Handover checklist for makers: delivering a commissioned piece

The handover is the last thing a client experiences on a commission, and often the part they remember most clearly. Weeks of good updates can be undone by a rushed delivery, a missing care note or a confused conversation about the final payment.

This guide is for workshops of one to five people that make to order: furniture, jewellery, ceramics and glass, leather and textiles, instruments and metalwork. It covers the final inspection, record photos, the document pack, delivery and installation, the final payment, what the client signs and receives, and the extras that matter for each craft. There is a copyable checklist at the end.

Nothing here is legal advice. Where a rule applies to a craft, we cite the authority so you can check the detail for your country.

Key takeaways

• In a study of patients' memories, Redelmeier and Kahneman found that people's overall judgement of an experience tracked its worst moment and its final minutes; applying that to a commission is our inference, but it is a good reason to plan the ending.
• Inspect the piece against the agreed specification, not against your memory of it.
• Photograph the finished piece, its mark or serial number and any agreed condition notes before it leaves the workshop.
• Hand over a document pack: care card, guarantee terms, invoice or receipt, and a certificate or materials record for larger pieces.
• Settle the final payment as your agreement says, and confirm it in writing before delivery day.
• Craft rules can apply at handover: in the UK, precious-metal items above the exemption weights must be hallmarked; in the EU, ceramics sold for food use must come with a written declaration of compliance.

Why the ending deserves a plan

Donald Redelmeier and Daniel Kahneman recorded patients' pain minute by minute during two medical procedures. Afterwards, the patients' overall rating of the experience was strongly linked to the most intense moment and to the last three minutes, while the length of the procedure made little difference. A commission is a very different experience from a medical procedure, so treat this as a prompt rather than proof. Still, the finish of a long project shapes how it is remembered, and the finish is the part makers most often improvise.

Your progress updates set expectations during the build. The handover meets them.

1. Final inspection

Check the piece against the written specification and any approvals the client gave during the build. Use a list, even for a piece you know well.

For every craft:

• Dimensions, sizes and quantities match the agreement.
• Materials, colours and finishes match the approved samples.
• Moving parts work: drawers, hinges, clasps, zips, tuning pegs, lids.
• Surfaces are clean, with no dust, polish residue, glue squeeze-out or fingerprints.
• Your maker's mark and serial number are present and legible. See maker's marks and serial numbers.
• Anything you could not achieve, and agreed with the client, is written down.

Then check what is specific to the piece. A dining table gets checked for rock on a flat floor. A ring gets checked against the agreed size on a mandrel and for loose settings. A glazed bowl gets checked for crawling, pinholes and a smooth foot that will not scratch a table. A leather bag gets checked for even stitch tension and finished edges. A guitar gets a playing check after its final setup. A forged gate gets checked for square and for the fixings it will hang on.

If you find a problem now, fix it or tell the client before delivery, with what you propose. Finding it on the doorstep is worse for both of you.

2. Record photos

Take a short set of record photos before the piece leaves, even if a photographer will shoot it later for your portfolio. These are for your records, not for marketing.

• The whole piece from the main viewing angle, in even light.
• Two or three details: joints, settings, glaze surface, stitching, inlay.
• The maker's mark and serial number, close enough to read.
• Any agreed condition notes, such as a natural feature in the material the client accepted.
• Packaging, if the piece is shipped.

Date the files and store them against the serial number. Years from now, when someone asks about a repair, these are the photos you will want.

3. The document pack

The client should leave with everything they need to look after the piece and to prove what it is.

Document	What it does	Notes
Care card	How to clean, maintain and protect the piece	Specific to the materials and finish used, written in plain language
Guarantee or aftercare terms	What you will fix, for how long, and how to ask	Describe your own promise; it sits alongside the client's legal rights and does not replace them
Invoice or receipt	Proof of purchase, price and date	Required for tax in most countries; useful for insurance
Certificate or materials record	Who made it, what it is made of, serial number	See the certificate of authenticity guide
Craft-specific notes	Hallmark explanation, setup sheet, food-use note	See the craft section below

Give the pack on paper, by email or as a link to a permanent online record, whichever suits the client. Keep a copy of everything you hand over, filed against the serial number.

4. Delivery, collection and installation

Agree the arrangements in writing about a week before:

• Date and time window, and who will be there to receive it.
• Access: stairs, lift size, parking, door widths for large pieces.
• Who does what: your delivery, a carrier, or client collection, and who is responsible for the piece in transit.
• Installation: wall fixings, levelling, hanging, assembly on site. If a tall piece of furniture is to be fixed to the wall, agree in advance who supplies the fixings and who fits them.
• Packaging: whether you take it away.

At delivery, set the piece in place, show the client how anything moves or adjusts, and walk through the care card in two or three minutes. For pieces that are posted, a short video or photo sequence can stand in for the walk-through.

Ask before photographing the piece in the client's home, and do not include anything that identifies them or where they live without their clear permission.

5. Final payment

Money is where handovers go wrong most often, usually because the terms were clear at the start and forgotten by the end.

