ServicesExit Planning
Exit Planning in Bastrop
Exit planning is the work you do before a sale, while there is still time to change the numbers. We measure what your business is worth now, find what drags that figure down, and rank each fix by what it costs against what it adds at closing.
What exit planning does, and when to start
Most small and mid-sized businesses are priced as a multiple of their earnings. Buyers usually work from seller's discretionary earnings (SDE) or EBITDA, recast to add back the owner's personal expenses and one-time costs. A dollar of earnings you can document is counted more than once in the price. A dollar you cannot prove is often counted at zero.
That is why timing matters. Cleaning up three years of books, moving key customer relationships to a manager, or extending a lease all take months to show up in the records a buyer reviews. Started early, those changes cost little and compound. Started the month you list, most of them are too late to count.
We work with business owners in Bastrop, Smithville, Elgin and Cedar Creek who are one to five years from an exit, whether that ends in an outside sale, a partner buyout or a handoff to family. We are not your CPA or attorney, and we plan alongside them rather than in place of them.
What our exit planning covers
Baseline valuation
We recast your financials, normalize owner pay and add-backs, and set a defensible value range for the business as it stands today. This becomes the number every later decision is measured against.
Value gap review
We look for the issues buyers and lenders discount: owner dependence, customer concentration, undocumented processes, aging equipment and a short or non-assignable lease. Each one gets an estimate of how much it is likely to cost you at sale.
Cost-versus-return ranking
Not every fix is worth doing. We compare what a change costs in money and time with what it should add to sellable earnings, so you spend on the items that pay back and skip the ones that do not.
Records a buyer can verify
We help you organize tax returns, profit and loss statements, payroll records and key contracts so they match each other. Clean records shorten due diligence and give a lender fewer reasons to cut the loan amount.
Exit path and timeline
An outside sale, a merger, a partner buyout and a family succession each need different preparation. We set a timeline with checkpoints so you know what should be done by when.
Signals that you should start exit planning
- Everything runs through you
- When major customers, suppliers or bids depend on you alone, a buyer sees risk that leaves when you do. That risk turns into a lower multiple or a longer earnout.
- The company pays personal expenses
- Cars, phones and relatives on payroll often sit on the company's books. They can be added back, but only with clean records, and those records take time to build.
- Too much rides on one account
- If one customer brings in a big share of sales, buyers factor in the risk of losing it. Spreading that revenue out takes longer than most owners think.
- Weak lease or partnership terms
- A lease close to expiring or that cannot be assigned, or partners with no buy-sell agreement, can hold up a deal late in the game.
- A target date is already set
- Retirement, health or an unexpected offer often starts the countdown. Learning your value early shows whether that date holds or should shift.
The steps of planning an exit with us
- 1
A private first talk
By phone, by video or at our office, we cover your goals, your timing and what the sale has to do for you. None of it leaves the room.
- 2
Recast and value range
You share your recent tax returns and financial statements. We recast them and hand back a value range, with each line of reasoning written out.
- 3
Ranked list of gaps
You get a written list of what pulls your value down, what fixing each item takes and the order we suggest, ranked by payback.
- 4
Follow-ups as the books change
As your changes show up in the financials, we update the valuation so you can tell which steps raised the figure and which did not.
- 5
Go to sale or transfer
Once the business is ready, we turn to the sale, a merger, or a partner buyout and succession, working from the records you have already put in order.
What decides how much exit preparation costs
The first consultation and the valuation are free, and both are kept confidential. If you list with us later, that costs nothing at the start either: no retainer, no fee hidden in the documents, since we are paid from the sale at closing and only when a sale happens. The real cost of exit planning is what you choose to spend on improvements, and a few factors shape that.
- How long until you sell
- More time lets inexpensive changes take hold and appear in your financials. Less time leaves you taking discounts that could have been avoided.
- Shape your records are in
- Books that already match your tax returns need little attention. Personal and business spending mixed together, or missing years, can mean added hours from your bookkeeper or CPA.
- How much rests on you
- Bringing in or developing a manager is often the biggest single expense. It is also among the changes buyers reward most plainly.
- Your CPA and attorney
- Tax planning, entity changes and contract work are for your CPA and attorney. They bill separately, and starting early keeps that work smaller.
Common exit planning questions
- How early should I start getting ready to sell?
- Buyers and lenders usually review your three most recent years of statements, so two or three years of lead time lets most changes show up in that period. With around a year, the largest gains come from cleaning up records and writing down how the business runs. Even a few months is enough to learn your value and head off surprises in negotiations.
- If we plan together, am I tied to selling through you?
- No. You can use the plan any way you like. Plenty of owners list with us when they are ready, since the valuation and records are already done.
- Could my staff or customers learn about this?
- Not through us. Planning talks and valuations are kept confidential, and most of the prep work, like tidying the books or writing down procedures, just looks like sound management to anyone inside.
- Will you advise me on taxes or legal matters?
- No. Deal structure, asset or stock sales and entity choices have tax and legal effects that belong with your CPA and attorney. We explain how buyers and lenders see each option and work alongside your advisors.
- What if the business is going to a partner or a relative?
- Planning still matters. A partner or family member needs a fair price, most often a way to finance it, and a clear handoff. Our Partner Buyouts and Succession page explains how those transfers are set up.
Find out where your exit stands today
A short call tells you what your business is worth now and which changes are worth making first. The valuation is free and stays confidential.