Scenario 2 · Takeover and Contractor Transition

You were sold an AI system. You got a dashboard that looks at other dashboards.

The pitch was great. The delivery is a mirror of tools you already had, hosted somewhere you cannot log in to, built by someone who is now mostly talking about the invoice. You want out. You also do not want to lose your domain, your leads, or your weekend. We run the handoff and take the project from here.

Start the Takeover Intake See It Done in One Day

Sound Familiar?

What the owner said on the call that became the case study.

"He's basically telling me I have access to everything, but I don't."

"I don't know what I have access to and what he has access to. I don't think he can create any damage, but I'm not sure."

"It's been three weeks and I'm still where I was three weeks ago."

"I want to give him the $900 I owe him today, but I also want to make sure that I'm safe."

"I'm just afraid to do something and then he realizes what's going on and then he does something stupid."

"He's basically learning on my dime."

Why Not Just Cut Them Off Tonight

Because the order matters, and so does the backup.

The instinct is to change every password at midnight and send a short email in the morning. Sometimes that is exactly right. But a takeover has the same shape as terminating an employee who holds privileged access, and that has a playbook for a reason.

"This is very similar to an employee being terminated who has access to privileged information. We want to make sure we have everything that they have access to, make sure they don't destroy anything, change anything, and make sure that we have complete access and control over everything."

Michael Bowers, Heed AI Solutions

Three things go wrong when the order is wrong. First, anything hosted on the vendor's own accounts (their Render, their Cloudflare, their GitHub, their Google Sheet) disappears the moment they feel cut off, and you have no backup. Second, API keys that live inside their code keep working after you change the password, so the lockdown you think you did is not the lockdown you did. Third, an angry vendor holds the handoff hostage over the invoice, and now you are paying a lawyer to get a spreadsheet.

"As long as I get a backup of it, I can recreate it and then we can rebuild your platforms under your name and your control. That's really what I want to aim for: get the backup first."

Michael Bowers

So the sequence is: inventory, back up, lock down what is yours, then the call, then payment. Every step is done with you, on screen share, and written down.

The Takeover, Step by Step

What happens between the intake and the last payment.

1
Inventory from your sent folder
You forward every email and message where you shared a login, an invite, or a one-time code. We turn it into a register of what they can touch. "You may have given him either more than you think or less than you think."
2
Sort by ownership
Each item is marked yours (they have a login to your account), theirs (it lives on their platform), or unknown. Yours gets locked down. Theirs gets backed up before anyone is told anything.
3
Lock down in the right order
Registrar first, because whoever controls the domain controls everything. Then DNS, hosting, Google or Microsoft admin, email marketing, CRM, social, accounting, payments. Remove one-time passcode devices. Regenerate every API key, not just the passwords.
4
The handoff email, drafted for you
Short, calm, and specific: credentials have been changed, here is what needs to be transferred, Michael will confirm on a call, payment goes out the moment it is confirmed. We write it, you send it.
5
The Continuity Call, run by Michael
One hour. Acknowledge the work. Ask where every piece actually runs. Collect the repository, the cloud projects, the exports, and the keys they forgot to mention. Confirm nothing writes anywhere it should not. Confirm subscriptions are cancelled.
6
Confirm, then pay immediately
When the transfer is complete, you pay. Not before, not a week later. It is the fairest structure for both sides and it keeps the call civil.
7
Rebuild on accounts you own
Anything worth keeping is recreated under your name. Anything that was "information in a new place" is replaced with something that acts. A continuity page inside the app lists every account and key from day one, so this never happens to you again.

What We Secured for Gordon

Ten accounts, one afternoon.

