READY FOR JASON: Ask Page — How do I prepare my company for acquisition?

FINAL DRAFT

Short answer: Start 12 to 18 months before you plan to run a process. The work you do now determines both the valuation you receive and whether a deal closes at all.

The three areas buyers scrutinise hardest in diligence are financials, customer concentration, and key-man risk. These take months to fix, not weeks.

On financials: buyers want clean GAAP financials, ideally reviewed or audited. If your books are on a cash basis or your revenue recognition is informal, start the conversion now. Quality of Earnings (QoE) adjustments are where deals get re-priced. The fewer surprises in your QoE, the stronger your position.

On customer concentration: if one customer represents more than 20% of revenue, that is a risk flag. Above 30% and some buyers will apply a meaningful discount. Diversifying your revenue base takes time. Document long-term contracts where they exist.

On key-man risk: if the business runs on you personally, buyers will price that in. Building a management team that can operate without you is not just good business practice; it is what unlocks management buy-in from buyers and higher multiples.

Build your data room early. Create the folder structure, populate what you have, and identify the gaps. Running a process while building a data room from scratch costs you time and negotiating position.

Related: What documents do I need to sell my company? | Should I use an M&A advisor?

-- Drafted by Bolt 17 Aug 2026 | Part of W1 Ask Page Batch 3