SALE READY = MAXIMUM VALUE

Being Sale Ready is the best way to maximize the value of your business.

What is sale ready?

Our Sale Ready Program prepares you and stages your business for its eventual sale.

Sale Ready is a twelve week program that prepares you with an Exit Plan and the business with a Sale Ready Plan. It examines the 10 areas of your business that have the most impact on its value. It identifies risks that may devalue your business and finds opportunities that can improve and increase its value.

If you plan to sell within the next 3 years, you should be thinking Sale Ready now.

“A Sale Ready business achieves higher valuations, sells faster and results in an overall smoother transaction for all parties involved.”

TOP 3 REASONS TO PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS AND MAKE IT
‍SALE READY

MAXIMIZE VALUE

We thoroughly analyze the business’s income, SG&A, earnings and value drivers to realize any untapped earning potential. We also analyze the company's performance indicators and compare them with industry comparables to identify additional opportunities. Finally, we work with you and your financial team to develop a thorough tax plan to ensure you take home the most benefit from the sale.

REMOVE RISK

Every deal is fraught with material risks that can reduce your control of the sale process, devalue your business or derail the deal altogether. We know these risks, how to find them and how to correct them. We work with you to mitigate the risks and provide confidence to an acquirer. This ensures a smooth sale process, saves time and money and most importantly, protects the value of your business.

FAST SALE

We know exactly what information buyers need at the various stages of the deal. Preparing all the detailed documentation and value justification prior to engaging buyers is the key to a fast offer and efficient due diligence process. It also saves accountants and lawyers time in understanding the structure of the sale, keeps them in the loop and allows them to operate efficiently, saving you money.

WhY IS being
‍sale ready IMPORTANT?

Strategic buyers will pay top dollar for profitable companies with detailed financials, a tenured labour force, efficient processes and quality record keeping. The challenge buyers often face are unprepared businesses leading to unreasonable expectations and a drawn-out, more invasive due diligence process. If the business' disclosure data is unprepared, it could lead to inconclusive analysis forcing the buyer to make assumptions about the business. This can add risk causing a devaluated price, an offer being rescinded or the deal being derailed. 

Being Sale Ready helps prepare the due diligence items buyers will want to see in order to validate the acquisition of your business. In addition, it minimizes risks, identifies true earning potential and removes assumptions that can devalue the business. Having all the information that a buyer will require prepared in advance will not only benefit the buyer, but will enable you to focus on running your business instead of hastily hunting for documents. How do we know this is true? Because we’ve done it for many and can do it for you. We have proven time and time again that a Sale Ready business sells for higher value, is more attractive to buyers and sells faster.

Here are some additional areas that Sale Ready can benefit your business.  

EXIT PLAN

EXIT PLAN

We work with you to develop the ideal exit plan and transition. With a proper plan, we can develop the strategies to achieve each of your goals.

YOU'RE INCONTROL

CONTROL

A Sale Ready business is a prepared business that can be sold at anytime, quickly and for maximum value. This puts you in total control of when to sell.

PRIVACY AND SECURITY

MAXIMIZE VALUE

Sale Ready examines the company’s normalized and discretionary earnings to identify opportunities to increase short and long term profitability and cash flow.

TAX PLAN

TAX PLAN

Our team will work with you and your accountant to prepare a tax plan that ensures you know exactly what you will be taking home from the sale.

IDENTIFY THE VALUE DRIVERS

INCREASED SALEABILITY

We analyze over 100 value drivers that affect the business’ value and saleability. This helps market the business and defend value during negotiations.

DISCLOSURE DOCUMENTATION

DISCLOSURE READY

Sale Ready organizes and prepares the disclosure documents needed by an acquirer to provide confidence and expedite the sale process.

INCREASED PROFITS

LABOUR STRENGTH

We work with you to improve the labour force and organizational structure including compensation, recruitment and employment contracts.

REMOVE RISKS

REMOVE RISKS

Sale Ready examines the top 10 areas of operational risks that often devalue your business or derail the deal. Less risk equals higher valuation.

IMMEDIATE RESULTS

IMMEDIATE RESULTS

Our Sale Ready program is practical with immediate and lasting results. We guarantee you will know more about your business than you did before.

WHAT EXACTLY IS IN OUR SALE READY PROCESS?

Our Sale Ready process has been developed over two decades of experience coaching complex and technical businesses to increase revenue, maximize growth and prepare for the eventual sale of the business. It involves a step by step practical 12 week analysis of over 100 subcategories of the business that impact value and risk. Additionally, it develops quality disclosure documentation that protects your confidentiality while providing buyers the confidence they need to present quality offers, expedite due diligence and close the deal quickly and efficiently.

Our 12 week process analyses these key areas of the business that affect the deal.

Week 01 - Seller Motivations, Sale Objectives & Exit Strategy
Week 02 - Taxation & Estate Planning
Week 03 - Corporate History, Identification & Preparedness
Week 04 - Assets, Liabilities & Goodwill
Week 05 - Legal, Contracts & Material Obligations
Week 06 - Organizational Structure, Employment & Management
Week 07 - Finance,  Bookkeeping & Accounting
Week 08 - Sales,  Marketing & Growth Opportunities
Week 09 - Clients, Competitors, Vendors & Suppliers
Week 10 - Operations, Process & Supply Chain Management
Week 11 - Property, Facilities & Maintenance
Week 12 - Transition & Succession

We work directly with you and your team to analyze each area of your business. We make recommendations and progressively implement improvements to increase value while addressing areas of operational risks that can reduce value. Lastly, we document everything needed to defend value and ensure a smooth offer, due diligence and closing process. 

