The sequence
- 01Know the number. Not an asking price — a range you can defend line by line, on your own metrics, with the sources named.
- 02Fix the two things that move it most. At this size that is almost always churn first, then customer concentration. Both move in weeks.
- 03Write the memo. The buyer's first question is what they are buying and what the risks are. Answer both in writing before anyone asks.
- 04Then find buyers, and find more than one. A single buyer who knows they are the only buyer prices accordingly.
Most founders do steps four, one, two and three, in that order. They talk to a buyer, get anchored by that buyer's number, discover their red flags when the buyer names them, and negotiate down from a position they never chose.
What the wrong order costs
Take the $10,000 MRR example on this site with 4.7% monthly churn and a customer at 42% of revenue. It values at $164,500. With churn at the 3.2% reference and no account above 20%, the identical revenue values at $301,000. The engine prices the churn drag at $70,500 and the concentration drag at $46,500.
What each route costs the seller
| Route | Before close | At close | On a $301,000 sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value Audit, Exit Memo and Deal Listing | $177 | none | $177 |
| An advisor or broker on a success fee | none | 10%–15% | $30,100–$45,150 |
| Doing all of it yourself | none | none | none |
Our prices are fixed: $29, $49, $99. The 10%–15% success-fee band is the range the advisory firms in our comps set publish — including FE International, 21 Jan 2026 — not a figure from a dated study, and the dollar column is that band applied to the example above. The third row is honest: doing it yourself costs nothing and takes the longest, and a seller with no memo and one buyer negotiates from the weakest position of the three.
We sell documents and never touch a transaction, so nothing in the range above moves with the price you get. That is the whole reason we can hand you a number lower than the one you hoped for.
What buyers ask for in week one
- 01Stripe or Paddle export, monthly, unrestated, from the first dollar.
- 02Revenue churn by cohort and by plan, gross, with voluntary split from involuntary.
- 03Revenue by customer, so the largest account speaks for itself before they find it.
- 04Cost of goods per customer: hosting, third-party APIs, payment fees.
- 05Every task only you can do, with hours per week against it.
Have those five ready and diligence becomes a confirmation instead of an investigation. That is worth more than any single fix, because it is the phase where a $301,000 agreement quietly becomes a $164,500 one.