Answers to the most common questions about buying and selling SaaS businesses and mobile apps on Startup Index — from verification to ROI, valuation, and asset transfer.
Startup Index is a transparent marketplace to buy profitable SaaS businesses and mobile apps. Every listing publishes TrustMRR-verified revenue, calculated ROI, and payback period so buyers compare opportunities on real numbers.
Browse verified listings, compare ROI and payback, click Contact Seller on any listing, and negotiate directly with the founder. Once you agree on terms, use an escrow service like Escrow.com to transfer funds and assets.
The Buy Apps page lists iOS and Android apps for sale with revenue verified via RevenueCat or the app-store connect. You contact sellers directly — no broker in between.
Connect Stripe, Paddle, or RevenueCat through TrustMRR, then submit your listing on the Sell page. Once verified, an admin publishes your listing usually within a couple of business days.
No. Startup Index does not broker deals or take a percentage of the sale price. Listing is free and you keep 100% of what a buyer pays you.
Sellers connect their live Stripe, Paddle, or RevenueCat account through TrustMRR. The MRR, last-30-day revenue, and active subscription count come from the payment processor directly, not from a screenshot.
ROI = (monthly net profit × 12) ÷ asking price × 100. Monthly net profit is monthly revenue times the seller's stated margin, defaulting to 80% when unspecified. Higher ROI means a faster theoretical return on what you'd pay.
Payback months = asking price ÷ monthly net profit. It's a rough answer to how many months of profit it would take to earn back what you paid for the business.
A revenue multiple is asking price divided by annual revenue. A listing at 3.0x revenue means the asking price equals three years of the business's current revenue at today's run rate.
Small SaaS businesses typically sell for 2–5x annual revenue or 3–6x annual profit, depending on churn, growth, and how transferable the business is. The valuation guide breaks down what moves multiples in each direction.
For sub-$100k deals the timeline is usually two to four weeks from first contact to signed asset-purchase agreement, plus another week for the actual asset transfer. Larger deals can run six to twelve weeks.
Ask the seller for a live Stripe or Paddle screen-share, a P&L for the last 12–24 months, and a cohort retention export. Compare those against the numbers already shown on the listing — they should match.
The seller replies via the contact link, shares additional data-room material (usage stats, cost breakdown, source access), and you agree on price and terms. Once both sides sign an APA, funds go into escrow and the assets transfer.
Apple and Google both support developer-account transfers. The seller initiates the transfer from their developer console; you accept it into your account. Apps with pending in-app-purchase revenue or beta versions must be cleared first.
Yes, as long as revenue can be verified through TrustMRR. Pre-profit listings should be priced against revenue rather than profit and clearly disclose burn — buyers walk away from listings that hide operating losses.
Yes. Every listing's revenue is verified via TrustMRR against live Stripe, Paddle, or RevenueCat data before publication, and listings that lose verification get unpublished. Startup Index never holds buyer funds — deals close through neutral escrow (Escrow.com), so there's no custody risk on the platform itself.
No. Listing is free, there's no closing fee, and Startup Index takes 0% of the deal. Sellers keep 100% of what the buyer pays. The platform doesn't make money on your transaction.
Acquire.com / MicroAcquire is broker-mediated and charges buyers. Flippa is auction-style with mixed asset quality. Empire Flippers is full-service brokerage at 10–15% commission. Startup Index is buyer-first, zero commission, and every listing is TrustMRR-verified — you talk to sellers directly with revenue already checked.
Most small SaaS ($500–$10k MRR) sell for 2.5–4x annual revenue or 3–5x annual profit. Below 2x usually signals churn, concentration, or platform risk. Above 4x needs strong growth (10%+ MoM), low churn (<3%), or a strategic buyer paying for market position — not just financial returns.
Cover four fronts: financials (P&L, Stripe export, cohort retention), customers (concentration and churn reasons), tech (repo access, hosting bill, security), and legal (contracts, IP assignment). Two weeks is standard for sub-$100k deals; larger acquisitions justify longer diligence and a lawyer-drafted APA.
MRR is monthly recurring revenue — the run rate from active subscriptions. ARR is MRR × 12. Net MRR subtracts refunds, failed payments, and involuntary churn from gross MRR — it's the number that actually hits your bank account and is what buyers care about most.
Yes for no-code SaaS built on Bubble, Webflow, Softr, or Glide. For code-based SaaS, either partner with a technical co-founder or hire a part-time engineer to maintain it — many indie acquirers run codebases they can't personally write by paying a contractor $500–$2,000/month.
US buyers can use SBA 7(a) loans for deals $100k–$5M with 10% down. Seller financing (40–60% cash at close, 12–36 months of payments for the rest) is also common on Startup Index and worth asking every seller about — it's the fastest path if you don't want to write a full check upfront.
Yes — always use escrow for anything above a few thousand dollars. Escrow.com is the standard for online-business deals: they hold the buyer's funds while the seller transfers assets, then release once both sides confirm. Fees are 0.89%–3.25% of deal size and it protects both parties.
Price at the low end of the comparable range (2.5–3x revenue for most small SaaS), have your financials and diligence pack ready before listing, keep the listing verified via TrustMRR, and reply to buyer questions the same day. Well-priced, well-documented listings typically get first serious contact in 7–14 days.
Yes. Startup Index can hide your name and even the product name/URL until a buyer signs an NDA. TrustMRR verifies revenue without exposing brand details publicly, which matters when you don't want customers, employees, or competitors to know the business is on the market.
Zero. Listing is free, publication is free, and there's no closing fee. Sellers only pay for optional third-party services they choose to use — escrow (0.89–3.25%), a lawyer for the APA ($500–$2,500), and their own accountant on tax.
In most jurisdictions an asset sale is capital gains on the difference between sale price and cost basis. US sellers who've operated the business over a year typically qualify for long-term capital gains rates. Talk to your accountant before signing — sale structure affects tax and can't be fixed after closing.
Strongly recommended above $25k. A lawyer drafts or reviews the Asset Purchase Agreement, IP assignment, and non-compete clauses, and flags contract or customer risks. Expect $500–$2,500 for a straightforward sub-$100k SaaS deal and more for six-figure or seven-figure transactions.
Both sides sign the APA, buyer wires the price into Escrow.com, seller transfers every listed asset (code, domain, Stripe account, customer data, third-party services), buyer confirms receipt, and escrow releases the funds. Transfer typically takes 3–7 days from escrow funding to release.
Customer concentration (one client above 20% of MRR), platform risk (dependent on a single API that could revoke access), churn masked by annual prepayments, undocumented tech debt, and undisclosed refund liability. TrustMRR verifies revenue but doesn't diligence these — you have to ask directly.
Standard handover is 2–4 weeks of email or Slack support covering deployment, on-call, and codebase questions. Extended transition support (1–3 months, paid) is negotiable and worth asking for on any deal you can't operate solo from day one. Anything longer usually needs an earn-out structure.
Yes, as long as TrustMRR can verify the revenue. Price against revenue (not profit), disclose burn rate transparently, and expect buyers to focus on growth rate and unit economics rather than ROI. Pre-profit listings that hide operating losses lose buyers immediately, so lead with the truth.