How to hand over an app or website after you sell it

Write down everything the buyer gets, and agree it in writing before the money moves. Most handovers that go wrong were never clearly agreed in the first place. A typical list:

• The domain, moved into the buyer's own account.
• The code, with access to the repository.
• Hosting, the database and any services the project runs on.
• The app store listings, if it's a mobile app.
• Social accounts, the email list and the support inbox.
• Designs, brand files and any written guides on how things run.
• A few weeks of help with questions, if you've agreed to it.

On GitHub, the owner can transfer a repository to the buyer's account. The issues, pull requests and stars go with it, and old links redirect to the new place.³ If the buyer would rather start clean, give them a full copy and delete yours once they confirm it builds.

For hosting, either move the project into the buyer's account or let them deploy it fresh on their own. Then list every API key and secret the project uses, so the buyer can replace them with ones in their name.

If you're both with the same registrar, you can usually move the domain into the buyer's account straight away. To another registrar, the buyer needs the transfer code from you, and it can take several days. Check the renewal date first. A domain that expires halfway through a handover can be lost, and with it the email that runs on it.

Apple lets you transfer an app to another developer account and keep its reviews, ratings and bundle ID. The Account Holder on each side starts and accepts the transfer, and TestFlight testing has to be switched off first. Some things don't move with it: the buyer sets up their own push notification keys, Apple Pay merchant ID and app groups.¹

Google Play transfers go through a request to Google. Both developer accounts must be registered and active, you'll need the registration transaction ID for each, and a paid app needs a merchant account on the receiving side.² Start these early. Both can take days.

Payment accounts like Stripe, Paystack and Flutterwave belong to the seller's name or company, so the buyer usually opens their own and switches the keys over. Customers on a subscription need a plan, so agree who handles moving them and what customers are told. A short note from both of you, saying who's running it now, keeps people from cancelling.

Once an account is in the buyer's hands, they change the password and turn on two-step sign-in, and the seller is removed from it. Then the buyer checks that it really works: the site loads, the app builds, payments land in their account. Only then should they confirm the item. A seller who keeps a login can take things back later, so it's worth being thorough. Our guide to scams when buying an app or website covers that one.

On Prow: Every deal on Prow has a handover checklist in the deal room. The seller marks each item handed over, and the buyer checks and confirms it. The money stays in escrow with EscrowPay until the buyer has confirmed everything, and either side can raise a dispute if something is missing.

• Everything the buyer gets is agreed in writing before they pay.
• The domain, code, hosting and store listings are in the buyer's own accounts.
• Every key and secret has been replaced with the buyer's own.
• Customers know who's running it now.
• The buyer changed every password, and the seller has no access left.
• The buyer checked each item works before confirming it.