Sharing Financial Information with Your Business Broker
Hiring a business broker Costa Mesa is the first thing you need to do when you make up your mind to sell. Even so, getting ready to sell is often a very stressful time for most entrepreneurs. You have to think about the returns that you want to get from the sale and your retirement plans or new career. This can be overwhelming. The good news is that using a reliable business broker like So-Cal Business Brokers can help relieve the stress of the process. Our team will further guarantee that you get a good return on your investment and keep the whole process confidential.
The hardest part when it comes to the sale of a business is disclosing the financial information to a complete stranger. Being business owners ourselves, our business brokers Costa Mesa understand there can be some apprehension surrounding the sharing of financial information about your business. We have thus come up with a strategy to build your confidence in us.
Financial documents
After the execution of a marketing agreement, our team will require a number of your financial documents. These documents give us a baseline understanding of your business. The documents are what enable us to create a price opinion which later becomes the listing price for your business.
Prior to asking for your financial information, we sign a confidentiality agreement with terms that are acceptable to you. The agreement is legally binding and is meant to calm your nerves at the start of the business sale process. We will not review any of the documentation you send to us until you sign the confidentiality agreement. The agreement protects your information and brings the much needed peace of mind.
Sales records
Once we start working with you, we will require your total sales and earnings from the past year or 3 years profit and loss statements. We also require your past 3 years tax returns. This information is needed to help us come up with a listing price, financial recast of your business and the seller’s discretionary earnings.
Financial recasting is the accepted accounting practice of adjusting the financial statements to address items that are unrelated to the ongoing business. After we start marketing your business for sale, the financial recast is used to show general finances of the business before having access to the complete business information in due diligence. The complete business information is only provided after a serious buyer signs the non-disclosure agreement.
Sharing financial information helps us seek lender pre-approval of your business. Lender pre-approval is quite attractive to the buyers.
Confidentiality is a top priority for So-Cal Business Brokers. We have actually built it into our process in order to make sure the sale remains a secret. To learn more about sharing financial information with us, our sale process and the information we require from you, we invite you to visit our website at So-Calbusinessbrokers.com or simply give us a call. We are always happy to hear from you.