App acquisition due diligence checklist
Use this checklist before buying a mobile app or SaaS business. It is designed to help buyers turn seller-provided proof into concrete review questions, transfer requirements, and closing conditions.
Treat proof as a starting point.
A listing can organize useful evidence, but buyers still need to confirm the current data, understand transfer limits, and write clear close and handoff requirements before completing an acquisition.
What to review before closing
Work through each area with the seller and keep unresolved items visible until they are answered, excluded from the purchase, or reflected in the terms.
Revenue and financials
- Compare seller-provided revenue proof with current payment, subscription, ad network, or store dashboards.
- Check refunds, chargebacks, failed payments, one-time spikes, seasonality, and any unpaid liabilities.
- Understand gross revenue, net revenue, platform fees, hosting costs, contractor costs, and support burden.
Traffic and customers
- Review analytics exports for acquisition channels, geography, retention, engagement, and conversion trends.
- Look for concentration risk from one paid channel, store feature, search keyword, enterprise customer, or partner.
- Confirm what customer data, consent records, support history, and documentation can be transferred.
Ownership and legal
- Confirm who owns the code, brand, domains, accounts, content, design assets, and data rights.
- Review contractor assignments, open-source obligations, privacy commitments, licenses, and outstanding disputes.
- Use qualified legal and tax advice before signing purchase documents or transferring money.
Code and operations
- Inspect source access, dependencies, build steps, deployment process, secrets handling, and infrastructure cost.
- Review uptime, incidents, monitoring, backups, third-party APIs, and any unsupported or deprecated systems.
- Ask for handoff notes covering recurring tasks, support workflows, release process, and known technical debt.
Transfer readiness
- Confirm App Store, Play Console, domain, repository, cloud, analytics, email, and payment account transfer paths.
- Separate what transfers at close from what requires post-sale access, seller cooperation, or a new account.
- Document acceptance criteria for credentials, source code, production access, store ownership, and handover support.
Questions to resolve in writing
- Which assets are included, and which are explicitly excluded?
- Which credentials or account roles are transferred at close?
- What seller support is available after close, and for how long?
- What happens if a store, payment, domain, or cloud transfer is delayed?
Frequently asked questions
Does AppsVerified complete buyer due diligence for me?
No. AppsVerified helps organize listing details, seller signals, proof artifacts, confidentiality controls, and communication. Buyers remain responsible for reviewing the business and using professional advice where needed.
Which proof should I ask for before buying an app?
Ask for current revenue proof, analytics exports, store or website access evidence, source and deployment context, ownership documents, transfer documentation, and operational handoff notes.
What is the biggest transfer risk for mobile apps?
A common risk is assuming every asset or account can transfer cleanly. Buyers should confirm store transfer eligibility, app ownership, payment account changes, platform policy risk, and required seller cooperation before closing.
Is a verified listing guaranteed to perform after purchase?
No. Verification and proof artifacts are diligence inputs, not guarantees of revenue, transferability, compliance, future performance, or legal outcome.