Exit Readiness Checklist

How to use: If you’re “Yes” on most items, you’re likely ready for confidential market outreach. If not, a readiness sprint can materially improve terms and certainty.

Buyers need clean, explainable results and confidence in cash flow quality.

• 3 years of financial statements (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow) with consistent chart of accounts.
• Monthly financials within 15–20 days of month-end close (or a defined close process).
• EBITDA normalization bridge (owner comp, one-time items, discretionary add-backs) with documentation.
• Revenue segmentation: recurring vs. project, customer cohort trends, churn/retention (where applicable).
• Customer concentration analysis (top 10 customers + % of revenue/gross profit).
• Working capital visibility: A/R aging, WIP (if applicable), seasonality, and cash conversion cycle.
• Forecasting model with assumptions buyers can underwrite (capacity, pricing, volume, margin).

Buyers pay more for businesses that scale without the owner as the bottleneck.

• Documented SOPs for sales, delivery/ops, customer service, billing, and quality control.
• Leadership bench (ops lead, sales lead, finance/bookkeeping) with defined responsibilities.
• KPI cadence: weekly scorecards, utilization, win rates, gross margin, backlog, on-time delivery, etc.
• Pricing discipline: documented pricing logic, discount approvals, margin guardrails.
• Technology stack clarity: CRM, accounting, dispatch/PSA, reporting, security controls.

Diligence friction here is where deals slow—or get repriced.

• Contract repository: customer, vendor, lease, insurance, and employment agreements centralized.
• Assignability: key contracts reviewed for change-of-control language.
• Licensing/permits documented and current; safety and training logs in place.
• Insurance coverage appropriate to operations; claims history organized.
• Any known issues documented (disputes, audits, litigation, regulatory inquiries) with mitigation plan.

Buyers underwrite the “why now” growth story, not just the past.

• Clear positioning: who you serve, what you do better, and why customers choose you.
• Lead flow diversity: no single channel is a point of failure.
• Customer retention metrics: repeat rates, contract renewals, NPS/reviews, referral sources.
• Growth levers defined: pricing, geographic expansion, add-on services, route density, sales team scaling.

These reduce buyer uncertainty and protect leverage.

• One-page “at-a-glance” overview (financial highlights, service lines, geography, team, customers).
• Confidential information memo (CIM) draft or outline with compelling narrative.
• Data room plan: folder structure + owner assigned to document collection.
• Transaction goals: target timeline, preferred structure, role post-close, and “must-haves.”