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Thinking of buying a small business? Your first-look checklist
Buying a going business, a car wash or a shop or a service route, starts with the same few requests every time: the books, the lease, the permits, a look at the place on a slow day and a busy one, and somebody to read it all before you sign. This asks where you stand on each, and says what to do next, on the page, in full.
Free. The whole result appears on this page the moment you finish — nothing is held back, and nothing is charged for. An agent asks for a name and a way to reach you first.
The questions
Eight questions about the papers, the visits, the lease and the people you would bring. The result says what to ask the seller to show you first, and what to settle before an offer.
- What kind of business are you looking at?
- Are you buying the business, the property it sits on, or both?
Any of the three is a fine answer. Each one changes which papers matter most. - Has the seller shown you the books?
Tax returns and monthly statements for the same years tell the same story or they do not. - Have you spent time at the business in person?
- If the land or building is leased, have you read the lease?
The years left on it, the rent steps, and whether it can be passed to a new owner decide how long the business can stay put. - Do you know which permits and licenses move to a new owner?
Business licenses, health and water permits, signs and environmental records can each follow a different rule. - How would the purchase be paid?
- Who reads the papers with you before you sign?
An accountant for the books and an attorney for the contract and the lease is the usual pair.
What it can tell you
Every answer this check gives, in full — one of them is yours once you have answered. Nothing here is held back for a sign-up.
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Do the first look before any offer
Enough is still unseen (the books, a visit, the lease or the permits) that an offer would be a guess. Ask the seller for three years of returns and monthly statements, spend a slow day and a busy day at the place, and read the lease. The rest of the list gets easier after those three.
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You are close, settle a few things
You have seen some of what a seller shows a serious buyer. Finish the papers, confirm which permits move, and bring an accountant and an attorney in before the offer, not after it. The corridor Toolbox puts the public record for seven corridors side by side if the place is still open.
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Ready to make an informed offer
The books, the visits, the lease, the permits and the people are in place, which is the combination a seller takes seriously. From here the questions are about the one business: the terms, what is included, and what the seller will stand behind. Those go better with a broker in the room.