Here are some items needed that will help you prepare your business to sell.
Helpful Tips and Tools
Initial Process
Where or how to begin this process?
Our goal will be to work with you on a consulting basis, to see where you are in regards to putting your business up for sale. This can be a very anxious conversation, but rest assured, we will help you through the process. We start with you, the seller.
We have our introduction call with you the seller first. We will listen to your reasons why you want to sell the business. We will discuss what you would like to sell it for, and ask where this figure comes from. If you have a formal business evaluation, we will discuss this as well.
Depending on the industry you are in, evaluations are a broad field. This will help us determine if we sell to a competitor who is in your same or similar business, or we list it on a website that specializes in selling businesses to the open public. This will need to be a mutual decision to determine where we go first to sell your business.
After we discuss the above, we will then prepare you to gather up the financial information needed to begin the process of selling your business.
What a potential buyer will need
When thinking about what a prospective buyer will need, think about what YOU would want when looking to buy a business. These items below are standard, so more or less information may be requested from a buyer. Every industry is different, so depending on the buyer, we may ask for more of less of these items below.
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3 Years P&L financial statements ( Profit & Loss)
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3 years bank statements
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A current Balance Sheet
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Asset Listing - assets that will sell with the company such as vehicles, inventory, machinery, shelving, forklifts, tools etc. that will be transferable to the new business owner through the sale.
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Lease agreements - if any.
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If real estate is owned, it is a separate deal or leasable?
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Business and or Owner Bio - some history on the business, how long has it been in business, Owner(s) information
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If business is client based, % of top 10 accounts who make up the total sales
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What categories do sales come from, if business has multiple avenues
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If client based, does customers have contracts in place or agreements?
What are my expectations for time to sell?
Every deal is different. We ask that you be patient during this process. So many sellers get aggravated because this process doesn't happen overnight. Generally, the entire process takes from 1-6 months to from the initial start until the closing. Once we find the right, qualified buyer, the due diligence time could take 30-60 days as well. We will work diligently to get your business sold as fast as possible, but the goal is for you to continue to run your business as you have been, up until we can get the deal closed and the new owners take over.
