Selling An E-commerce Store: (Financial Documents Checklist)
1. Know What A Buyer Expects
It goes without saying that when someone looks at buying your online business, the first (and most important) thing they will dig into is your financials.
They want to see revenue trends, cost structure, inventory, and the real cash you generate.
For example, sellers of online retail brands should be ready to show how revenue evolved and how much of it is recurring.
They will also look at the expenses, refunds, chargebacks, and inventory levels.
With this in mind, you should prepare to deliver:
Your profit & loss (income) statements for at least 12 months.
Balance sheet (assets, liabilities) at a recent date
Cash flow statements show actual cash moving in and out.
Detailed breakdowns of revenue channels, customer concentration, and product concentration.
Getting these key financial documents ready will help you reduce surprises and build trust with the buyer.
Related: 9-Point Checklist For Selling Your E-commerce Business Fast
We Help You Buy / Build, Manage and Scale E-commerce Brands for an EXIT
E-commerce Simplified for Busy Individuals – We handle the buying, building, and scaling, so you can focus on what matters.
Growth-Focused Strategies – From sourcing to marketing, we drive growth and prepare you for a profitable exit.
Expertly Managed Exits – We build a high-value brand designed for a Lucrative exit.
2. Clean Up Your Books and Records
To clean up your online store's books and records, we advise you to start by organizing your financial records.
You want to gather bank statements, merchant statements (e.g., PayPal, Stripe), and sales platform data (e.g., Shopify, Amazon).
Remember that these records should match what you report.
Here are simple steps on how to clean up your books and records:
Reconcile every bank account and merchant payout to your books.
Make sure revenue data is accurate: subtract returns and discounts properly.
Verify cost of goods sold (COGS): include product cost, shipping in, storage, and duties. This is critical because buyers watch margins.
Ensure your books separate business vs personal expenses. Avoid mixing your salary or personal expenses with business costs since buyers will raise questions.
In short: your financial documents must reflect reality. If buyers see the slightest mismatches in them, they lose trust fast.
3. Build The Core Financial Statements
Once your records are clean and accurate, it’s time to turn them into clear financial statements that tell your business story.
These statements show how your company earns, spends, and manages money (these are key details every buyer will study closely).
They reveal trends, highlight profitability, and prove whether the business is financially healthy.
At this stage, you’ll focus on preparing or updating three key statements that form the backbone of your financial package:
#1. Income Statement/Profit & Loss
This shows your revenue, costs, and profit (or loss) over a period. For example, total sales minus COGS minus operating expenses equals net profit.
When selling, highlight trends such as: Is revenue growing? Are costs stable or falling? A growing business gets better offers.
#2. Balance Sheet
This is a snapshot of what the e-commerce business owns and owes at a point in time. It simply shows the assets, liabilities, and equity.
The buyer wants to see inventory, receivables, and payables in the balance sheet.
For an e-commerce business, inventory is often a large asset. Here, you want to show how many months of inventory you hold, how quickly you turn it, and where it is stored.
#3. Cash Flow Statement
This shows how operations, investments, and financing generate or use cash.
It shows the real cash your business produces. Many e-commerce sellers have good revenue but weak cash flow because cash is tied up in inventory or receivables.
A positive cash flow is usually a strong signal to buyers.
Related: When Is the Right Time To Sell Your E-commerce Business?
4. Prepare Supporting Schedules & Documentation
After building your main financial statements, the next step is to add context and proof.
Buyers not only want to see totals but also understand what’s behind the numbers.
Supporting schedules and documentation will help you explain where your revenue comes from, what drives your expenses, and how efficiently your business runs.
These details make your financials more credible and easier for buyers to verify.
Your supporting schedules and documentation should show:
Revenue breakdown by channel/product/customer: Buyers want to know if one product or one customer accounts for a big part of revenue (that is a risk).
