Buying a Business Checklist
4.8/5 with 195 votes
Table of Contents
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- Business Financial Affairs
- Get access to financial information.
- Define what realty, goodwill, equipment and inventory are included in the sale.
- Define what is the actual market price of the property.
- Determine if it will be asset or stock purchase.
- Research if any business obligations or debts will be inherited.
- Learn business balance sheets and income statements for at least three years and for current year.
- Study business tax returns for past three years.
- Determine additional working capital that will be needed to keep business running after the sale.
- Enterprise/Operational
- Find out business history.
- Get the information regarding business reputation, date when it was established, history of development, business ownership structure.
- Get the copy of franchise agreement if it is used in business, learn franchise fee or a transfer fee have to be paid.
- Determine whether upgrades are required as well as identify needed changes to business operations.
- Get the copy of unsigned proposed buy/sell agreement
- Investigate any business leases for equipment, property, etc and check whether these leases are transferable.
- Research local laws to assure compliance.
- Demand from seller an explanation of his/her reasons to sell the business.
- Determine if you will be able to continue using of the enterprise's business name, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, product names and any other proprietary information.
- Research any licenses that may be required to maintain business operations and check the costs.
- Determine whether or not the seller will offer a non-compete agreement after transfer of ownership.
- Determine if there are any customer product warranties issued by the company that may be future obligations.
- Personnel Information
- Learn the company staffing requirements/policy and key employees.
- Analyze the roles and salaries of all employees in the business.
- Research existing employee contracts and benefit packages.
- Determine the likelihood that existing employees will stay with the business after the transfer of ownership.
- Market and Industry Information
- Identify the products/services the firm provides.
- Acquire a list of competitors, suppliers, and clients/customers, if possible.
- Determine the market area of the business and method of distribution.
- Research the industry.
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Presented by:
Jake R Brady
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Views: 163
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Tasks: 32
Who it's for
This Buying a Business Checklist is for teams that want consistent execution, less rework, and clear ownership.
- Standardize quality - run the same Buying a Business steps every time, regardless of who executes
- Save time - reuse a proven Buying a Business workflow instead of rebuilding processes from scratch
- Improve accountability - assign owners and see what's done vs. what's pending
- Onboard faster - use the Buying a Business checklist as the SOP and training guide
- Coordinate across roles - handoffs are clear and everyone works from the same source of truth
How to use it
How to use this Buying a Business Checklist:
- Start by saving it - save as a Template if you'll reuse it, or as a Checklist if it's a one-off project.
- Customize it once for your workflow - remove what doesn't apply and add your team-specific steps.
- Assign ownership and execute - set owners/due dates where needed and track completion as work happens.
- Reuse without rebuilding - when Buying a Business comes up again, start from your saved version and run it with clear ownership.
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5 stars
Scores 4.80 with 195 votes