Buyer decision tool
In the week before work starts, required artifacts, owners and blockers should be visible rather than assumed. This sheet produces a readiness check with named owners, so nobody mistakes a file being sent for the work being able to begin.
Use it: Run this with both sides before the first production hand-off.
Proof scale
300+ languages 1,000+ brands served since 2015 across AI data, translation, localization, media, and interpretation.When to use this
Day One is ready when the people doing the work can open what they need, know which instructions to follow and know who can actually tell them to start.
What it produces
The checklist
Every question below is on the page as text. Use the link on any row to send a colleague straight to that one question.
| Ask this | A useful answer is specific about | What the answer actually tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Which brief, files and instructions should the team use on Day One? # | The exact current set, where it lives, and how older copies are marked as replaced. | Whether everyone will begin from the same instructions. |
| Who is doing what on the first hand-off? # | Who prepares, receives, reviews, corrects and accepts the work, including anything the buyer keeps in-house. | Whether a responsibility has been duplicated, omitted, or assumed by both sides. |
| What is the working period and delivery pattern? # | Working days or date window, expected cadence, first hand-off, and any variation already known. | Whether the team has planned the real operating rhythm. |
| Is the required equipment ready? # | The device and specification, who provides and configures it, shipping responsibility, and any return step. | Whether the work can start without an equipment surprise. |
| Can every required person open the workspace and move a test file? # | A completed access check, a successful test transfer, and the person who fixes a failed attempt. | Whether "access has been shared" means the workflow actually works. |
| Who can say "start", and how will the team recognise that instruction? # | A clear buyer-side or agreed decision maker and the channel used for the go-ahead. | Whether file receipt or a casual message could be mistaken for permission to begin. |
| Who reviews the first delivery, and what happens if it misses the mark? # | The acceptance check, reviewer, feedback route, correction responsibility, and next hand-off. | Whether the first batch can produce a decision instead of disappearing into review. |
| How will a later instruction replace an earlier one? # | One agreed place for the latest instruction, a plain note of what changed, and confirmation that the working team received it. | Whether two versions can stay active at the same time. |
| What has actually happened so far? # | Distinguish file sent, file opened, access checked, start approved, work begun, delivery received, review completed, and acceptance given. | Whether the project is being called ready because something was sent, rather than because the next step is possible. |
How to fill it in
Work down the first column with the supplier in the room. A row is only answered when the middle column is specific — a yes that is not specific about anything is the thing this tool exists to catch. Write the unresolved rows down; those are the ones worth a call.
What counts as evidence
A named owner, a document you can open, a sample produced under the instructions you will actually use, or a test whose result changes the decision. A capability statement, an organisation-wide headcount, or a claim about a different assignment does not answer these rows.
The document
The PDF needs no sign-in and is free to forward or quote. The working document is there if you would rather copy the checklist into your own process. If either will not open for you, tell us and we will fix it the same day.
Where this fits
The guide explains what to look for; this checklist is what you take into the conversation. Both are published in full.
A partner-evaluation framework for subtitling, dubbing, accessibility, metadata, and platform-spec control.
Read the guideStuck on a row?