Top 10 Tips to Sell a Business in Australia
Looking to sell a business in Australia? These 10 tips will speed up the process!
Give yourself a 3 year plan to sell a business.- Show your profits! This will enable you to get the price you deserve as it's profits that determine the sale price of the business, along with plant & equipment and stock.
- Instruct your accountant to have all the financials, tax returns, depreciation schedule in place for the past 3 years.
- Have ready a copy of your lease and a list of all the plant and equipment that is included in the sale.
- Prepare the business for sale by keeping it neat and tidy. Any old equipment should be replaced or at least maintained.
- If it’s a service station you will need a contamination report done to show before any financier or solicitor will sign off on the sale.
- Choose a good solicitor. Find one who will speed up the proceedings. The quicker the exchange, the easier the sale.
- Find a reliable business broker. It's far too hard to sell the business yourself. You need to qualify buyers and work with them to the end, and that’s a full time job.
- Expect 6 weeks to 6 months, maybe more, to sell a business.
- Give your self time to sell. Don’t wait till your tired, the business will fail if you're in a hurry to sell.
Super Tips
Budget for an advertising campaign...
If you can not afford to advertise the business you can not afford to sell you will need at least $4,000 to start the process.
Qualify your business broker...
Don’t be afraid to ask a broker what he has sold and where. Ask to see some of the sales he has done and be sure the statistics on his advertising campaign stack up; if its on the web what traffic he receives etc.
Cathryn Austin
Principal / Licensee
