. Documentation should explain how access is managed rather than circulate passwords.
Include handover in the scope and budget
Establish which materials stay up to date during delivery, what you receive at the end and how additional transition support is priced. The agreed rights to use code, designs and services should match the contractual arrangements.
A useful question is: “What would a new supplier need to do before making its first change?” The answer helps you assess practical independence. It also reveals dependencies that a broad promise that the system will be “entirely yours” may leave unexplained. Resolve those dependencies while there is still time to plan for them.
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