A guide to closing safely with escrow and transferring acquisition assets
After signing the APA, your acquisition is all but done.
The final step is to close safely with Escrow.com, ensuring that you and the buyer receive what you expect from the deal.
Learn how escrow works and how to smoothly transfer your assets below.
1. Enter escrow with your buyer on Escrow.com
Once you and the buyer have both signed an APA, your buyer will send you escrow details to agree to on platform.
Check the details, especially if you agreed to conditional payments and other post-closing terms, and when you’re happy, agree to them.
Escrow.com will execute your transaction safely and securely, including conditional payments, and you’ll get regular status updates on your Acquire.com dashboard.
You might feel a little nervous about sending valuable assets to a third party. Ask our experts to walk you through escrow and how it protects you from fraud.
2. Transfer assets described in the APA
Escrow.com safely manages the transfer of funds and assets to protect you and the buyer from fraud.
First, Escrow.com will verify the buyer's funds, which will be the closing payment plus any conditional payments such as seller holdbacks or earnouts.
Only transfer your assets once Escrow.com verifies the buyer’s funds. Transfer each asset one at a time.
The buyer will inspect the assets within the agreed inspection period and then approve them. Once approved, Escrow.com will release the buyer’s funds to you.
To ensure a smooth transition, create an asset transfer plan that:
- Inventories all the assets to transfer
- Describes the assets destination
- Explains how to transfer the assets
3. Confirm you've received funds from Escrow.com
Your acquisition will usually include a closing payment paid immediately after the buyer approves your assets.
If you agreed to conditional payments, you’ll receive these when you meet the applicable conditions and the buyer again approves them.
Seller financing is the only deal component you can't transact on Escrow.com. If you've agreed seller financing with the buyer, please follow the terms as described in your APA. Ask your customer success manager if you need help.
How escrow works with Acquire.com founder, Andrew Gazdecki
Templates
Articles
- Close Safely and Easily With Our Escrow Builder
- How to Safely Transfer Your Assets in an Acquisition
Glossary
Escrow
Escrow is a third-party service that safely manages the transfer of funds, removing the need for trust between two parties doing business together. As a regulated, neutral party in the transaction, an escrow service provider prevents fraud and other financial crime.
Asset purchase agreement (APA)
An APA is a legal agreement between you and the buyer that describes the terms, conditions, and assets of an acquisition. Once you and the buyer sign the APA, the acquisition is legally binding on both of you, and then you’ll move to escrow to close the transaction.
Intellectual property (IP)
IP is an intangible asset and might include your startup’s code, proprietary technology, trademarks, copyrighted assets, patents, and so on. You should have legal agreements that protect your IP from anyone else using, reproducing, or distributing it without your consent.