Leta Financial

When preparing to sell your business, it is important to consider the buyer’s perspective.

A buyer evaluates a business through three lenses:

1️⃣ Risk
2️⃣ Synergies
3️⃣ Return on investment

The same financial results that represent success to a seller can represent risk and opportunity to a buyer.

💡Recognizing this shift in perspective is essential before entering due diligence.

This Memorial Day, we remember and honor those who gave everything.

You still have time to prepare the business for sale.

Many owners think about getting ready to sell only when they’re ready to exit.
By then, there’s often less time to clean up financials, reduce risk, and position the business for a stronger offer.
And without that preparation, you’re often left accepting the offer the market gives you instead of the one you could have earned.

A Tale of 2 Businesses Up for Sale

One owner presents messy financials.
Another presents professionally prepared financials.

❓Guess which business received the higher offer.

Selling a business is a lot like selling a house.
A few updates can command a stronger offer, while selling as-is often leads to a below-market one.
For many owners, selling their business is the largest financial transaction they will ever undertake. Professionally prepared financials can directly impact what a buyer is willing to pay.

💡They help you view the business through a buyer’s lens and address risks before the buyer does, often leading to a stronger valuation and better offer.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” — Chinese Proverb

Just start. It’s okay to start wrong, okay to fail, and better to fail fast so you can adjust.
Waiting often feels safer, but the cost of waiting is usually more expensive than the cost of learning as you go.

If I want to assess the health of a business, I start with cash.

Then I’m immediately thinking through the next 13 weeks of cash movement:
what’s expected to come in, what has to go out, and whether there’s still cash left to reinvest after covering operations.
A healthy business survives month to month and still has room to grow.

“You can do anything, but not everything.” — David Allen

Growth often stalls because too many things feel important at the same time. Focus is usually less about doing more, and more about deciding what no longer deserves your attention.

You can absolutely do your own books and save money upfront.
But over time, I usually see the same tradeoff:

1️⃣ Financials that won’t hold up under tax or buyer audit.
2️⃣ Missed tax savings and planning opportunities.
3️⃣ Decisions made without clear visibility into the business.
4️⃣ Numbers that can’t confidently be shared with lenders, investors, or buyers.

At some point, the cost starts outweighing the savings.
And many owners don’t realize how expensive that gap has become until much later.

Missed the tax deadline because your books weren’t ready?
That’s more common than you think.
Now is the time to slow down and get your books in order.
If you need help getting there before October 15th, I’m here to support.

We’re running a multi-million dollar business in Excel.
And the business still depends on me to run.
From operations to financial decisions, everything requires my input.

If this sounds familiar, it’s usually the first sign that growth is starting to stall.
A business can only scale so far when it’s built around one person.

💡 Think about the time spent on day-to-day activities
that could be redirected toward client acquisition.
Saving a few thousand dollars a year
can cost you a million-dollar opportunity.

What does a due diligence request list actually look like?

A typical request looks like this:
➡️ Monthly revenue and net income, often going back several years
➡️ Revenue by customer and supporting contracts
➡️ EBITDA bridge with support for adjustments
➡️ Detailed expense and vendor analysis
➡️ List of active projects with budgets, timelines, and pipeline activity
➡️ Forecast with supporting assumptions
➡️ Systems used to track operations and revenue

And then the follow-ups start.
Buyers will ask for support behind the numbers.
They’ll compare what’s reported to what’s actually happening operationally.

And it all has to tie together.

Most sellers don’t realize the intensity of the process until it’s too late.
That’s why starting early and preparing ahead of time makes all the difference.