Data Room Checklist

A practical, bank-ready data room guide for B2B SaaS companies preparing for exit.

PURPOSE

This checklist is designed to give your team a practical, bank-ready data room that provides sufficient context for investment banks and buyers while serving as a dry run for a future transaction. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but it should be clean, current, and defensible.

EXPECTATION

Each section should contain clearly labeled folders, consistently named files, and a single owner accountable for accuracy.

  1. Corporate & Legal

    • Certificate of Incorporation / Formation
    • Bylaws / Operating Agreement (all amendments)
    • Cap Table (current, fully diluted)
    • Stockholder Agreements
    • Board Consents & Minutes (last 3 years)
    • Investor Rights Agreements
    • Option Plan & Grant Summaries
    • Material Contracts List
    • Litigation Summary (if any)

  2. Revenue & Metrics

    • IP Assignment Agreements (founders, employees, contractors)
    • ARR Bridge (prior period to current)
    • Historical P&L (monthly, last 36 months)
    • Balance Sheet (monthly, last 24 months)
    • Gross Retention & Net Revenue Retention
    • Logo Churn Analysis
    • Customer Count & ARPA Trends
    • Cohort Analysis (by start month/year)
    • Expansion & Contraction Analysis
    • Cash Flow Statement (monthly, last 24 months)
    • Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) Summary
    • Revenue Concentration Analysis
    • Budget vs Actuals (current year)
    • Revenue Recognition Policy
    • Chart of Accounts
    • Deferred Revenue Schedule
    • Cash & Debt Summary

  3. Customers & Contracts

    • Standard Customer Agreement / MSA
    • Order Form / Subscription Template
    • Top 20 Customer Contracts
    • Pricing & Packaging Overview
    • Services Agreements (if applicable)
    • Customer Renewal Terms Summary

  1. Product & Technology

    • Product Overview Deck
    • Architecture Diagram
    • Infrastructure Overview
    • Security Policies
    • SOC 2 / Security Audits (if any)
    • Product Roadmap (12–18 months)
    • Technical Debt Summary
    • Third-Party Dependencies

  2. Team & HR

    • Org Chart
    • Employee Census (role, location, comp band)
    • Key Employee Agreements
    • Commission Plans
    • Contractor List
    • Open Roles

  3. Forecast & Planning

    • Current Operating Model (3-statement or cash model)

  4. Go-To-Market

    • Sales Process Overview
    • Key Assumptions Summary
    • 12–24 Month Forecast
    • Sensitivity / Downside Case
    • Pipeline Summary (by stage)
    • Sales Compensation Plan
    • Marketing Channels & CAC Summary
    • Customer Acquisition Funnel
    • Win/Loss Analysis

  5. Operations & Compliance

    • Key Vendor List
    • Hosting & Infrastructure Contracts
    • Data Privacy & Compliance Overview
    • Insurance Policies
    • Risk Register (if maintained)

MONTHLY CLOSE REFRESH

  • Close monthly P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow
  • Update ARR Bridge and Customer Metrics
  • Refresh Churn, Retention, and Expansion Metrics
  • Update Pipeline & Forecast
  • Reconcile Deferred Revenue
  • Update Cash, Debt, and Runway
  • Upload board-ready financial summary
  • Archive prior month with clear versioning

Ready to start preparing?

Golden Section works with portfolio companies to build exit-ready operations from day one.