Get the free checklist →
FOR SAAS ACQUIRERS ONLY

The seller says 2% monthly churn.
The real number is 9.4%.
That gap will cost you $340,000.

TL;DR: Enter your email to get the free 23-point buyer-side churn audit checklist, a sample ChurnLens risk report on an anonymized $48K MRR SaaS target, a hidden-churn cheat sheet covering 7 seller tricks, and a revenue-quality scorecard template. The full 23-point checklist is also published further down this page, readable right now without signing up.

Get the 23-point buyer-side churn audit checklist sellers hope you never ask for — plus a sample ChurnLens risk report on a real (anonymized) $48K MRR SaaS where headline churn hid 47% revenue decay.

The 23-Point Churn Audit Checklist — every question to demand from the seller's raw subscription export
Sample Risk Report — full ChurnLens output on a real $48K MRR target, anonymized
Hidden Churn Cheat Sheet — the 7 tricks sellers use to understate churn, and how to catch each
Revenue Quality Scorecard — template to grade any target's MRR durability A–F
Value: $97  ·  Today: FREE

Sent instantly. No spam. Unsubscribe in one click. We never share your data.

✓ Here's your 23-point checklist

No waiting. Read it below right now — the sample report and cheat sheet are in your inbox for deeper reference.

The 23-Point Buyer-Side Churn Audit Checklist
  1. Logo churn rate — computed from raw data, not the seller's summary
  2. Revenue churn rate — separately from logo churn
  3. Net vs. gross churn — if they diverge, growth is masking churn
  4. Monthly vs. annual churn — always compound it yourself
  5. Cohort trend (24 months) — not a single "representative" month
  6. Downgrade rate — plan decreases are hidden revenue churn
  7. Involuntary churn split — failed payments excluded? Big flag
  8. Top 10 customer concentration — what % of MRR?
  9. Top 3 customer churn impact — if they all left, what's MRR?
  10. Annual-plan renewal schedule — when do they come up?
  11. Annual-plan early-cancellation rate
  12. Inactive paid accounts — paying but not logging in
  13. Inactive account trend — growing or shrinking?
  14. Expansion revenue rate — upsells, seat additions
  15. Contraction revenue rate — downgrades by MRR
  16. Trial-to-paid conversion rate — trials excluded from churn?
  17. Reactivation pattern — serial churners counted once?
  18. MRR trajectory (6 months) — trending up, flat, or decaying?
  19. Net new MRR vs. churned MRR — is growth hiding decay?
  20. Revenue quality grade — composite A–F
  21. Voluntary vs. involuntary ratio
  22. Customer lifecycle stage distribution
  23. Cohort retention curves by signup month
While you read — got a target in due diligence right now?

Upload the CSV and get your own risk report in minutes →
✉ Coming to your inbox: The full sample risk report on a real $48K MRR SaaS + the 7-trick Hidden Churn Cheat Sheet + a 5-day email series on the biggest DD blind spots.
Limited Time Offer

Good call. But let me ask you something…

You just got the 23-point checklist. That’s the manual way. The fast way is ChurnLens Pro — upload any seller’s CSV and get a complete risk report in 2 minutes, not 2 hours.

Manual Checklist
Free
  • 23-point checklist (PDF)
  • Manual spreadsheet work
  • 2–4 hours per target
  • Sample report included
ChurnLens Pro
$1 /mo
  • Automated logo & revenue churn
  • Concentration risk analysis
  • Zombie MRR detection
  • Annual-plan decay tracking
  • Revenue quality score
  • Cohort analysis (24-month)
Start Pro for $1 →

Cancel anytime. No commitment.

No thanks, show me the free checklist →

Frequently asked before signing up

Is this really free?

Yes. The checklist, sample report, and cheat sheet are free. We monetize the ChurnLens tool itself (upload your own CSV and get a full risk report). The checklist is our way of earning your trust first.

I already have a due diligence checklist. Why this one?

Most DD checklists cover legal, financial, and operational risk. This one covers the revenue durability layer that buyers consistently miss — the layer where sellers hide churn through cohort selection, downgrade exclusion, and zombie MRR. If your checklist doesn't have all 23 points, you have a blind spot.

I'm not technical. Can I use this?

The checklist is plain English. You ask the seller for their subscription export (CSV) and run through the 23 points. The sample report shows you exactly what the output looks like. No code required to use the checklist — that's the point.

Will you spam me?

No. You get the checklist immediately, then a 5-day email series walking through the biggest hidden-churn risks (one per day, each actionable). After that, occasional SaaS M&A insights. Unsubscribe in one click from any email.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is hidden churn in a SaaS acquisition?

Hidden churn is revenue decay that headline metrics conceal: customers on annual plans who have already stopped using the product, paid accounts sitting inactive, or revenue concentrated in a few logos about to leave. A SaaS business can show flat MRR while its real retention is collapsing. ChurnLens surfaces these signals before you buy, so you price the deal on true revenue quality.

How does ChurnLens score revenue quality?

ChurnLens analyzes five dimensions: revenue concentration, logo retention, annual-plan churn risk, inactive paid accounts, and MRR decline patterns. Each is weighted into a single 0-100 revenue-quality score benchmarked against comparable SaaS businesses. The score tells an acquirer whether reported MRR is durable or propped up by customers who are one renewal away from leaving, all before the deal closes.

Why do SaaS acquirers need due diligence on churn?

Purchase price is usually a multiple of recurring revenue, so overstated retention directly inflates what you pay. A business with 20% hidden annual-plan churn is worth far less than its MRR implies. Buyers who skip churn diligence discover the decay only after closing, when it is too late to renegotiate. ChurnLens gives that visibility during the evaluation window instead.

What red flags should I check before buying a SaaS business?

Watch for revenue concentrated in a handful of accounts, a widening gap between signups and active users, annual contracts that never renew, and MRR that grows only through discounting. Each pattern signals fragile revenue. ChurnLens automatically flags these red flags from uploaded revenue data and ranks them by how much they threaten the durability of the recurring revenue base.

Key facts
Risk dimensions scored5
Revenue-quality score range0-100
Built forAcquirers, PE, founders

Key terms, defined

Revenue concentration
The share of total revenue coming from the largest customers — high concentration is a churn and valuation risk.
Logo retention
The percentage of customers (logos) retained over a period, independent of expansion revenue.
Net revenue retention (NRR)
Revenue retained from existing customers including expansion and contraction, expressed as a percentage.

See Hidden Churn Before You Buy a SaaS

🛡️ 100% Money-Back — If We Miss a Red Flag, You Don't Pay

📥 Free SaaS Due Diligence Checklist

The exact 47-point checklist PE analysts use before acquiring SaaS businesses. 5-minute read.

Download Free Checklist →

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

⚡ Limited Beta Pricing — Lock in $49/mo Before Price Increase

80%
Overpay for Churn
4.2×
Real vs Reported
$340K
Avg Overpayment
23
Audit Checklist Points

The seller's churn number is almost always wrong. Upload the CSV and find out before you wire.

Get the Free Checklist →

🛡️ Free Starter tier: 1 CSV analysis per month. No credit card. Verify a seller's churn claims before you commit.

· · Published 2026-01-15