Don’t Let a $25 Domain Registration
Hidden Digital Gaps Are Costing Sellers Million-Dollar Valuations
92% of business sales uncover digital asset gaps during due diligence.
A domain registered under the wrong name. Marketing accounts tied to former employees. Missing website admin access. Compliance gaps no one thought to check.
These aren’t minor technical details. They’re multiple killers.
You’ve spent years building something valuable. Will you let a preventable digital gap cost you six figures at exit?
The Critical Digital Assets Most Companies Can't Even List:
What Is Digital Asset Due Diligence?
Digital Asset Due Diligence is the comprehensive identification, documentation, and securing of every digital component your business depends on, before a buyer’s team discovers gaps that could derail your deal.
Why Most Businesses Are Completely Exposed
Most business owners assume their IT team or marketing vendor “handles all that digital stuff.” The reality? No single person or team actually owns this process.
Your IT team focuses on servers and security, not marketing account ownership
Your marketing team manages campaigns, not legal domain documentation
Your operations team runs the business, not digital asset inventories
When investment bankers and buyers dig into your business, they’re not just looking at financials. They’re examining every system that keeps your business running. Traditional due diligence teams focus on financials, operations, and legal, but completely miss the 250+ digital assets that actually run your business.
The Most Common Digital Landmines:
Domains & Web Infrastructure: Registration details, hosting accounts, email platforms
Marketing & Performance Systems: Analytics, advertising accounts, email marketing platforms
Social Media & Online Presence: All social accounts, directory listings, review platforms
Brand Assets & Collateral: Logo files, photography, video content, design templates
Third-Party Tools & Integrations: CRM systems, payment processors, scheduling software
Security Protocols & Continuity: Backup systems, SSL certificates, disaster recovery plans
Compliance & Legal Readiness: Privacy policies, accessibility standards, data protection protocols
When buyers uncover these gaps, deals stall, legal costs pile up, and your final number drops.
You have digital gaps. The only question is whether you’ll discover them first, or your buyer will.
Our Digital Continuity Method
Our proprietary three-phase process ensures your digital assets are exit-ready and transferable.
PHASE 1
FREE DIGITAL ASSET ASSESSMENT
We review your digital landscape using our 250+ point framework and identify vulnerabilities that could surface during due diligence.
PHASE 2
DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE AUDIT
Complete documentation and securing of every digital asset your business depends on, from domains and hosting to social accounts and compliance requirements.
PHASE 3
EXIT-READY DOCUMENTATION
Organized handoff materials that buyers expect: clear ownership records, access documentation, and transition protocols that eliminate friction during the sale process.
Ready to Protect Your Exit Value?
What Happens If You Ignore This?
CASE STUDY
Multi-Location Oil Change Franchise Lost $425K Over Email Access
Cost: 4-week deal delay + $58,000 in emergency recovery + $425,000 valuation reduction
A 12-location quick-lube franchise was days from closing a $8.2M sale when the buyer’s IT team discovered that all location customer email accounts were tied to the founder’s personal Gmail account, with no admin access documentation.
The Panic: The buyer’s team couldn’t verify customer communications, appointment systems, or vendor relationships. Email marketing lists for 15,000+ customers were inaccessible.
The Scramble: Emergency IT consultants worked around the clock to migrate systems, document access, and rebuild customer communication protocols. The founder had to personally guarantee email system integrity.
The Damage: Four-week closing delay, $58,000 in emergency IT costs, and a $425,000 reduction in final sale price due to “operational uncertainty.”
CASE STUDY
Therapy Practice Acquisition Nearly Collapsed Over Patient Data
Cost: 6-week delay + $73,000 in legal fees + compliance violations
A regional pediatric therapy practice with 2 locations was selling to a healthcare group when HIPAA compliance audits revealed that patient scheduling software was registered under a former IT vendor’s business account, with no way to transfer ownership or verify data security protocols.
The Crisis: Patient scheduling data for 800+ families was technically “owned” by a vendor who was unresponsive and may have violated their contract. The practice couldn’t prove HIPAA compliance or demonstrate proper data handling procedures.
The Legal Nightmare: Healthcare attorneys on both sides spent weeks documenting data ownership, creating new compliance protocols, and negotiating liability protection. The acquiring healthcare group nearly walked away over regulatory uncertainty.
The Financial Impact: Six-week delay pushed the sale into a new tax year, costing an additional $73,000 in legal fees and creating ongoing compliance risks that required additional insurance coverage.
CASE STUDY
Landscaping Company’s Website Disappeared Mid-Sale
Cost: 3-week deal suspension + $34,000 in rebuilds + lost buyer confidence
A commercial landscaping franchise with 8 locations was in final negotiations when their primary website went offline. The hosting account was tied to a vendor who had gone out of business, and no one had admin access.
