Prepare your business for investor or buyer due diligence. Increase valuation by 10-20% with exit-ready financials, organized documentation, and quality of earnings preparation. $12.400/month for businesses at $10M-$20M.
Exit Stage is for businesses at $10M-$20M revenue actively preparing for sale, acquisition, or major investment within the next 12-36 months. Financial preparation directly impacts valuation—often by 10-20% of purchase price. At this level, every financial decision is scrutinized by buyers during due diligence.
Most businesses hit Exit stage around $10M-$15M when they start receiving acquisition inquiries, or when the owner decides it’s time to monetize 10-20 years of business building. Exit planning requires 12-24 months of preparation—not weeks.
Exit stage is where 10-20 years of business building gets monetized. The difference between proper preparation and rushing it is measured in millions. A $15M business at 5x EBITDA multiple with clean financials can sell for $1.5M-$3M more than the same business with messy books.
Buyers penalize uncertainty. Messy financials create uncertainty about true earnings, customer retention, and operational sustainability. Clean, organized, investor-ready financials = buyer confidence = premium valuation.
Typical increase in purchase price for a $15M business at 5x EBITDA with proper exit preparation through our IDD Program. Clean financials, organized documentation, and quality of earnings readiness command premium valuations.
Exit stage services focus on three priorities: investor due diligence preparation, exit planning, and wealth preservation. Here’s what you get:
CFO services handle strategic exit planning, deal structure, and wealth preservation. IDD Program handles the tactical preparation: clean financials, organized documentation, and quality of earnings readiness. You need both to maximize valuation and close successfully.
The IDD Program is mandatory at Exit stage. Buyers will conduct 30-90 days of rigorous financial due diligence. Here’s what we prepare:
3-5 years of clean, consistent, auditable financial statements. Every account reconciled, every transaction categorized properly. No discrepancies, no questions.
Normalized EBITDA analysis showing sustainable earnings. One-time expenses identified and documented. Revenue and margin trends analyzed. Buyers require this.
Every contract, invoice, tax return, legal document organized in a virtual data room. Buyers will request 50+ documents. You need to produce them in 24-48 hours.
Customer concentration analysis, retention metrics, contract terms, revenue recognition documentation. Buyers scrutinize revenue sustainability heavily.
AR/AP aging, DSO/DPO analysis, working capital requirements. Buyers use this to calculate purchase price adjustments at close.
Every EBITDA adjustment documented with supporting materials. Owner salary adjustments, one-time expenses, non-recurring items all supported.
Start 12-24 months before planned exit. Rushing preparation in 3-6 months costs you valuation. Buyers can tell when financials were cleaned up last-minute.
Strategic exit planning goes beyond financial cleanup. Here’s how we maximize your valuation:
We work with you to maximize normalized EBITDA before sale:
Impact: Increasing normalized EBITDA by $200K at 5x multiple = $1M increase in valuation.
How the deal is structured affects your net proceeds significantly:
We coordinate with your tax attorney and CPA to structure the most tax-efficient exit possible. The difference between good and poor exit tax planning is often $500K-$2M in tax savings.
Here’s the typical exit timeline from preparation to close:
Before
Begin financial cleanup, documentation organization, quality of earnings prep. This takes time—don’t rush it. Most issues discovered here take 6-12 months to fix properly.
Before
Maximize normalized EBITDA through expense cleanup, margin optimization, and operational improvements. Every dollar of EBITDA increase = 4-6x in valuation at exit.
Before
If using broker, create Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM) and begin buyer outreach. If approached directly by buyer, begin discussions. Financials must be ready.
Receive and negotiate LOI from buyer. This outlines purchase price, structure, timeline, and key terms. LOI is non-binding but sets framework for deal.
Days
Buyer conducts financial, operational, and legal due diligence. Your data room must be ready. We support you in responding to every request quickly and thoroughly.
Phase
Negotiate final purchase agreement, complete due diligence items, coordinate with attorneys and accountants. Close transaction and receive proceeds. Timeline: 60-120 days from LOI.
Total timeline: 18-36 months from starting IDD Program to closing transaction. Businesses that rush this timeline leave money on the table or deals fall apart during due diligence.
Exit is just the beginning. Preserving and growing your wealth post-exit requires planning before the transaction closes:
We coordinate with wealth advisors to plan your post-exit wealth management:
If you own the commercial real estate your business operates in:
We model each scenario showing cash flow, tax impact, and net proceeds over time. The right answer depends on your post-exit goals, tax situation, and wealth preservation strategy.
Every one of these is preventable with 12-24 months of proper preparation through our IDD Program. The businesses that command premium valuations and close smoothly are the ones that started early.
Exit Stage is for businesses at $10M-$20M revenue actively preparing to sell your business in the next 12-36 months. Financial preparation directly impacts valuation—often by 10-20% of purchase price. Exit preparation takes 12-24 months, not weeks.
CFO Services ($8,500/month) for strategic exit planning and IDD Program ($1500/month) for investor due diligence preparation. Total: $12.400/month. Typical ROI: $1M-$3M increase in exit valuation with proper 18-month preparation.
12-24 months for proper preparation. This includes financial cleanup, documentation organization, EBITDA optimization, and due diligence readiness. Buyers typically conduct 30-90 days of due diligence before closing. Rushing costs you valuation.
Clean, organized, investor-ready financials typically increase valuations by 10-20%. For a $15M business at 5x EBITDA multiple, that’s $1.5M-$3M increase in purchase price. Buyers pay premiums for certainty. Messy books create uncertainty and get penalized heavily.
Messy or inconsistent financials, revenue recognition issues, undisclosed liabilities, customer concentration risks, missing documentation, and surprises. 60% of due diligence deal killers are preventable with 12-18 months of proper preparation through our IDD Program.
More questions? Schedule an exit planning consultation
Most business owners leave $1M-$3M on the table by not preparing properly for exit. Clean, organized, investor-ready financials command premium valuations and close faster.
