Preparing Your Business for Sale

Preparing your business for sale may feel overwhelming at first. But this process is very important as it will help ensure that you receive a reasonable rate when you sell your business in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, Vermont and Maine. You can rest assured that all the work that you put into preparation will pay off in the long run. Let’s take a look at some of the most important areas to focus on.

Establishing Optimal Processes

Your buyer will want to feel confident that the business can be run in your absence. They will also know that they can use it with their employees to ensure things run smoothly. Anything that you can show can be automated will benefit you. Be sure to establish operation manuals and employee guidelines. Speaking of your staff members, focus on cultivating a strong team. When your staff members are happy, it will help bring stability to your business.

Accounting Records

When you sell a business in Philadelphia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, Vermont or Maine, you’ll be expected to provide detailed accounting records.

Clearly, you’ll want to prepare and share this information. Otherwise, a perspective buyer will find it difficult to assess your value. On a very practical level, they will also want to use your accounting data to figure out the direction your business is header. For example, are expenses increasing? Is your company accumulating more debt? They will want records from at least three years. It’s good if you have accounting in the cloud. You’ll want to ensure everything is in its proper category and all accounts are reconciled.

When you report your taxes from now on, it’s important to remember that your earnings will be taken into account when you sell. Even if you report more and pay more in taxes now, it will be worth it later. Try to boost profitability and consider how you might add revenue streams or reduce costs.

List Assets

All of your assets can be valuable when you’re selling. This includes assess that are intangible like customer relationships, marketing and social media, contracts, and intellectual property. You might want to start highlighting big wins in press release and newsletters so there is a track record of good news.

It’s valuable to consult with advisors so you can also see things from an outside perspective. Getting ready to sell is all about a good strategic plan.

Put Yourself in the Buyer’s Shoes

Pretend you’re the buyer for a moment. What else would you want to see? Think about your strengths and weaknesses and what could be done now to reduce any signs of weakness.

In general, the farther in advance you can prepare, the better. But there is no need to go it alone. You will also want to put together your deal of trusted advisors including business brokers, accountants and lawyers. For example, you will want to work with a CPA who has experience buying and selling businesses. Inbar Group can help refer someone to help you.

When you’re looking to buy or sell your business in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, Vermont and Maine, reach out to us at 212-473-5000.