Delivery is the last ten minutes of a project and the origin of a surprising number of complaints. The cut was approved, the client is happy, and then the video is unusable because it arrived as a link that expires, or the file name is final-final-2.mp4, or the only version is the one with burned-in captions when the platform needs a clean master.

None of that is difficult to prevent. It just has to be decided before the last day.

What done means

Done is not "the video plays". Done is the client can publish it, in every placement they paid for, without asking you a question.

That standard implies a short list, stated in the delivery message: which file goes where, which one is the master, and which ones are derivatives. A client should be able to hand your delivery to a social media manager who has never spoken to you and have it work.

File naming that survives a year

The test is whether someone can identify a file in twelve months, in a folder full of other files, with no context. A name that passes:

brandname_productname_9x16_15s_captions_v03.mp4

Four components do the work: client, subject, format and length, version. Note what is not in the name: "final", "new", "latest", dates written in ambiguous formats, and the editor's own initials.

Agree the pattern once with a regular client and reuse it for every job. It becomes an inventory rather than a pile.

The export set

Most short-form client work needs four files, not one:

The master. Highest quality, full length, captions burned in if the brief asked for it.
A clean version. Same cut, no captions, for platforms that render their own or for future re-editing.
The caption file. SRT or VTT, because a client who later wants to translate or restyle captions will need it and cannot extract it from a burned-in video.
A still frame suitable as a cover or thumbnail, at the placement's aspect ratio.

Exporting all four takes a couple of minutes once the settings are right, and the clean version is the one clients ask for three months later when they need a variant. Burning captions into the only delivered file is the single most common way to make a paid delivery unusable.

Technical settings that survive platform recompression are covered in vertical export settings.

Where to put the files

Three rules:

Nothing in a chat app as the only copy. Compression, expiry and disappearing media all apply.
Nothing behind a link that expires in a week without also sending a permanent copy or saying clearly when it expires.
A folder per project, shared with the named approver, containing the delivery and the approval message saved as text.

If a client insists on receiving attachments, send them and also put the set in the folder. The folder is what survives the thread.

The delivery note

Keep it to six lines: what is included, what each file is for, what was approved, when the folder expires if it does, what is not included (the exclusions from the brief), and one line on how to reach you for changes.

That note is the difference between a client who publishes confidently and a client who sends four questions the following morning. It is also the record you point at when someone asks in month three for a version that was never in scope.

Captions and text files

Deliver captions as a file even when they are burned in. Also send the plain text of the spoken words, because clients reuse it for descriptions, blog posts and emails, and asking for it is the most common follow-up request after delivery.

Spell every product name and person's name correctly in that file, and check it against what was approved. Misspelled names are the one error that reliably survives to publication, because nobody re-reads a text file they did not commission.

What to keep, and for how long

Keep the project file, the exported master, the clean version and the caption files for as long as the relationship continues, and at least through the period where the client might ask for a variation.

Delete the intermediate renders and temporary audio. They are the bulk of the disk usage and none of them are recoverable work. Organising video projects covers the archive structure that makes this a habit rather than a decision.

Handing over the project file

If the brief includes the project file, hand it over with a short note: which version of the editor it needs, where the source media is expected, and which fonts or assets are not embedded. A project file without its media is a puzzle, and a client who cannot open it will assume the file is broken rather than incomplete.

Sizes and bitrates in plain terms

Deliver the highest quality master your tools allow, then let the platform recompress once. Sending a heavily compressed master means the platform's compression is applied on top of visible artefacts, and the result looks soft on a phone.

Practically: export at the platform's recommended resolution for the ratio, at a bitrate high enough that the file is large but not absurd, with audio at a standard sample rate rather than resampled. Exact figures change as platforms update their guidance; what does not change is exporting once at high quality instead of exporting small and hoping.

If the client has a hard size limit — common for email or a content portal — produce a second smaller encode rather than degrading the master. Two clearly named files prevent the situation where the only copy in existence is the compressed one.

Audio the client will ask for later

Send the mixed audio as a separate file when music is licensed, because the client may need to prove the licence or replace the track for another market. It costs nothing at delivery and is expensive to reconstruct in month four, after the project has been archived.

If the audio includes a licensed track, note the licence and its term in the delivery message. Nothing invites a takedown faster than a client reusing a track whose licence quietly expired.

The delivery log

One line per delivery: project, client, date, files sent, destination, and the approval message that preceded it.

This is the least exciting document in the business and the only one that answers what arrives months later — was the clean version sent, which cut was approved, was the licence included. Five minutes at delivery, versus reconstructing events from memory while a client waits.

If the brief does not include it, say so once, calmly, in the delivery note. Reticence on the day is a dispute; clarity in advance is a line item.

How to Deliver Video Files a Client Can Actually Use