The offboarding email is the last thing a client reads from you inside the project — which makes it the first thing they remember when someone asks who did the work. Send it within a day or two of final delivery, while the win is fresh. Here is the message, followed by why each piece earns its place.

The email

Subject: {{Project name}} — wrap-up and everything you need

Hi {{Client name}},

With {{Final deliverable}} delivered and approved, we are officially wrapped — and I wanted to close properly rather than just go quiet.

What we accomplished. {{One or two sentences naming the concrete outcome — the launch, the number, the before-and-after. Use the client's own success measure from kickoff.}}

Where everything lives. All final deliverables, source files, and documentation are in {{Handoff location}}, with an index at the top level. Credentials have been transferred to your accounts, and I have removed my own access as of {{End date}}.

Support from here. Through {{Support end date}}, I will fix anything that is not working as delivered at no charge. After that — or for anything new — I am available at {{Rate}}, and returning clients go to the front of my queue.

Two small asks, only if the experience earned them: a short testimonial I could share with prospective clients, and — if anyone in your network needs {{Your service}} — an introduction. Both help me more than you would guess, and neither is expected.

Thank you for being a genuinely good client. The trust and the fast decisions showed up in the work. If {{Likely future need}} comes up next quarter, you know where I am.

Warmly, {{Your name}}

Why this structure works

• The results line does the marketing. Clients forward wrap-up emails to colleagues. One sentence with a concrete outcome makes the forward do your selling for you.
• The handoff paragraph kills the lingering-access anxiety. Saying plainly that everything is theirs and your access is gone reads as integrity — and protects you when something changes after you leave.
• The support terms prevent the eternal free-fix trap. A dated window with a rate after it converts future favors into future revenue, politely, before anyone has to ask.
• The double ask is soft on purpose. Framing the testimonial and referral as optional — only if the experience earned them — gets more yeses than pressure ever does.

Timing and follow-up

Send this after final payment clears, or with the final invoice if your contract ties IP transfer to payment — in that case, add one plain line saying ownership transfers on final payment. If the testimonial does not arrive within two weeks, follow up once with three specific prompts to make answering easy. Then let it go; the relationship is worth more than the quote.