SaaS Data Export and Exit Rights Checklist Before You Sign

Finance wants Monday go-live. Sales said you own your data and can export anytime. A SaaS data export and exit rights checklist before signing is the keep / narrow / escalate log you fill while the paper sits unsigned: inventory the objects, lock a during-term export, name format and fees, write the retrieval days, then confirm the zip is usable before anyone deletes it.

In August 2026, Cara — ops lead at a 16-person UK digital agency — has Finance’s yes on a £22k/year CRM-plus-project tool. The AE’s deck says full data portability. The MSA — a master services agreement — defines Customer Data as information submitted by Customer, export as a commercially reasonable format following termination, and access that ceases on the terminate date. Provider may delete within seven (7) days. A pricing exhibit — an attached schedule or appendix — bills custom extracts at professional-services rates. Typical mistake: the hidden risk is treating you own your data as an export right.

Disclaimer: Checkory provides AI support, not legal advice. Consult a qualified lawyer for binding decisions.

What does your data actually include?

Your data is not a slogan. Write the objects that must leave the tool: records you typed or imported, attachments, configuration, history, and the audit events you need to keep. If the definition is only data submitted by Customer, mark it narrow.

Portability is three doors. UK GDPR Article 20 is an individual right to data they provided — not configs or attachments. EU Data Act Chapter VI applies from 12 September 2025 to in-scope EU services, not a UK-only MSA. Common Paper CSA 2.1 deletes Customer Content within 60 days on request, with no named format. The door that saves Cara is the paper.

Freeze the packet — the exact file set that will be signed — first: MSA, order form, DPA — a data processing agreement — plus today’s online terms. BarmajTek: ownership is real only when scope, format, timing, and cost are defined. Other subscribe flags live on the SaaS agreement red flags checklist.

• Do: list records, attachments, config, history, audit events, and stable IDs.
• Do not: treat submitted by Customer as the inventory.

Can you export during the term, not only on exit?

Export during the term means you can pull a full pack while the relationship is healthy, not only after you serve notice. Require self-service or a documented API at any time. If export is on written request only, or a weekly CSV of tables, mark it narrow.

For example, TOS Lawyer treats a marketing export line with no frequency as empty. ITN Accord (26 March 2026): during-term right to the complete set, no extra charge. That is the data portability clause you actually need. In practice, Cara’s first zip should not be the leaving zip.

• Do: lock self-service export now and diary a quarterly pull.
• Do not: wait until termination day to learn the API is throttled.

Which format, completeness, and fees should you lock?

Name the format, the objects in the pack, and who pays. Ask for an open machine-readable format plus attachment mapping and a schema. A commercially reasonable format with no named type is High.

Useful ask: CSV, JSON, or XML; metadata and workflows in the pack; no extra fee for a standard extract. BarmajTek’s export spec: a CSV checkbox is not an exit plan. From 12 January 2027, Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 bans switching charges for in-scope EU services. Name EU. A UK-only order form is not automatically rewritten.

• Do: write CSV and JSON or XML, plus attachments, in the subscription price.
• Do not: accept commercially reasonable plus a professional-services extract rate.

How to set retrieval days after termination?

A post-termination data export window is extra days of access after the terminate date so you can retrieve a pack. Read-only is enough. Seven days, or access that ceases on the effective date, is High. Ask 30 days for a simple tool and 60–90 if you have attachments.

For in-scope EU services, Art. 25 is a floor: 30 calendar days of porting, then at least 30 retrieval days. Microsoft 365 keeps paid-subscription data for 90 days — vendor policy, not Cara’s MSA. ITN Accord: 30 days typical, up to 90 for complex ERP.

• Do: write 30–90 retrieval days that survive the terminate date.
• Do not: treat a seven-day wipe as GDPR compliance.

When to require the deletion certificate?

The deletion certificate should follow a usable export, not precede it. Confirm counts, open attachments, and run a test import. Then the vendor deletes production copies and sends a written certificate. Do not accept a certificate dated before anyone opened the zip.

ITN Accord asks for certification within 30 days of completed return. Turley Law (18 March 2026): certify destruction after the customer confirms receipt; do not withhold data over unpaid invoices. ICO contracts: Article 28 delete-or-return is not a retrieval window. Walk the DPA on the data processing agreement checklist.

• Do: confirm complete and usable, then delete, then a written certificate.
• Do not: accept a wipe certificate dated before the zip opened.

Why test one export before go-live?

Test one export before go-live, not after the relationship sours. Load a safe record with an attachment, a custom field, a comment, and a non-ASCII name. Download the zip without professional services. Fail means escalate, walk, or a contractual fix before the first invoice.

BarmajTek: test a sample before purchase; CSV may drop files and links. Salesforce Data Export is a product button — CSV every 7 or 29 days — not an exit clause. File the sample with the packet.

• Do: restore-test one zip and file it with the signed packet.
• Do not: schedule the first export for the week after go-live.

Pause wording Cara should circle: “Upon termination, Customer’s access ceases immediately. Provider may delete Customer Data within seven (7) days. Any export will be in a commercially reasonable format at Provider’s then-current professional services rates. Provider may suspend access, including export, for unpaid fees.” That is a High flag — wording a human must verify before anyone signs — for counsel — a qualified lawyer. Success bar: fill a one-page log and point to one sentence that would pause go-live. Workflow: packet → inventory your data → during-term export → format/fees → retrieval days → confirm-then-certificate → test zip → keep/narrow/escalate. Checkory can run a first-pass — a first machine pass that extracts those headings. A human still runs the test export.

• Do: highlight one High sentence before you sign, or escalate by name.
• Do not: tell Finance the paper is fine because the deck said portability.