• Restate the balance due, the method and the timing in the delivery confirmation message.
• If the balance is due before delivery, send the invoice early enough for the payment to clear.
• Issue a receipt as soon as it arrives.
• If anything is still outstanding after delivery, write down the agreed date.

How you stage payments across a commission is covered in deposits and payment schedules.

6. What the client signs and receives

A one-page handover confirmation closes the commission cleanly. It records what happened at handover. It should not try to limit the client's legal rights.

It should list:

• The piece, its serial number and the date of handover.
• The documents handed over.
• Any condition notes you agreed on, with photos referenced.
• Any open items, such as a part to follow, with a date.
• Payment status: paid in full, or the agreed date for the balance.

Both of you sign or confirm by email. You keep a copy, the client keeps a copy.

Per-craft extras

Jewellery and silversmithing. In the UK, the British Hallmarking Council's dealer's notice says it is illegal to sell or describe an item as gold, silver, platinum or palladium unless it is hallmarked, above exemption weights of 7.78 g for silver, 1 g for gold and palladium and 0.5 g for platinum. In Poland, the Okręgowy Urząd Probierczy in Warsaw explains that pieces with precious-metal alloy parts weighing less than 1 g (gold and platinum) or less than 5 g (silver) are exempt from compulsory hallmarking (article 6 of the Prawo probiercze; the Act sets no such threshold for palladium), but must carry a maker's mark and come with a tag stating the fineness and mass. At handover, explain the marks on the piece, record the ring size and stone details, and include any stone certificates you hold.

Ceramics and glass. Tell the client in writing whether a piece is made for food and drink or is decorative only. In the EU, Directive 2005/31/EC requires ceramic articles intended for contact with food to be accompanied by a written declaration that they meet the limits for lead and cadmium migration, so that they are clearly distinguished from decorative articles. If you make tableware, check what your national authority expects of a small producer before you sell it as food-safe. Add dishwasher, microwave and oven guidance only if you have tested it.

Instruments. Include a setup sheet: string gauge, action at a stated fret, relief, tuning and any adjustments you made. Give humidity guidance from a reliable source. Taylor Guitars, for example, recommends keeping acoustic guitars at 45 to 55% relative humidity and checking it with a digital hygrometer in the case.

Leather and textiles. Name the leather type and tannage, or the fibre content, and give a small offcut or care sample if you can, so the client can test a conditioner or cleaner on it first. Note thread type and any hardware that may need replacing.

Furniture. Note timber species, finish product and number of coats, and include any spare fixings or touch-up materials. Show the client how to adjust levelling feet or hinges.

Metalwork. For knives and tools, give sharpening and oiling guidance and state the steel used. For outdoor ironwork, note the finish system and what maintenance it needs.

After the handover

Send a short message within the first week asking whether the piece has settled in. It is also the right moment to plan the next contact, which we cover in aftercare and repeat clients.

Checklist you can copy

HANDOVER CHECKLIST
Piece: ____________  Serial: ____________  Client ref: ________

FINAL INSPECTION
[ ] Dimensions / size / quantity match the agreement
[ ] Materials, colour, finish match approved samples
[ ] Moving parts work
[ ] Surfaces clean
[ ] Maker's mark and serial present
[ ] Agreed condition notes written down

RECORD PHOTOS (filed under serial)
[ ] Whole piece   [ ] Details   [ ] Mark + serial   [ ] Condition notes

DOCUMENT PACK
[ ] Care card
[ ] Guarantee / aftercare terms
[ ] Invoice or receipt
[ ] Certificate or materials record
[ ] Craft extras (hallmark note / setup sheet / food-use note / care sample)

DELIVERY
[ ] Date, time window, access confirmed in writing
[ ] Installation and fixings agreed
[ ] Walk-through of care and adjustments done

PAYMENT
[ ] Balance, method and timing restated before delivery
[ ] Receipt issued

CONFIRMATION
[ ] Handover confirmation signed or confirmed by email
[ ] Copy filed under serial
[ ] First follow-up date set: ________

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and how they apply depends on the facts of each case. Before a decision about your own contract, product or business, check the current text with the relevant authority or ask a lawyer.

Sources

• Patients' memories of painful medical treatments, Redelmeier and Kahneman, Pain 66(1), 1996 (PubMed): overall judgement linked to peak and final minutes; duration had little effect
• Dealer's notice 2025, British Hallmarking Council via Assay Office London: UK hallmarking requirement and exemption weights
• Zasady obrotu wyrobami z metali szlachetnych, Okręgowy Urząd Probierczy w Warszawie (GUM): Polish exemption thresholds and duties below them
• Ustawa Prawo probiercze, consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 poz. 536, Sejm RP: article 6, exemption weights for platinum, gold and silver alloys
• Commission Directive 2005/31/EC, EUR-Lex: written declaration for ceramic articles intended for food contact
• Using a guitar humidifier and other guitar humidity tips, Taylor Guitars: recommended humidity range and hygrometer in the case