Vendor Breakup Email Skill
Ending a vendor relationship is a transaction wearing a relationship's clothes — and both halves need handling. The transaction: notice per the contract, data returned in usable formats, access revoked, final invoices bounded. The relationship: no grievance dump (you may need them again; the industry is small), a reason that's true but spare, and a close that leaves the door ajar. The email is short; the offboarding checklist behind it is where switching actually succeeds or fails.
What This Skill Produces
- The contract check — notice period, termination clause, auto-renewal deadline: the email's timing is set by these, not by mood
- The breakup email — clean notice, effective date, the transition asks, the door-open close
- The retention-response plan — the counter-offer is coming; decide now whether any price changes the answer
- The offboarding checklist — data export (formats named), access revocation, final-invoice bounds, the internal switch plan
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided:
- The contract's exit terms — notice period, renewal date, termination-for-convenience clause; an email sent after the auto-renew deadline is a year-long postscript (route the document through tos-decoder-style reading if unclear)
- The real reason and the stated reason — price, fit, quality, politics; the email states a true-but-spare version, and the skill helps pick it
- What you need back — data, files, configurations, domain/account ownerships — named per item, with formats
- The retention answer — if they counter at 40% off, does the answer change? Decided before the email, not during the call
Framework: The Clean-Exit Rules
- The calendar outranks the prose: find the auto-renewal date and notice window first — a perfect email sent one day late costs a full term. The send date is the notice deadline minus buffer, and the email cites the clause ("per section 8, this is our notice of non-renewal effective [date]").
- True but spare: "We're consolidating tools" / "our needs have shifted" — one honest sentence, no itemized grievances. A feedback list invites rebuttal and negotiation; if they ask for detail, a short call after the notice is filed is the generous version.
- Transition asks go in the first email: data export (format named — "CSV export of all records, not a PDF report"), handover of any credentials/ownerships, the final-invoice expectation ("services through [date], no charges after"). Asks made while notice is fresh get serviced; asks made post-offboarding get queued behind current customers.
- Pre-decide the retention counter: vendors counter — often meaningfully. If a number would change the answer, name it internally before sending (and consider just asking for it instead of leaving). If nothing changes the answer, the response is drafted now: "appreciated, but the decision is final."
- The door stays ajar for free: "We'd gladly consider [vendor] again as needs evolve" costs nothing and is often true. Vendors remember exits; the graceful ones get priority when you're back — and reference calls about you happen in this industry too.
Output Format
Vendor Exit: [vendor] — notice deadline: [date]
The Contract Check
[Clause cited · notice period · renewal date · send-by date]
The Email
[Notice with clause + effective date · the spare reason · transition asks itemized (data format, credentials, invoice bound) · the door-open close]
Retention Response (pre-decided)
[The number that changes the answer, or "none — final"; the reply draft either way]
Offboarding Checklist
[Export verified before access ends · credentials rotated · billing/card removed · internal cutover date · the calendar note for contract archive]
Quality Checks
Anti-Patterns
1---2name: vendor-breakup-email3description: End a vendor, freelancer, or service relationship cleanly — the notice email that cites the contract, the transition asks that protect your data and continuity, and the door-open close that costs nothing. Use when asked write a cancellation email to our vendor, we're not renewing how do I tell them, end this contractor relationship professionally, or switch providers without drama. Produces the notice-period check, the breakup email with transition terms, the retention-offer response plan, and the offboarding checklist.4---5
6# Vendor Breakup Email Skill
7
8Ending a vendor relationship is a transaction wearing a relationship's clothes — and both halves need handling. The transaction: notice per the contract, data returned in usable formats, access revoked, final invoices bounded. The relationship: no grievance dump (you may need them again; the industry is small), a reason that's true but spare, and a close that leaves the door ajar. The email is short; the offboarding checklist behind it is where switching actually succeeds or fails.
9
10## What This Skill Produces
11
12- **The contract check** — notice period, termination clause, auto-renewal deadline: the email's timing is set by these, not by mood
13- **The breakup email** — clean notice, effective date, the transition asks, the door-open close
14- **The retention-response plan** — the counter-offer is coming; decide now whether any price changes the answer
15- **The offboarding checklist** — data export (formats named), access revocation, final-invoice bounds, the internal switch plan
16
17## Required Inputs
18
19Ask for these if not provided:
20- **The contract's exit terms** — notice period, renewal date, termination-for-convenience clause; an email sent after the auto-renew deadline is a year-long postscript (route the document through [tos-decoder](../tos-decoder/SKILL.md)-style reading if unclear)
21- **The real reason and the stated reason** — price, fit, quality, politics; the email states a true-but-spare version, and the skill helps pick it
22- **What you need back** — data, files, configurations, domain/account ownerships — named per item, with formats
23- **The retention answer** — if they counter at 40% off, does the answer change? Decided before the email, not during the call
24
25## Framework: The Clean-Exit Rules
26
271. **The calendar outranks the prose:** find the auto-renewal date and notice window first — a perfect email sent one day late costs a full term. The send date is the notice deadline minus buffer, and the email cites the clause ("per section 8, this is our notice of non-renewal effective [date]").
282. **True but spare:** "We're consolidating tools" / "our needs have shifted" — one honest sentence, no itemized grievances. A feedback list invites rebuttal and negotiation; if they ask for detail, a short call *after* the notice is filed is the generous version.
293. **Transition asks go in the first email:** data export (format named — "CSV export of all records, not a PDF report"), handover of any credentials/ownerships, the final-invoice expectation ("services through [date], no charges after"). Asks made while notice is fresh get serviced; asks made post-offboarding get queued behind current customers.
304. **Pre-decide the retention counter:** vendors counter — often meaningfully. If a number would change the answer, name it internally before sending (and consider just asking for it *instead of* leaving). If nothing changes the answer, the response is drafted now: "appreciated, but the decision is final."
315. **The door stays ajar for free:** "We'd gladly consider [vendor] again as needs evolve" costs nothing and is often true. Vendors remember exits; the graceful ones get priority when you're back — and reference calls about *you* happen in this industry too.
32
33## Output Format
34
35# Vendor Exit: [vendor] — notice deadline: [date]
36
37## The Contract Check
38[Clause cited · notice period · renewal date · send-by date]
39
40## The Email
41[Notice with clause + effective date · the spare reason · transition asks itemized (data format, credentials, invoice bound) · the door-open close]
42
43## Retention Response (pre-decided)
44[The number that changes the answer, or "none — final"; the reply draft either way]
45
46## Offboarding Checklist
47[Export verified *before* access ends · credentials rotated · billing/card removed · internal cutover date · the calendar note for contract archive]
48
49## Quality Checks
50
51- [ ] The send date beats the notice deadline with buffer
52- [ ] The clause is cited — notice that doesn't reference the contract invites disputes
53- [ ] Data comes back in named, usable formats, verified before access ends
54- [ ] The retention answer was decided before sending
55- [ ] No grievance list — the reason is one true sentence
56
57## Anti-Patterns
58
59- [ ] Do not miss the auto-renew window while polishing the wording — the calendar is the whole game
60- [ ] Do not itemize grievances — feedback invites negotiation; exit emails state decisions
61- [ ] Do not revoke your own access before the export is verified — sequence is data, then keys
62- [ ] Do not negotiate live on the retention call unprepared — the pre-decided number is the armor
63- [ ] Do not burn the door — spare exits are free options on the future
Mohit Aggarwal