Selling

How to Sell a SaaS Business Without Using a Broker

Brokers take 10-15%. Here is how to sell your SaaS directly.

·7 min read

Selling your SaaS business directly saves the typical 10-15% broker commission and gives you full control over buyer conversations and deal terms. Founders who handle the process themselves commonly close at 2.5-4x ARR when MRR exceeds $8k and churn stays below 4% monthly.

Prepare Your Financials and Metrics First

Buyers expect clean, verifiable data before they will sign an NDA. Compile 18-24 months of Stripe and ProfitWell exports showing MRR, ARR, net revenue retention, and cohort churn. Calculate SDE by adding back your own salary, one-time legal fees, and any personal software subscriptions. Most direct buyers will request at least three months of bank statements and a churn report broken down by plan tier.

Key Numbers to Have Ready

  • Current ARR and MRR with month-over-month growth
  • Gross margin after payment processing and cloud costs
  • Customer acquisition cost and lifetime value by channel
  • Codebase documentation and deployment runbooks

Build a Targeted Buyer List

Skip broad marketplaces and instead reach out to strategic acquirers who already understand your vertical. Search LinkedIn for heads of product at companies with $2-10M ARR in adjacent categories, then cross-reference recent acquisitions announced on Acquire.com and hades.ae. Create a simple CRM list of 40-60 qualified operators and send personalized emails that include one non-confidential metric such as “$42k MRR, 3.1% monthly churn.”

Run Your Own Data Room and Outreach

Upload all documents to a free Notion workspace or Google Drive folder with granular permissions. Include the APA template you are willing to use, customer contracts, and a one-page summary of open technical debt. When a buyer responds, send the data-room link only after they reply with proof of funds or a recent balance sheet. Track every conversation in a shared spreadsheet so you can follow up within 48 hours.

Negotiate Directly and Close the Deal

Once you receive an LOI, counter within 24 hours with your minimum cash-at-close and earn-out structure. Most direct deals settle at 60-80% cash at closing with the remainder held in a 90-day escrow account managed by a title company such as Escrow.com. Insist on a 10-business-day exclusivity period so you can continue light outreach to other parties. Hire a freelance M&A attorney for $4,500-7,000 to review the final APA instead of paying a broker’s ongoing success fee.

Common Direct-Sale Timeline

  1. Week 1-2: Assemble metrics and data room
  2. Week 3-5: Outreach to 50+ buyers and schedule calls
  3. Week 6-8: Receive and negotiate LOIs
  4. Week 9-12: Due diligence, escrow, and wire transfer

How do I value my SaaS without a broker?

Use the 2026 market range of 2.8-3.8x ARR for bootstrapped tools under $1M ARR with under 5% monthly churn. Adjust upward by 0.5x if net revenue retention exceeds 110%.

What legal documents do I need?

Prepare an NDA, a letter of intent template, and an asset purchase agreement that clearly lists all intellectual property, customer contracts, and any open-source dependencies.

How long does a direct sale usually take?

Most founders who sell without a broker close within 90-120 days when they maintain consistent weekly outreach and keep financials audit-ready from day one.

Ready to acquire?

Browse curated digital platforms on hades.ae — every listing is built and owned by our team. View available platforms →