The 11-Point Due Diligence Framework for Digital Acquisitions

Due diligence is not about distrust; it is about confirming that the business you are buying is the business you were shown. Work through these eleven areas on every deal and surprises become rare.

Financial

1. Revenue proof. Match claimed revenue to payment-processor and bank exports, not screenshots.
2. Expense reality. Rebuild the P&L from source records and normalise owner add-backs.
3. Trend, not snapshot. Look at 24+ months so you catch seasonality and decline.

Traffic & marketing

4. Analytics access. Insist on read-only access to the live analytics account.
5. Traffic concentration. One algorithm update or one channel should not be able to end the business.
6. Email and audience. List size, engagement and how it was built.

Legal & operational

7. IP and trademarks. Confirm ownership of brand, content and code.
8. Contracts and suppliers. Read every agreement and check transferability.
9. Tech stack. Inventory hosting, dependencies and who can actually run it.
10. Reason for sale. Get it in writing; cross-check it against the numbers.
11. Transfer plan. Agree the handover and use escrow for the funds.

This framework sits in the middle of the buying journey. If you have not set your strategy yet, start with the step-by-step buying playbook; when diligence passes, complete the deal through a safe, escrow-backed transfer. You can apply this checklist to any verified listing on the marketplace.