App Acquisition Checklist: Everything Buyers Will Ask For
The exact list of documents, access, and proof points buyers want before they wire money.
Sellers lose deals by being unprepared. Not because their app isn't good enough — but because when a buyer asks for the P&L and the seller says "give me a week to put that together," the momentum dies. This is the complete list of what buyers ask for. Have it ready before you send your first outreach message.
Financial documents
- Profit & loss statement for the last 12 months (monthly breakdown)
- Stripe or payment processor export — all transactions, last 12 months
- MRR and churn data — current MRR, monthly churn rate, cohort retention if available
- Hosting and infrastructure cost breakdown by service
- Any paid advertising spend and associated revenue attribution
- Revenue by customer (for B2B apps with large accounts)
Technical documents
- GitHub or GitLab repository access (private, read-only invite is fine)
- Tech stack documentation: languages, frameworks, databases, third-party APIs
- Infrastructure diagram or description: where it runs, how it scales
- Monthly hosting costs with provider names
- Known bugs or technical debt — documented honestly
- Deployment process documentation
Product documents
- Total registered users and monthly active users
- Top 5 features by usage (or user survey data if available)
- Known bugs or UX issues that haven't been addressed
- Roadmap — what you were planning to build next
- Customer support volume: average tickets per week, average resolution time
Legal documents
- Terms of service (linked, hosted)
- Privacy policy (GDPR-compliant if you have EU users)
- Confirmation of no pending IP disputes or claims
- Confirmation of no pending legal issues or regulatory actions
- Any contracts with enterprise customers or partners
Handoff plan
Buyers want to see that you've thought about what happens after close. Prepare a one-page handoff plan that covers:
- Complete inventory of accounts to transfer (domain, hosting, payment, email, analytics, social)
- Timeline: what transfers on day 1, day 7, day 30
- Your support commitment: how long you'll answer questions post-close
- Any ongoing contractor or vendor relationships the buyer should know about
Before your first buyer call
Three things to have ready before you get on a call with a serious buyer:
A one-pager: one page covering what the app does, key metrics (MRR, MAU, churn), tech stack summary, asking price, and reason for selling.
A demo video: a 5–10 minute Loom walkthrough of the product from the user's perspective. Buyers want to see it working before they invest time in due diligence.
A Loom codebase walkthrough: a separate 10–15 minute walkthrough of the repository structure, main components, and architecture. This signals that the codebase is clean and that you're confident letting a buyer see it.
Sellers who show up with these three assets close faster and at better prices.
Find your buyer
Ready to package the sale? Browse the small-deal directory at /directory, then use the quick exit pack at /tools to tighten your price and pitch.
Ready to exit?
Package the sale.
Start with the small-deal directory or build a quick exit pack before you post the listing.