A buying an existing business checklist is useful in proportion to how it is kept. As a list it reminds the buyer what to ask for; as a schedule with a requested date and a received date on every line it tells the buyer, on any given day, whether the closing date is still real. This page is the list for an ordinary small business, grouped by what each item proves, with the free checklist sheet on this site doing the counting.
The money: seven items
Three years of federal tax returns, the profit and loss statements and balance sheets for the same years, twelve months of bank statements, sales by month, sales by customer, accounts receivable and payable ageing, and the current year to date. Together they let the buyer rebuild the seller's discretionary earnings, the $180,000 the calculator's worked example tests the notes against.
The premises, the people and the paper: twelve items
The lease and every amendment, the landlord's position on assignment, supplier and customer contracts, equipment list with ages, inventory count, licences and permits, staff list with pay and tenure, employment agreements, insurance policies, the claims history, pending or threatened disputes, and the entity documents. These are the items an attorney reads, and the ones sellers produce slowest.
The deal itself: five items, and the count
The seller's reason for selling in writing, the transition and training terms, the non-compete, the proposed allocation of the price across the assets for the acquisition statement both sides file, and the seller's own list of what is excluded. That is 24. On the checklist sheet, 16 received by day 20 of 60 is 67% complete, 8 outstanding, 40 days left, about one a week to chase.
Questions people ask about buying an existing business checklist
Is 24 the right number?
It is the worked example for an ordinary business. A practice, a restaurant or a licensed trade adds items; enter your own count and the sheet gives your chase rate.
Who owes each item?
Almost all the seller, some the landlord and the seller's accountant. The register in Pro records who owes it and when it was asked for, which is what makes a chase polite and effective.
What if items never arrive?
Then the buyer knows something. A missing bank statement is a finding; record it and take it to your attorney.