Expense schedules: Show advertising costs, shipping, platform fees, storage, returns/refunds. These must be documented with invoices, contracts, or platform statements.
Inventory aging schedule: This indicates how long items sit, the cost to replace, supplier info, and lead times. This gives the buyer confidence that you are not over-stocked or at risk.
Adjusted earnings (e.g., Seller's Discretionary Earnings or EBITDA): Shows how much cash is really available after removing non-essential expenses and owner perks. For smaller businesses, buyers often use SDE.
Documentation of your accounting methods: Cash vs accrual, revenue recognition, etc. Buyers may ask for clarity.
When well prepared, these schedules give depth and transparency to potential buyers and increase the chances of closing the deal.
5. Address Risks and Be Transparent
We have already mentioned that strong numbers are the secret to selling your e-commerce business.
But you should still keep in mind that earning a buyer’s trust is part of the deal.
Every buyer knows that no business is perfect, so being upfront about risks shows honesty and control.
When you identify potential issues early and explain how you manage them, you build confidence and prevent surprises later in the deal.
Here are some common risk areas to address up-front:
Major customer or supplier concentration: If more than 10% of revenue comes from one customer, that is a risk.
Inventory risk: Slow-moving or obsolete inventory reduces value. Be honest with the buyer about this.
Refunds/chargebacks: High rates here can signal product or fulfillment problems. Buyers will check.
Accounting irregularities: You also want to make sure everything is consistent, clean, and backed by invoices. If you tweak expenses extensively or re-classify things like owner perks, there will be scrutiny.
We advise you to prepare a short “risk summary” that explains any material issues and how you manage them. This helps build credibility.
Related: How Much Can You Sell Your E-commerce Business In 2025?
We Help You Buy / Build, Manage and Scale E-commerce Brands for an EXIT
E-commerce Simplified for Busy Individuals – We handle the buying, building, and scaling, so you can focus on what matters.
Growth-Focused Strategies – From sourcing to marketing, we drive growth and prepare you for a profitable exit.
Expertly Managed Exits – We build a high-value brand designed for a Lucrative exit.
6. Final Review, Organize & Package the Documents
Once you have all your statements and supporting schedules ready, the final step is to present them clearly and professionally.
Organized documents make it easier for buyers to review your business quickly and confidently.
A clean, well-structured package shows attention to detail and reinforces that your business is reliable and well-managed.
Here are quick tips for presenting your package professionally:
Use consistent time periods (e.g., last 12 months, year-to-date).
Label all the documents clearly: For instance, “XYZ E-commerce Ltd Income Statement FY2024”.
Provide a summary cover sheet: Key metrics like revenue growth, net profit, SDE, inventory turnover, and customer concentration.
Consider using a data room (secure online folder) where buyers can access documents.
Have your accountant or bookkeeper review and sign off if possible. This adds weight to your documents.
Clean up extraneous data. If there are weird one-off expenses or revenue items, explain them.
This final step helps you present a clear, credible package and speeds up the sale process.
Related: Where To Sell Your E-commerce Business (5 Top Options)
Final Thoughts
The secret to selling an e-commerce business fast is presenting clean, organized, transparent financial documents to potential buyers.
This means knowing what a buyer expects; cleaning up your books; preparing the core financial statements (income, balance sheet, cash flow); building supporting schedules; addressing risk openly; and packaging everything professionally.
If you follow these steps, you will increase buyer confidence and improve your chances of a smooth sale.
The key here is to get your financials ready now, so when a buyer comes knocking, you are ready.
Get the Best Deal for Your E-commerce Business
Selling an e-commerce business involves many moving parts, and managing them all alone can be stressful and risky.
At Trend Hijacking, we can help you handle every step—from accurately valuing your business to guiding you through closing—so you avoid costly mistakes and maximize your sale price.
By letting our experienced team take care of the details, you can focus on running your business while we make the selling process smoother and faster.
Share your business details today, and we’ll help you get started.
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