#buying-a-business
Buying A Business
Financial considerations when purchasing a business
The 24-Month Bookkeeping Cleanup: How Small Business Owners Get Their Books Buyer-Ready
More than half of small business sales that reach a signed letter of intent still fail to close, often because the seller's books can't survive a buyer's Quality of Earnings review — a 24-month, four-phase bookkeeping cleanup is how owners get financials buyer-ready before going to market.
What It Actually Costs to Sell Your Business: Broker Fees, the Lehman Formula, and Hidden Costs
Business brokers and M&A advisors charge Double Lehman commissions of 10% down to 2% by tier, but minimum fee floors, non-creditable retainers, expense reimbursement, and tail clauses routinely add 5-20% on top of the quoted success-fee percentage.
What's Your Business Actually Worth in 2026? SDE and EBITDA Multiples by Industry
In Q1 2026 the median small business sold for 2.7x cash flow, but multiples range from the low end for restaurants to 6–10x EBITDA for SaaS and up to 8x for express car washes. How SDE vs. EBITDA, industry, owner dependence, and clean financial records determine what your business sells for.
A $7 Million Seller Note Just Sent a 59-Unit Franchisee Into Chapter 11: What Every Franchise Buyer Should Learn From It
A Phoenix operator that bought 93 fast-food restaurants in 2023 filed Chapter 11 in July 2026, disputing a $7.04 million seller note over allegedly undisclosed liabilities. The case shows why setoff clauses, escrow holdbacks, facilities diligence, and seller solvency checks matter in any seller-financed business purchase.
Letter of Intent for a Small Business Sale: What's Binding, What's Negotiable, and What Kills Deals
Most letters of intent are labeled non-binding, but exclusivity, confidentiality, and break-up-fee clauses inside them are typically enforceable. This guide covers LOI terms in sub-$10M business sales — asset vs. stock structure, 30–90 day exclusivity windows, working capital true-ups, price allocation, and the mistakes that cost sellers deals.
You Bought a Micro-SaaS, Not Software: Purchase Price Allocation and the 15-Year Section 197 Rule
Software acquired as part of buying a business amortizes over 15 years under IRC Section 197 — not the 36 months standalone software gets. How to allocate a micro-SaaS purchase price across the seven IRS asset classes, agree on Form 8594 with your seller, and record it in a plain-text ledger.
Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition: How Search Funds Turn Managers into Owners
Search funds have returned a 33.9% aggregate IRR and 4.75x invested capital across 862 funds since 1984, per Stanford's 2026 study. Here's how entrepreneurship through acquisition works — traditional and self-funded search structures, SBA 7(a) financing, typical deal metrics, and why quality of earnings diligence decides the outcome.
The Silver Tsunami: A Financial Readiness Guide to Baby Boomer Business Exits
More than half of U.S. small-business owners are now over 55, but only 15-20% have gotten a professional valuation and just 25-30% have a written succession plan — here's the financial cleanup exit-planning advisors recommend starting two years out.
Section 197 Intangibles: 15-Year Amortization for Goodwill, Customer Lists, and Non-Competes
Section 197 requires buyers in a taxable asset acquisition to amortize acquired intangibles — goodwill, customer lists, workforce in place, covenants not to compete — straight-line over 180 months. This guide walks through Form 8594 purchase price allocation, the anti-churning rules for related-party deals, the no-loss rule on dispositions, and Form 4562 reporting across the full 15-year cycle.
Representations and Warranties Insurance in Middle-Market M&A: Coverage, Claims, and Costs in 2026
A practitioner's guide to representations and warranties insurance (RWI) for middle-market M&A in 2026 — how buy-side and sell-side policies work, premiums around 2.5–3% of limit with retentions near 0.5%, the top breach categories driving claims, and when traditional escrow still wins.
The Complete Guide to Buying an Existing Business
Learn the essential steps and strategic considerations for acquiring an existing business, from initial search to final closing, while understanding the advantages over starting a new venture.