The Immediate Crisis: No website meant no online presence, no customer portal access, and no way for the buyer to verify digital marketing effectiveness. Customer calls went unanswered, and online leads stopped completely.
The Buyer’s Response: Deal suspended indefinitely while the seller rebuilt their entire web presence and proved their digital marketing wasn’t dependent on the missing infrastructure.
The Recovery Cost: Three weeks of lost momentum, $34,000 in emergency website rebuilds, and a buyer who negotiated harder due to “digital risk concerns.”
Each of these situations was completely preventable.
What they had in common wasn’t a technical failure. It was a lack of visibility, no clear owner, and no plan for digital integration after the deal closed. When no one’s responsible for the digital handoff, costly mistakes become inevitable.
We help you avoid them.
Not sure if it’s right for you?
Download our Brand Protection Checklist and start identifying gaps in your asset management.
Frequently Asked Questions
Digital assets include domains, websites, social profiles, CRMs, analytics tools, email platforms, privacy tools, vendor accounts, and more. We track 250+ possible data points, all of which affect brand visibility, compliance, and functionality during a deal.
Lost ad spend. CRM lockouts. Domains that expire mid-campaign. Unclaimed listings. Disconnected analytics. Even compliance issues from outdated privacy policies. These are real costs caused by missing or mismanaged digital assets.
Traditional IT due diligence examines whether systems work. Digital Asset Due Diligence examines whether you actually own and can transfer those systems. Many businesses discover they don’t legally control critical digital assets they’ve been using for years.
IT teams focus on servers and security, not business asset ownership. We regularly work with companies that have excellent IT support but still discover hundreds of undocumented digital assets. Your IT team keeps systems running; we ensure you own and control them.
That’s common. We track what’s missing, reach out to past vendors or team members, and document exactly what needs to be recovered. You’ll know where the gaps are and how to close them.
Almost every team underestimates this. Even a small brand can have dozens of platforms in play, especially when tools are managed by different departments or outside vendors. Our job is to surface what’s been forgotten or overlooked.
We work alongside your internal teams or integration partner. They stay focused on systems and strategy. We handle the messy handoff details, confirm platform ownership, and make sure documentation is clear and secure.
Absolutely. We coordinate closely with your transaction team to ensure digital asset documentation integrates seamlessly with other due diligence materials. We provide reports in formats that legal and accounting teams can easily review and verify.
No. We’re not a cybersecurity or legal firm. But we flag risk areas and partner with your compliance and security teams to make sure digital assets are properly secured and documented.
Cybersecurity audits focus on protecting against threats. Digital Asset Due Diligence focuses on ownership, access, and transferability. You can have excellent security but still not own or control critical digital assets needed for a successful business transfer.
Any business with multiple locations or significant online presence benefits most. We frequently work with online learning companies, online shopping brands, professional services firms, automotive service centers, restaurants and franchises, home services companies, and retail businesses. If you depend on digital systems to run your business, you need digital asset due diligence.
The earlier, the better. Ideally, begin 12-18 months before going to market. However, we regularly help businesses just months, or even weeks, before their sale. The key is identifying and resolving gaps before a buyer’s team discovers them.
Yes. Our Management and Maintenance service provides ongoing support to keep your digital assets secure, compliant, and up to date. This includes hosting, privacy tools, website maintenance, and renewals.
We help resolve them before they become deal-breakers. Most digital ownership issues can be resolved with proper documentation, legal transfers, or platform migrations. The key is addressing them proactively, not during due diligence when time pressure is intense.
Forward-thinking investment bankers increasingly flag digital asset gaps because they’ve seen too many deals slow down over preventable issues. Smart bankers now recommend digital asset audits before going to market to avoid last-minute surprises.
Typically 2-4 weeks for most businesses. Timeline depends on company size, number of locations, and complexity of digital infrastructure. Multi-location businesses with extensive online presence may require additional time for comprehensive documentation.
Starting at $2,500 for the first business, $2,200 for each additional brand or location. Compare this to the average $47,000 cost of emergency digital recovery during a deal, or the $200,000 average valuation reduction from digital uncertainty.
We provide emergency Digital Asset Due Diligence services. While it’s more expensive and stressful than planning ahead, we can rapidly identify, document, and secure digital assets even during active due diligence processes.
We’ve supported private equity firms, restaurant groups, and multi-brand operators through dozens of transitions. We know how to clean up what others leave behind. And we make it easy for your team to move forward with confidence. Our team understands the infrastructure behind websites, custom server builds, and third-party integrations, ensuring nothing is overlooked. We simplify management by serving as a single point of contact, eliminating the need for multiple vendors.