Ed Weeks covers five steps before selling a business: reconcile two years of bank and tax records, document every EBITDA add-back, explain why your largest customers will stay, establish normal working capital baseline, and decide seller-note terms upfront.
5 things I'd get on paper this quarter. 1, tie out your bank statements, books, and tax returns for the last 2 years and the trailing 12 months. That's the test the lender's review will run. 2, prove every add-back. If you can't document it, assume it won't count. 3, know your customer concentration and write down why your biggest customers will stay. 4. Set your normal working capital from a year or 2 of monthly balance sheets before a buyer proposes a number for you. 5. Decide your seller note terms before anyone asks and know how standby versus paying terms would affect an SBA buyer.
