The difference between a well-prepared business sale and an unprepared one is often 20-40% in sale price. Buyers pay more when they have confidence — and confidence comes from preparation.
If you’re thinking about selling in the next 12-24 months, start here.
12 Months Before: Foundation
Financial Preparation
Clean up your books. Engage your accountant to review and normalise three years of financial statements. Ensure revenue recognition, expense categorisation, and balance sheet items are accurate and consistent.
Separate personal from business. Stop running personal expenses through the business. Every personal expense creates a normalisation adjustment that buyers will scrutinise.
Resolve tax issues. Outstanding tax liabilities, ATO disputes, or aggressive tax positions create buyer anxiety and can delay or derail a sale.
Prepare a financial model. Build a simple 3-year forecast that demonstrates the growth trajectory and margin profile a buyer can expect.
Operational Preparation
Reduce your involvement. This is the single most impactful thing you can do. If you’re the head chef, the lead salesperson, and the person who opens up every morning, start delegating now.
Hire key roles. If you don’t have a capable #2, hire one. A general manager, operations manager, or practice manager who can run the day-to-day is worth their weight in gold during a sale.
Document your processes. Create SOPs for every critical business function. A buyer needs confidence the business can run without you.
Systemise. Implement or upgrade software for accounting, CRM, project management, and operations. Modern systems signal a professional, transferable business.
6 Months Before: Optimisation
Revenue and Profitability
Diversify your customer base. If any single customer represents more than 15-20% of revenue, actively work to reduce that concentration.
Renew key contracts. Lock in customer contracts, supplier agreements, and (critically) your lease. A lease with 2 years remaining is a red flag; 10+ years is a selling point.
Optimise pricing. Many businesses haven’t raised prices in years. Implement overdue price increases now — they flow straight to the bottom line.
Cut discretionary costs. Reduce any spending that doesn’t directly drive revenue or profit. Clean up subscriptions, memberships, and nice-to-have expenses.
Legal and Compliance
Review all contracts. Employment agreements, customer contracts, supplier terms, lease, insurance — ensure they’re current, assignable, and don’t contain change-of-control issues.
Protect IP. Register trademarks, ensure software is properly licenced, and confirm ownership of key IP assets.
Resolve disputes. Outstanding legal matters, warranty claims, or compliance issues should be resolved before going to market.
Ensure compliance. Licences, registrations, accreditations, insurance, WHS — everything current and documented.
Team Retention
Identify critical staff. Who are the people a buyer can’t afford to lose? Put retention arrangements in place — employment contracts with notice periods, retention bonuses tied to the sale, or stay-on incentives.
Communicate carefully. Don’t tell staff about the sale yet, but ensure they’re happy, engaged, and tied in.
3 Months Before: Positioning
Engage an advisor. A corporate advisor or M&A specialist will help you present the business professionally, identify the right buyers, and negotiate the best outcome. This is not the time to DIY.
Prepare an Information Memorandum. Your advisor will help create a professional document that presents the business, its financials, growth opportunity, and investment thesis.
Identify likely buyers. Your advisor will develop a target list of strategic buyers, financial buyers, and industry participants who may be interested.
Set your expectations. Understand the likely valuation range, deal structure, and timeline so you can make informed decisions throughout the process.
During the Sale
- Keep running the business — any dip in performance during the sale process will reduce the price
- Be responsive — delays kill deals; respond to information requests promptly
- Trust your advisor — let them manage the process and negotiate on your behalf
- Stay disciplined — don’t accept the first offer if the process hasn’t been competitive
- Plan your transition — most deals require a 6-12 month transition period; be prepared for that
Estimate what your business is worth today, or talk to us about your exit timeline.