When should an owner use this preparation checklist?
Use this sheet before presenting the firm to buyers, with authorized records and access. Timing is a planning choice. It is no statutory deadline to launch a sale.
The selling hub covers the process. The preparation guide covers longer value-building work. This sheet focuses on proof and continuity gaps to address before buyer access.
Write the firm, covered entities, date, coordinator and review purpose on the copy. Keep private support in the authorized repository. Do not attach it to this public page.
A check means the stated preparation task has support. It cannot show a buyer accepts the economics or an authority has approved the future transaction or work structure.
What fields make the correction backlog usable?
Create one row per gap. Keep original proof separate from the proposed correction. Reviewers should see what changed and which result still needs checking for its stated purpose.
| Field | What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Item and entity | Specific readiness task and affected business | Prevents mixing entities or locations |
| Evidence | Period, source, version, and location | Makes the result traceable |
| Gap | Missing record, unclear economics, or required approval | Identifies the actual problem |
| Action owner | Person responsible for the next step | Avoids an unassigned promise |
| Review date | Chosen checkpoint or actual governing deadline | Keeps the dependency visible |
| Acceptance | Reviewer, stated purpose, and supporting result | Separates completion from receipt |
Useful labels include missing, received, unclear, accepted for this purpose, outdated, approval needed and blocked. These proposed labels organize work. They supply no prescribed legal classification or approval.
An uploaded file should not get automatic green status. A received sheet can still have a bank difference or unsupported adjustment. Record the unresolved fact beside the source.
Which eight preparation items should be assigned?
- Reconcile reported financial results.
Collect annual and current interim statements, tax returns, general-ledger detail, and bank support for the same entities and periods. Record differences and the responsible preparer. Keep a dated reconciliation beside the files. A missing period or unexplained balance remains open; do not create invented support to make the package look complete.
- Document proposed earnings adjustments.
For each proposal, retain the invoice or payroll support, amount, recurrence explanation, and any replacement-role cost. Identify whether the starting result already includes the cost. Mark the adjustment as proposed until reviewed for its actual purpose. A seller's explanation is useful evidence but does not determine buyer or lender acceptance.
- Export reproducible operating evidence.
Record dates, filters, job statuses, service lines, and the report's population before saving the export. Reconcile a sample to invoices or job records. Check that the file opens and its columns are understandable. A report export is not proof that an entire customer database, system contract, or account can transfer.
- Map current authority and future continuity questions.
Identify the actual jurisdictions, licensed entities, individual credentials, qualifying relationships, insurance, and local permits or registrations. Record the proposed asset, equity, or entity-change route and which facts remain unknown. Assign approval questions to the appropriate reviewer. A sale agreement does not independently establish continued authority to perform plumbing work.
- Separate the owner's working roles.
List estimating, dispatch escalation, customer relationships, technical duties, purchasing, management, and cash control. Note hours, available replacement people, and costs. Identify which functions require a transition agreement and which need a permanent solution. Do not assume the owner can remain indefinitely or that every retained role fits the buyer's financing.
- Review workforce records and actual practices.
Gather payroll and contractor records with appropriate access controls, then document supervision, tools, payment, scheduling, and other relevant facts. Separate federal tax questions from wage, state, unemployment, and coverage issues. A W-2, 1099, contract label, or seller assurance is not by itself a complete classification conclusion.
- Inventory and restrict sensitive material.
Identify where customer, employee, bank, and confidential commercial information appears. Decide what can be aggregated, masked, or withheld until an authorized review stage. Record permitted recipients and test the actual repository permissions. Do not put passwords, unrestricted banking information, or personal records in this printed checklist or a broadly shared index.
- Assign remaining asset, contract, and service gaps.
Review titles, liens, leases, maintenance, inventory, customer promises, warranties, callbacks, and consent questions. Record the missing evidence and the specialist or owner responsible. Separate an absent document from a substantive problem requiring action. Keep unresolved matters visible instead of treating launch preparation as a release of past obligations.
Which sources help define adequate preparation evidence?
IRS Publication 583 describes records supporting receipts and costs. Use them to match financial inputs. The publication cannot prescribe sale timing or approve normalized earnings for a buyer.
ServiceTitan's reporting instructions cover provider filters, permissions and exports. Record the settings and limits. An export alone cannot prove the whole database or account is transferable.
The FTC information-security guide supports listing sensitive data, limiting retention and access, and securing transmission. It supplies general controls, rather than a mandate for one data-room provider.
California's entity-change guidance shows that authority depends on the real firm and change route. Apply actual local facts. A broad sale description cannot establish continued trade authority.
Current SBA policy sets proof and retained-seller-role limits by category for covered funding. The seller's preferred transition may not fit. Obtain the actual lender's category and terms.
The IRS worker guidance examines real control and relationships for federal tax. Wage, state, unemployment and coverage tests stay separate. A contract label cannot settle them all.
How should the owner prioritize gaps without hiding uncertainty?
Separate recoverable records from operating facts that need change. Finding a title differs from clearing a lien. Exporting payroll differs from replacing a manager needed to run the firm.
Identify linked tasks. An adjustment may need a replacement wage budget before review. A future qualifier may depend on the buyer's firm. The seller cannot settle that alone.
Suppose a hypothetical $12,000 adjustment lacks invoices and a manager replacement has no cost budget. Uploading a summary fixes neither. Assign two actions with distinct proof and reviewers.
Use the seller document guide for the wider package and earnings-adjustment guide for proposed recasts. One unexplained adjusted total leaves the base and changes unclear.
How should confidentiality and adviser review fit the preparation calendar?
- Assign a coordinator and define the authorized records and review purpose.
- Reconcile financial and operating evidence before writing buyer-facing conclusions.
- Resolve seller-controlled gaps and document buyer-dependent questions separately.
- Prepare redacted or aggregated versions for the intended access stage.
- Review the open backlog with appropriate advisers before granting buyer access.
The confidentiality guide covers staged disclosure. The owner-dependence guide covers replacement planning. Link each open duty to its proof, action owner and needed review.
Follow real legal, payroll, lender, regulator and contract deadlines where they apply. A chosen review date cannot replace them. Keep governing dates visible beside planned work checkpoints.
How should this page be used as a printable working document?
Print the page and mark items beside a separate backlog. For each, record entity, period, owner, date, status and proof reference. Protect the copy according to its private contents.
Print removes navigation and call panels. Use settings for your paper size. The page stores no responses and submits no records. Keep the working sheet in the authorized review process.
Retain earlier versions when a correction changes a buyer-facing conclusion. The record should trace the change and show unresolved tasks. A new file cannot silently erase past review inputs.
Which mistakes make a completed checklist misleading?
Common errors confuse upload with review, accept every add-back, omit replacement labor, assume license continuity or share private files too widely. Check the actual basis of each completion claim.
Unknown issues need named actions. Marking one cleared to meet a launch date hides uncertainty. An accurate open backlog supports decisions better than an unsupported statement that preparation is complete.