Services01 of 09
Path one · Selling in 3–6 months
Find the problems before the buyer does.
When a sale is months away, the job is finding the problems before a buyer does — and fixing what can still be fixed.
Transaction Readiness
If you expect to sell within the next three to six months, we’re in transaction-preparation mode. There isn’t time to rebuild the company, so the work is focused: identify problems quickly, organize the financial and operational information, establish a realistic value, find the issues that could delay or reduce the sale, and correct what can actually be corrected before the company goes to market.
Who this is for
- An offer is already on the table — from a competitor, a private-equity group, an employee or another contractor.
- You’ve decided it’s time, and you want to be in the market this year.
- A health, family or partnership situation has moved the timeline up.
- You’ve talked to a broker and realized the company isn’t ready to be shown.
What we do
The work, in order.
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01
Clean financials — fast
Three years of statements that tie to the tax returns. Personal expenses running through the company identified and documented. Receivables reviewed, old inventory and equipment addressed. Owner compensation and legitimate add-backs supported with records — never simply added back because the seller wants a higher number. A buyer shouldn’t have to spend three weeks figuring out whether the numbers are real.
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02
A realistic valuation
Which earnings measure a buyer will use — Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, normalized EBITDA — and what recurring revenue, customer concentration, backlog and owner dependency do to the multiple. If someone offers $4 million, how do you know the company is worth $4 million? It might be worth less. It might be worth considerably more.
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03
Documentation a buyer can follow
Contracts and service agreements, licenses, leases, debt and equipment schedules, WIP and backlog, payroll, related-party transactions, insurance and bonding — organized so a buyer, CPA, lender or valuation professional can follow and verify the story.
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04
Key-employee stability
Who the buyer is really purchasing, who might leave when they hear the news, what retention looks like — and how and when employees are told. A trained team that takes care of customers is much harder to replace than trucks.
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05
Owner transition planning
What you personally want — retire completely, stay a year, work for the buyer through a transition, cash at closing or finance part of the purchase — decided before the Letter of Intent, not negotiated under pressure afterwards.
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06
Liabilities and deal-killers
The issues that delay or reduce a sale: disputes and open claims, unfiled returns, mixed personal and business assets, licenses in the owner’s name, undocumented side arrangements. Found now, while there is still time to deal with them.
The principle
When you have to sell, the buyer controls the clock. When you’re prepared and can walk away from a bad offer, you control the decision.
What you get
What you walk away with.
- A readiness assessment — what’s ready, what isn’t, and what can be fixed in the time available
- The financial package organized for a buyer, CPA, lender or valuation professional
- Normalized earnings with every adjustment documented
- An issues list ranked by its effect on price and timing
- Your Seller Team — broker, attorney, CPA — assembled before terms are agreed
- An owner transition and departure plan outline
Insights
Read next
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