Exit Planning in Bee Cave

What exit planning is, and when to start

Exit planning is the work you do before a sale. It covers what the business is worth today, what a buyer will pick apart, and what you can fix while you still have time. It also covers what you want out of it: cash at closing, a clean break, staying on for a while, or passing the business to a partner or family member.

If you can, give yourself one to three years of lead time. That stretch lets you build a few clean tax returns a buyer can rely on, and it leaves room to close gaps in your paperwork. If you need to leave sooner, a plan still pays off. It just narrows to the fixes buyers and lenders care about most.

A lot of deals stall over things that have nothing to do with sales. A lapsed state filing. A permit in the wrong name. A lease with no assignment clause. We walk you through each of those in plain terms and show you what needs to be done before a buyer ever sees your listing.

What we work through with you

A starting valuation

We look at your last three years of returns and your current numbers and tell you what the business could sell for today. That number is the baseline we measure the plan against. Our Business Valuation page explains how we get there.

Cleaning up the books

Buyers and lenders pay for profit they can verify. We help you separate personal expenses from business ones and line up your tax returns with your profit and loss statements, so your earnings hold up when a buyer's accountant checks them.

State filings and permits

We check that your entity is in good standing with the Texas Secretary of State and the Comptroller, and that your assumed name filings are current. We flag the registrations that will not pass to a buyer, like a sales tax permit or an alcohol license, so the buyer can apply for their own before closing.

Lease and contract review

We read your lease for term left, renewal options and whether the landlord has to approve an assignment. We do the same for key customer, supplier and franchise agreements. Surprises in these papers are one of the most common reasons a deal falls apart.

Reducing owner dependence

If every customer calls you and every vendor knows only you, buyers see risk. We help you write down how things run and hand off daily work to staff, which makes the business easier to finance and easier to sell.

Choosing your exit path

Selling to an outside buyer, selling to a partner, or a mix of both each need different prep. If a partner or family member is the likely buyer, we fold in the steps from our Partner Buyouts and Succession work.

Signs it is time to plan your exit

• You want out in the next few years

  Retirement, health, or just being done are all good reasons. The closer the date, the less room you have to fix things.

• Your books mix business and personal

  If your accountant has to explain your numbers every time, a buyer will discount them.

• You are not sure your filings are current

  A forfeited entity status or an expired license can hold up a closing for weeks. It is better to find out now.

• The business runs through you

  If it would stop working for a month without you, it needs a plan before it goes to market.

• Your lease is running short

  Buyers and lenders usually want to see enough lease term to cover the loan. A short lease is worth dealing with early.

How the work goes

1. 1

   A confidential first call

   You tell us what you want and when. We tell you what we need to look at. Nobody else hears about it.

2. 2

   Valuation and document review

   We go through your returns, financial statements, lease and state filings. Most of this happens at our office or by phone and video, so your staff does not need to know.

3. 3

   A written punch list

   You get a plain list of what to fix, in order of what moves value or risk the most. Each item says who handles it: you, your accountant, your attorney or us.

4. 4

   Check-ins until you are ready

   We stay in contact while you clear the list, and we rerun the valuation whenever your numbers improve. Once you decide to go to market, the plan carries over directly into our Sell a Business process.

What shapes the work and the value

Your first call and your valuation cost nothing. We charge no retainers and no hidden fees. If you decide to list, there is nothing to pay at the start, because our fee comes out of the sale and we only get paid when the seller does. How much prep your exit takes depends on where things stand today.

State of your books

Clean, consistent returns mean less work and a stronger price. Mixed or missing records take time to sort out.

Compliance gaps

A lapsed entity, an unpaid franchise tax report or a license in the wrong name has to be cleared before closing. Some are quick fixes, others take weeks.

How much rides on you

Buyers pay less for a company that leans on its owner for sales and daily decisions. Handing those off takes time, so starting early protects the price.

Your timeline

More runway means more years of strong numbers to show. A short timeline means we pick the few fixes that pay off fastest.