What records will you need from us?

A review asks for evidence: who worked on what, for how long, and why the work met the test. If the records were never collected, or were collected by the adviser and kept by them, you may find yourself defending a claim you cannot document. The records are yours. The question is whether the engagement sets you up to have them.

Good records also make the next claim cheaper. An adviser who sets up a simple way of recording time and project decisions as they happen is saving you work every year, whatever the fee model.

A list of what the adviser needs, in what form, and by when. Advice on how to record time and project decisions going forward. A clear statement that the records and the working papers behind the claim are yours and will be handed over, during the engagement and at the end of it.

A claim prepared from almost nothing, which may mean the technical case is thin. Records collected into the adviser's system with no copy for you. An answer that the records are the adviser's work product and stay with them. Charges for returning your own documents.

• The clause: ownership of records and work
• The script: requesting your records
• Red flag: exit fees that lock you in. Green flag: you can leave with your records
• Preparing for adviser meetings