Handing over a software subscription business is delicate work. Data, billing and the trust of existing users all move at once, and escrow keeps the payment safe while they do.
The problem with subscription transfers
When you buy a software subscription business from someone, you need answers to four questions:
- Is the revenue real?
- What stops the seller taking the accounts back after you've paid?
- Are the users real?
- How do you move billing over without cutting off service?
Without escrow, you're trusting a stranger with thousands of dollars. With escrow, the seller isn't paid until you've checked all of this.
How the escrow works
Step 1: Start the deal
The buyer starts the deal from the listing and pays. EPICSWP holds the payment.
Step 2: The seller hands over access
In the deal chat, the seller shares:
- the admin account login
- access to the payment processor (Stripe, PayPal)
- domain registrar access
- the hosting account login
- analytics access
- API keys and third-party integrations
- an export of the user database, if it's part of the deal
Step 3: The buyer checks everything
The buyer:
- logs into the admin panel
- checks the revenue reports
- checks the user numbers
- tests the application
- reviews the analytics
- looks for security problems
Step 4: The buyer takes control
The buyer:
- changes every password
- updates the billing details
- moves the domain to their own registrar account
- updates the DNS records
- revokes old access tokens
Step 5: Confirmation
The buyer confirms receipt, and the money is released to the seller's EPICSWP wallet.
Where Aegis fits in
Aegis is EPICSWP's assistant. It watches deal chats for common scam patterns, such as a request to pay outside the site. If there's a dispute, it can summarize the case for the moderator, but a human moderator reviews the deal chat and the evidence and makes the decision.
Common problems and how escrow helps
- The seller takes the accounts back after payment. With escrow, they aren't paid until you've changed every password and confirmed receipt.
- The revenue is lower than claimed. You check it before confirming, and if it's lower, you open a dispute and a moderator decides.
- Most of the users are bots. Check the analytics for real engagement, and if the users are fake, open a dispute before you confirm.
- The source code is missing. Check every deliverable before confirming, because anything missing is grounds for a dispute.
Why use escrow for this
A software sale moves a lot of logins and accounts at the same time, and it's easy to miss one. With escrow, the seller isn't paid until you've taken control of all of them and confirmed. Don't pay for a software business directly.