Chapter 12

Signing, transfer and handover

Signing is a legal moment; the handover is an operational one. They are rarely the same day, and the gap between them needs its own plan.

The sequence

1. Contracts signed and conditions confirmed as met
2. Payment of the amount due at closing, or its deposit with a third party
3. Transfer of domains, hosting, platform and payment providers
4. Reassignment of advertising, analytics and marketplace accounts
5. Notification of suppliers, and where required their consent
6. Stock count and transfer of location
7. Customer data transferred under the agreed conditions

Accounts are the hard part

Advertising and marketplace accounts frequently cannot simply change owner. Some are tied to a legal entity, some to a person, some carry history that is lost if a new account is opened.

This is worth checking during preparation rather than after signing. A marketplace account that cannot be transferred can be a material part of the value on offer.

The support period

A defined period of support, with agreed availability and a clear end, works better than an open promise to help. It gives the buyer a real transfer of knowledge and gives the seller a horizon.

Where a longer involvement is wanted, it belongs in a separate agreement with its own terms rather than as an informal extension of goodwill.

After the handover

Deferred payments, earn-out measurement and warranty periods keep the parties connected for months or years. Agreeing in advance how results will be reported, and who checks them, removes most of the friction from that phase.

The last practical step is unglamorous and often forgotten: closing down duplicate access, revoking old logins and confirming in writing that everything on the list has moved.

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