As a result, a Sale Ready business has increased earnings, reduced operational risks, proper operational and organizational structure, good disclosure and the ability to go to market at any time. A Sale Ready business has higher value and is in greater demand. 

Whether you’re planning to sell in 3 months or 3 years, being Sale Ready puts you in control of the trigger to sell your business when you want to and for maximum value. 

IS THE SALE OF YOUR BUSINESs TAX READY?

Many sellers have the misconception that the selling price is what they get to take home and neglect the tax implications of the sale. They underestimate the importance of cleaning up the company's balance sheet and preparing a proper tax plan. They undergo the sale process unprepared and experience significant erosion of the purchase price due to taxation both corporate and personal. This is often realized too late in the sale process leading to disappointment, renegotiation, remorse or a dead deal. The takeaway is that going to market with an "uncleansed" business without a clear understanding of the sale structure (asset vs share) and a detailed tax plan is a recipe for disaster and disappointment.   

At Crossbridge, we’ve structured enough deals to know the importance and implications of taxation relating to the sale of a business. Since we are not accountants, we work closely with your accountant to develop your tax plan so you can maximize the sale proceeds when it's time to sell your business. If your accounting needs a second opinion, we are able to provide several quality referrals of accounting firms specializing in corporate taxation who have been developing tax plans for our clients for over a decade.

Having a clear expectation of what you will take home from the sale is peace of mind for you and is essential for our process to negotiate the sale of your business. This is why we place tax planning as a top priority and address it early in the Sale Ready process. Having a strong tax plan and the right team to help develop and negotiate that plan will ensure you take more home at the end of the sale.

When should you start preparing your business to be
sale ready?

If you are thinking of selling your business within the next 3 years, it is important to start the discussion now. This doesn’t mean that you need to commit to selling your business or start the sale process. It does mean that you’re becoming educated in the sale process and taking action on the various things that affect your company’s value. Some of the most effective tax strategies can take up to two years to put in place and material issues in the business can take even longer to resolve. Some items, if not addressed, may reduce your business's value and saleability. The benefit of starting the process early is that it will put you in control of selling when you’re ready and for maximum value.
‍
We work with clients 2-3 years in advance of the business' sale. With some owners we speak weekly and sometimes daily. With others it is monthly or quarterly. It all depends on your motivation to maximize value and how optimized your business already is. Our methodology is simple, the more time we have to prepare you and the business for sale, the better we can identify value, tell your story and maximize your result that will allow you to live happily ever after.

"The secret to success is to be ready when your opportunity comes"


Benjamin Disraeli

MOST ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR SALE READY PROGRAM

Who is the Sale Ready program intended for?

The Sale Ready program is intended for business owners who anticipate selling their business in the next 3 years and who wish to prepare and maximize the sale of their business so they can take home the most they can. These owners may not have an exit plan or even a tax plan but know that they want to start to position themselves and prepare the business for its eventual sale.

In some cases, business owners will ask us to help them drive up the value of their business to a specific value. Once we reach that valuation, we start the sale process and sell the business. These are typically multi-year engagements. In other cases, owners want our recommendations but want to make the changes to their business themselves. Either way our program is fully customizable but the objective remains the same, maximize the sale of your business so you take home more.  

I want to sell now, do I need your Sale Ready program?

The objective of the Sale Ready program is to maximize value which requires time. If the goal is to sell as quickly as possible, we will not use the Sale Ready program but will address the material factors that significantly affect value and saleability. We will also make recommendations for the smaller issues that may still affect value but aren't material and you can choose to skip those improvements if you wish. That said, we will never market a broken business or rush the sale of a business. The post sale liability is just too great for all parties involved.

The other reason the Sale Ready process is important is that in order to be able to be the greatest advocates of your business, we need to know your business just as well as you do, if not better. During the Sale Ready process, we get to know the whole story of your business and what the most important aspects are to potential buyers. This is one way we are able to negotiate maximum value.

How long does Sale Ready take?

Our Sale Ready program is designed as a 12 week program, however, we know that no two business are ever the same and therefore our Sale Ready program is scalable. Some owners are very sophisticated, are fully prepared and have an exit and tax plan in place. In those cases, the program can be condensed. In other cases where the seller is unprepared, no tax plan or exit strategy or material issues exist, the program may need to be extended. Very often we work with clients years in advance of the sale process to ensure key elements are addressed to avoid surprises when it actually comes time to sell. Most clients, however, prefer the 12 week program as it helps them truly understand the value of their business. In summary, timing is dependent on how well prepared you and your business are and your ambition to take home as much as you can.

How do we determine if your business is Sale Ready? 

During the no-obligation Pre-Sale Assessment, we assess the value and saleability of your business which will give us a good indication of how Sale Ready it is. The assessment will consider your preparedness, your goals, value expectations, and business' readiness. Upon completion of our Pre-Sale Assessment, we will suggest recommendations to prepare your business, increase its value, improve its saleability as well as identify risks that should be dealt with before you decide to sell.

Is there a fee for the Sale Ready Program?

There is no cost to the Sale Ready program if you engage us to sell your business. If you are not ready to engage us to sell your business but want our expertise to help you prepare and make the business Sale Ready, there is a working fee. The program is “pay as you go” and can be canceled anytime. Most importantly, if you decide to engage us to sell your business, any Sale Ready fees incurred will be credited upon our successful sale of your business. The more a business is Sale Ready, the more value and saleability it has and is easier to sell. We believe our Sale Ready program is so important that we are prepared to absorb the Sale Ready fees to prove it.

1460 The Queensway Suite 4308
Toronto, Ontario
M8Z 1S4
‍
Phone Number: (647) 479-2999
Email: info@crossbridgebb.com

We’re ready to answer ANY QUESTIONS!

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