Exit Planning
Exit Planning Advisory. Sell on Your Terms, Not the Buyer's.
A practical plan to increase what your business is worth and make it ready for buyers, starting years before the sale.
Quick Answer
What does an exit planning advisor do?
An exit planning advisor prepares a business owner to sell or transfer their company on the best terms. The work starts with a valuation, identifies the gaps that reduce value, fixes financial reporting, reduces owner dependence, and readies the business for buyer due diligence. The best results come from starting two to three years before the intended sale.
Key Takeaways
- Start two to three years before you intend to sell.
- Every reduction in buyer risk raises the multiple.
- Clean financial reporting is the fastest value lever.
- A sell-side quality of earnings review prevents late price cuts.
Last reviewed by the Sataurius advisory team.
Most Owners Plan Too Late
The majority of owners start preparing when they are already tired of running the business, or when a buyer calls. By then, the issues that reduce value are fixed in the numbers buyers will examine. Planning early turns those issues into improvements you get paid for.
Our Exit Planning Process
- Baseline: an independent business valuation and your personal goals for price and timing.
- Value gap plan: the specific changes that would increase value, ranked by impact and effort.
- Financial readiness: clean monthly closes, normalized EBITDA, and a sell-side quality of earnings review.
- Deal readiness: data room preparation ahead of buyer due diligence.
- Transaction: support through LOI, diligence, and closing via our transaction advisory services.
Specialist Exits
Physician owners should also see our guide on how to sell a medical practice.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an exit planning advisor do?
An exit planning advisor helps a business owner prepare to sell, transfer, or step away from their company on the best possible terms. The work covers valuation, identifying and fixing value gaps, cleaning up financial reporting, reducing owner dependence, tax-aware structuring, and readiness for buyer due diligence.
How far in advance should I plan my exit?
Ideally two to three years. That is enough time to show a track record of improved earnings, fix financial reporting, reduce customer concentration, and build a management team that can run the business without you. Many of the biggest value improvements cannot be made in the final six months.
What increases a business's value before a sale?
Clean, timely financial statements; sustainable EBITDA; recurring revenue; diversified customers; documented processes; a capable second-tier management team; and a credible forecast. Each one reduces buyer risk, which increases the multiple a buyer will pay.
What are the options for exiting a business?
A sale to a strategic buyer, a sale to private equity, a management buyout, a transfer to family, an employee ownership structure, or a partial recapitalization that lets the owner take some value now and the rest later. The right route depends on the owner's goals for price, timing, and legacy.
Do you work with owners in Canada?
Yes. We support owners in the United States and Canada and coordinate with local tax and legal advisors on jurisdiction-specific structuring.