Account	What the developer held	What was done
GoDaddy	Full login plus an API key in his code	Password changed first. Key rotated after he volunteered it on the call.
Mailchimp, JobTread	Logins and an API key	Passwords changed, key regenerated
Meta	One-time passcode sign-in	Device removed; the dashboard feed went dark by design
Google Sheet of leads	Owned by his account	Exported and recreated under the client's Workspace
GitHub, Cloudflare	His accounts	Repo separated and transferred; Heed added to the Cloudflare project to export the workers
Render, GoHighLevel	His accounts	Left with him; nothing worth keeping. Trial confirmed cancelled.
QuickBooks, Meta Business Manager	Never granted	Nothing to do. Good instinct by the client.

Read the Full Case Study

Pricing

The Continuity Call is a flat $399.

That covers the pre-call access inventory, the handoff email, the call itself, collection of repositories, projects, exports, and keys, and the follow through until payment is released. It is the same flat fee Gordon paid. Rebuild work afterward is quoted separately once we know what is worth keeping. If the situation is larger than a single vendor, we quote a fixed fee from the intake form within one business day. Standard hourly is $250.

Continuity Call

$399 flat

Access inventory from your sent emails
Lockdown order, done with you on screen share
Handoff email drafted
The call, run by Michael
Repos, projects, keys, and exports collected
Payment released on confirmation

FAQ

Questions we hear on the first call.

Can I just change all my passwords and stop paying?

You can, and for some accounts you should, tonight. But if anything runs on the vendor's own hosting, repository, or cloud account, cutting them off first means losing it. The order is: back up what you cannot control, change what you can, then have the conversation. We tell you which is which.

Will you be rude to my contractor?

No. The call opens by acknowledging what they did well, because usually something was. It is firm about what has to be transferred and by when, and payment is released the moment it is. In the case study, the developer and Michael ended up booking coffee.

What if they have gone completely quiet?

Then we work from your side only: inventory from your sent emails, lock down every account you can reach, back up what is on your platforms, and rebuild anything that was on theirs. We also draft the message that gives them one clear, respectful chance to hand off and get paid.

What if they are holding my code or data until I pay?

Pay on handoff. We put the transfer steps in writing, they complete them, we confirm on the call, you pay immediately. Both sides get what they want and nobody has to trust anybody.

Do you take over the build afterward?

If you want us to. The takeover is priced separately from the build, and the findings are yours whether you hire us for the next phase or not. Most clients do, because by the end of the call we know the system better than anyone.

How fast?

Gordon's took one business day: 11:00 AM discovery call, 3:00 PM handoff call. If your situation is urgent, say so in the form and Michael will call you.

What does it cost?

The Continuity Call is a flat $399: pre-call access inventory, the call, collection of repos, projects, and keys, and the follow through until payment is released. Rebuild work afterward is quoted separately. Standard hourly is $250.

Keep Reading

You were sold an AI system. You got a dashboard that looks at other dashboards.

What the owner said on the call that became the case study.

Because the order matters, and so does the backup.

What happens between the intake and the last payment.

Inventory from your sent folder

Sort by ownership

Lock down in the right order

The handoff email, drafted for you

The Continuity Call, run by Michael

Confirm, then pay immediately

Rebuild on accounts you own

Ten accounts, one afternoon.

The Continuity Call is a flat $399.

Tell us what they have, what you have, and how fast this needs to happen.

Questions we hear on the first call.

Case Study: The $900 Handoff

How to Part Ways With an AI Contractor Safely

Who Actually Owns Your AI Project?

You were sold an AI system. You got a dashboard that looks at other dashboards.

What the owner said on the call that became the case study.

Because the order matters, and so does the backup.

What happens between the intake and the last payment.

Inventory from your sent folder

Sort by ownership

Lock down in the right order

The handoff email, drafted for you

The Continuity Call, run by Michael

Confirm, then pay immediately

Rebuild on accounts you own

Ten accounts, one afternoon.

The Continuity Call is a flat $399.

Tell us what they have, what you have, and how fast this needs to happen.

Questions we hear on the first call.

Related guides and articles.

Case Study: The $900 Handoff

How to Part Ways With an AI Contractor Safely

Who Actually Owns Your AI Project?

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