SaaS MVP Checklist: What to Build First
Most SaaS products need far less in version one than founders expect. This checklist separates what you need now from what can wait.
VR CodeCraft · 2 Nov 2026 · 1 min read
An MVP is the smallest product that can prove people will use it and pay for it. It is not a cheap version of your final vision. The goal is to learn quickly, without building things you will throw away.
Must have in version one
- One core workflow that solves the main problem from start to finish
- Sign-up and login with password reset
- Separate accounts so one customer can never see another customer's data
- A simple way to charge, even a single plan
- An admin view so you can help customers and see what is happening
- Basic analytics to learn which features are really used
Can wait until later
- Multiple pricing tiers and complex discounts
- A mobile app, if the web version works on phones
- Advanced roles and permissions
- Custom reports and exports
- Integrations nobody has asked for yet
Decide these early
A few decisions are expensive to change later, so make them carefully even in an MVP:
- How customer data is separated
- How you store payments and subscription status
- How you back up and restore data
- How you release updates without downtime
Talk to users before you build
Before writing code, describe the product to ten potential customers and ask how they solve the problem today. If they are not already spending time or money on it, keep looking.
A sensible timeline
A focused SaaS MVP typically takes 6 to 12 weeks. If your scope needs much longer, it probably holds features that can wait. Cut until the core workflow is all that remains, then launch and let real customers tell you what comes next.