SAZ Exit Readiness Score

Exit readiness assessment for business owners

See what would worry a buyer of your business, and what to fix first. It's 12 questions, with no sign-up or email address needed.

Financials

Whether a buyer can trust your numbers and see where profit comes from.

How would you describe your financial statements? Mostly for tax purposes Prepared but often late Timely and reasonably clean Timely, clean and externally reviewed

Are personal and one-time expenses separated from the business? They're heavily mixed Somewhat mixed Mostly separated Fully separated and documented

Can you show profit by service, customer type or location? No A rough idea For the main lines Yes, reviewed monthly

Owner dependence

Whether the business keeps running well without you.

What happens if you step away for a month? It would stall Serious problems Minor problems It runs normally

Who holds the key customer and supplier relationships? Only me Mostly me Shared with my team My team, with me in reserve

Customers and revenue

Whether revenue is spread out, repeatable and likely to stay after a sale.

How much of your revenue comes from your largest customer? Most of it A large share A moderate share A small share

How much of your revenue repeats or is under contract? Almost none Some repeat work A good share Most of it

Do you have a repeatable way of winning new customers? Referrals to me Mostly referrals Several channels, loosely tracked Tracked channels with known costs

Operations and people

Whether the way you work is documented and your key people are likely to stay.

Are your core processes written down? No A few Most of them Yes, and they're kept current

Would your key people stay after a sale? Probably not I don't know Most would Yes, with arrangements in place

Legal and records

Whether a buyer's due diligence will run into surprises.

Are your contracts, leases and licences organized and transferable? I'd have to search Some are organized Mostly organized Organized and reviewed by counsel

Do you know of any unresolved disputes, tax or ownership issues? Yes, several Yes, a few Only minor ones None that I know of

What the score covers

Financials

Whether a buyer can trust your numbers and see where profit comes from.

Owner dependence

Whether the business keeps running well without you.

Customers and revenue

Whether revenue is spread out, repeatable and likely to stay after a sale.

Operations and people

Whether the way you work is documented and your key people are likely to stay.

Legal and records

Whether a buyer's due diligence will run into surprises.

How the score works

Common questions

Does this tell me what my business is worth?

No. It shows what a buyer is likely to question. For a valuation, talk to a qualified adviser.

When should I start preparing for a sale?

Earlier than feels necessary. Many fixes, like reducing dependence on the owner or on one customer, take time to show up in your results.

Do you store my answers?

No. Your answers sit in the address of your results page and aren't saved. Anyone you send that link to can see them.