Appoint an accountable owner
Identify who has authority to preserve, review and potentially license the records. A founder, administrator, liquidator or acquirer may have different powers. Do not assume possession of an account gives authority over its contents.
Record actual retention deadlines
Read the current vendor policy and your contract, then confirm the account-specific deletion date. Export permissions and restoration windows can differ by plan and status. Use the deadline planner with dates you have verified; it does not predict vendor retention policies.
Preserve evidence and restrictions
Keep ownership documents, customer agreements, privacy notices and any legal-hold instructions with the archive inventory. Preserve only what you are authorised and required to retain. A potential sale does not override deletion obligations or insolvency procedures.
Evaluate without rushing a sale
Prepare a non-confidential description and estimate the cost of preservation. Review creditor interests, approvals, tax consequences and customer commitments with appropriate advisers before making representations or transferring data.