The short answer
Your contractors do not transfer automatically. They work for you, not for the website, so each one has to agree to work for the buyer or be replaced. A buyer will want to know who does the work, what it costs, whether those people will stay, and whether you own everything they produced. Sort those four things out before you list and the team becomes a selling point instead of a risk.
Why buyers care about the team
Most buyers of content and ecommerce sites are not planning to write the posts or pack the orders themselves. If the site depends on two writers and a virtual assistant, the buyer is really buying that arrangement. A team that is documented, paid on a regular schedule and willing to continue makes the site look transferable. A team that lives in your inbox and your head reads as owner dependence, which is one of the most common reasons buyers lower their offer.
Write down who does what
Before you list, put every regular contributor in one table. Buyers ask for this during due diligence, and having it ready shortens that stage.
| What to record | Example |
|---|---|
| Role | Writer, editor, VA, developer, designer |
| Work and volume | Eight 1,500-word posts a month |
| Rate and how they are paid | $0.08 a word, paid monthly |
| Since when | Working on the site since March 2024 |
| Agreement | Signed contractor agreement with a work-for-hire clause |
| Willing to continue? | Confirmed in writing, yes or no |
Add the costs to your profit and loss as well. Contractor costs are part of the real monthly profit a buyer pays a multiple on, so leaving them out inflates the number and usually comes out in due diligence.
Make sure you own the work
A buyer is paying for the content, code and designs, so you need to be able to show they are yours to sell. In many countries, including the US, a freelancer keeps the copyright in what they create unless a written agreement assigns it to you. Check each contractor agreement for a work-for-hire or IP assignment clause. Where there is none, ask the contractor to sign a short assignment covering past work before the sale. This is far easier to do while the relationship is good than after they hear the site is being sold. A lawyer can draft one if the site is valuable or the work is substantial.
When to tell your contractors
Do not announce the sale before you have a serious buyer. Telling the team early can unsettle people who rely on the income, and some may start looking for other work. The usual point is after a letter of intent is signed, with the buyer's agreement, when the buyer wants to confirm that key people will stay. Tell them what is changing, who the new owner is, and whether their rate and workload will stay the same. Most freelancers simply want to know they will still be paid.
Settle the money cleanly
Agree a closing date with the buyer and pay every contractor for work up to that date yourself, including invoices that arrive after it. Write down who pays for work in progress during the handover, and put that in the purchase agreement. Keep records of every payment, because buyers check them against the profit and loss. If you pay US contractors, you will also need to issue 1099-NEC forms for the year of the sale. A payroll tool that handles contractor payments keeps these records in one place and lets the buyer set up the same people on day one.
Mistakes that cost sellers money
Paying contractors in cash or through personal accounts, so the costs cannot be checked. Leaving contractor costs out of the profit figure. Having no written agreement, so ownership of the content is unclear. Telling the team before there is a buyer. Promising the buyer that people will stay without asking them first. Each of these either lowers the price or delays the sale. For the rest of the handover, see how to transfer a website safely and the documents buyers ask for.
- Contractors do not transfer with the site; each one has to agree to work for the buyer.
- Document every contributor, their rate and whether they will stay before you list.
- Check that written agreements give you ownership of the work you are selling.
- Tell the team after a letter of intent, and pay everything up to the closing date yourself.
Contractors paid on a schedule, with records a buyer can check, make a site look transferable. Gusto runs contractor payments and year-end tax forms in one place, so the handover is a list of people rather than a pile of invoices.
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