What is on an exit planning checklist?
Five stages, each with a page of its own, in the order a sale runs: what to settle before you decide, what to prepare, what diligence will ask for, how to read the offers, and what to plan for after the wire.
Why a buyer asks: A buyer prices the business as it stands, so the gap between that price and the number you need sets the route.
Why a buyer asks: These are what a buyer tests first, and the work is finished before anyone sees the business.
Why a buyer asks: A buyer checks everything in diligence. Building the data room early finds the problems while there is still time to fix them quietly.
Why a buyer asks: A buyer's price is a stack of layers with different certainty and timing, so two offers with the same headline can differ by millions in what you keep.
Why a buyer asks: A buyer settles the terms with you before the close, and once the deal is signed most of what decides your proceeds is fixed.
How do you use an exit planning checklist?
Start the conversation now, then work the stages in order, and tick a line only when a buyer could check it.
Some of the work belongs to your professionals: your CPA on the books and the add-backs, your attorney on licenses and contracts. The checklists for preparing and for diligence mark those items as your CPA's or your attorney's, so you know whom to ask. FNDRS gives no legal, tax, or wealth advice: the plan for after the wire is made with outside experts.
Nothing on these pages is behind a form. The ticks are not saved, so print a page once it is filled in.