# How to write a handover note people actually read (with template) A handover note that gets read fits on one screen. The structure, a short copyable handover document template, and how your AI assistant can draft it. ## The short answer A handover note people actually read fits on one screen and starts with the next action. Write it in this order: what happens next and by when, where things stand, the facts, the decisions, the open questions, the files and who to ask. Use dates, not words like “soon”, and attach only final versions. Most handover notes fail the same way. They are written for the sender, in the order the work happened, and they bury the one thing the reader needs. Below is a structure that puts the reader first, a short template you can copy, a weak note rewritten, and a prompt that lets your assistant write the first draft. ## Why most handover notes go unread A handover note is read by someone who is busy, new to the work and probably reading it on the day they need it. Three habits make that harder than it has to be: - **History first.** “In March we started talking to the client about…” The reader scrolls past three paragraphs to find out what they have to do. - **Everything included.** Every email, every draft, every side topic. The important line is in there somewhere. - **Vague time.** “Next week”, “end of the month”, “after the call”. A week later nobody knows which week. The fix is to write the note backwards from the reader’s first question: what do I do now? ## The structure: seven parts in reading order 1. **Next action and deadline.** One sentence with a verb and a date. “Send the revised quote to Delta by Tue 27 Oct.” 2. **Current state.** Three sentences at most: what is done, what is half-done, what has not started. 3. **Facts.** Amounts, dates, reference numbers, names. One per line, so they can be found in five seconds. 4. **Decisions.** What has been agreed, by whom, and a few words on why. This stops the next person reopening it. 5. **Open questions.** What is still unknown and who you are waiting for. People forget this part most often. 6. **Files.** The final version of each document, with one line saying what it is. 7. **Who to ask.** The client contact, who signs off, and until when you can still answer questions. If a part is empty, write “none”. An empty heading tells the reader you thought about it. A missing one makes them wonder. ## A handover document template you can copy Paste this into an email, a doc or a chat message and fill it in. It fits on one screen when filled in properly. If yours does not, cut. HANDOVER: [what the work is] From: [name] To: [name] Date: [date] NEXT ACTION [Verb + what + by date] WHERE IT STANDS [Done / in progress / not started, 3 sentences max] FACTS - [Amount, date, reference, name: one per line] DECISIONS - [What was agreed, by whom, why] OPEN QUESTIONS - [What is unknown, who we are waiting for] FILES - [file name]: [what it is, which version] WHO TO ASK [Contact on their side] / [Who signs off] / [Me, until date] Please reply "got it" when you have taken this over. The last line matters. A handover is finished when the other person confirms it, not when you press send. For a full project, with access, budget and risks, use the longer [project handover checklist](/blog/project-handover-checklist/) or download the [free handover template](/templates/handover-checklist/) for Word and PDF. ## Before and after Here is a typical note, written for this example with made-up names. **Before:** Hi Tom, as discussed, here's the Harbourline stuff. We've been going back and forth with them for a while about the second phase, they weren't happy with the first estimate so I redid it a couple of times. Latest is in the folder somewhere. They want it soon. Rachel knows about the contract side. Let me know if any questions! **After:** HANDOVER: Harbourline, phase 2 estimate From: Anna To: Tom Date: Mon 19 Oct NEXT ACTION Send the phase 2 estimate to Harbourline by Fri 23 Oct. WHERE IT STANDS Estimate revised twice after client feedback. Version 3 is final internally. Not yet sent. FACTS - Estimate: €18,200, 6 weeks - Client contact: Laura Price, operations lead DECISIONS - No discount on phase 2 (agreed with Mark on 15 Oct): phase 1 was already discounted. OPEN QUESTIONS - Start date depends on their IT team. Laura to confirm. FILES - harbourline-phase2-estimate-v3.pdf: final, approved by Mark WHO TO ASK Laura (client) / Mark (approves price) / Me, until Fri 30 Oct The second note is longer in lines but faster to use. Tom knows what to do, by when, and what not to offer. ## Let your assistant write the first draft If the work happened in Claude or ChatGPT, the assistant has already seen most of it. Ask it to fill the template, and tell it not to guess: Write a handover note for a colleague who has not seen this chat. Use these headings in this order: NEXT ACTION, WHERE IT STANDS, FACTS, DECISIONS, OPEN QUESTIONS, FILES, WHO TO ASK. Use only what we discussed here. If something is missing, write "unknown". Write dates as dates. If a decision changed during the chat, give only the final one. One screen at most. Then read it. Your assistant does not know what was agreed on the phone, which file you renamed afterwards, or the promise you made in the corridor. Fill those gaps yourself. The [holiday handover checklist](/blog/handover-before-holiday-checklist/) lists the things people most often forget before time off. If your team keeps the reasoning in AI chats, it is worth deciding where a summary of it should live after the handover. We weigh the options in [AI chats as part of the project record](/blog/ai-chats-in-project-handovers/). ## Notes for specific handovers The seven parts stay the same, but the facts change with the job: - **Sales accounts:** deal stage, contacts, commitments and objections. See the [sales account handover checklist](/blog/sales-account-handover/). - **Agency clients:** the brief, the tone of the relationship and the open deliverables. See [client handover in an agency](/blog/client-handover-agency/). - **Contracts and invoices:** the version, the amount and the deadline matter more than anything else. ## Sending it in one sentence with Colle With Colle, the note and the sending are one step in the chat you already use: > Send Tom the Harbourline estimate, he takes over the account. Send it to the client by Friday. Your assistant finds Tom, writes the summary, records the facts (the amount, the date, the contact) and attaches the final file. Tom is notified straight away and accepts in one click, which covers the “got it” line. If something is missing, he returns it with a reason, for example “which version did Mark approve?”. The summary, facts and files stay together in a case, so the next handover starts from there. See [how Colle works](/how-it-works/). [Join the Colle pilot](https://www.trycolle.com/#pilot) ## When you do not need a tool for this A good note in an email works. If handovers are rare in your team, or the work never touches an AI assistant, the template above is all you need. A tool earns its place when handovers happen every week and you keep asking “did they pick it up?”. --- Canonical page: https://www.trycolle.com/blog/how-to-write-a-handover-note/ · Last updated: 2026-10-18