Finding the right buyer and selling your business on favourable terms will require both planning and hard work.
It's important to understand the sales process, preparing your business for sale, setting a price, seeking potential buyers, negotiating and preparing a Contract of Sale and other documents, and settling the deal.
1. Determine a Realistic Price Range
If you price your business too high, you'll scare away buyers. If you price it too low, you'll lose out. To figure out a range that is realistic, you should always consult your Accountant or Business Advisor who can assist you in determining the value of your business.
Some valuation methods include:
- valuation of the business's assets, and then adding in a sum for the goodwill the business has developed.
- how much comparable businesses in your industry and locale have recently sold for.
- use an industry formula.
2. Understand the Tax Consequences of the Sale
You should always discuss with your Accountant the tax implications associated with the sale of your Business. Taxes can take a huge bite out of the money you receive for your business. It pays to know just how big that tax bite will be.
3. Make sure your Financial Information is up to date and in order
The getting-ready-for-sale process includes not only sprucing up your business premises, but getting your figures in good shape. You may be required to provide any potential Purchaser with the financial statements of the Business for the last 3 financial years to show its profitability.
4. Seek Potential Buyers
Are you selling the Business to an existing employee or an unrelated party? You may need to advertise your sale in newspapers and trade publications, and on business-sale websites. Alternatively, you may want to engage a business broker to reach more buyers, or to keep your sale plans from going too public too fast.
5. Negotiate Your Deal
In working out the terms of the sale, some key issues include whether you will sell the business entity or just its assets, what assets you want to keep, and how the buyer will pay you. Your lawyer will be able to assist you in negotiating the terms of your deal.
6. Sign a Contract of Sale
You will need to document your deal in writing. The Contract should list and value the assets the buyer is purchasing, list any contracts the buyer is assuming (e.g, leases, franchises, hire purchase agreements etc), and include protections that assure you will get paid the full sale price. You should always instruct your lawyer to prepare the Contract before it is signed to ensure all necessary terms are included.
7. Plan for Settlement
Between the signing of the Contract to the Settlement Date, the parties will need to sign various documents to complete the transfer of the Business to the buyer.
8. File the necessary Paperwork to complete the settlement
After the sale, you should retain a copy of the Contract of Sale and/or any other key sale document as a record of the sale transaction for at least 7 years.
The parties will also need to file any necessary paperwork with any government and/or statutory bodies to ensure records are updated to show the new owner of the business.
The contents of this blog post are considered accurate as at the date of publication. However the applicable laws may be subject to change, thereby affecting the accuracy of the article. The information contained in this blog post is of a general nature only and is not specific to anyone’s personal circumstances. Please seek legal advice before acting on any of the information contained in this post.
