Sale & Exit Readiness
The earlier you start, the better.
Sale & Exit Readiness: Prepare to Sell, Raise Capital, or Exit
Whether you're planning to sell your business, bring in investors, borrow against it, or step away someday, the first thing anyone will ask for is your financials. Buyers and investors pay more, and move faster, when the numbers are clean, complete, and easy to trust. BBK Accounting gets your books ready for that scrutiny, manages the advanced exit planning and transaction work, and can act as a confidential go-between while a deal is underway.
How we help
Accurate, complete books: cleanup, accrual or GAAP-ready reporting, and a monthly track record buyers can trust
A confidential go-between: we answer buyers' financial questions so your team stays out of it
Advanced exit work: exit planning, transaction support, and an independent quality of earnings review
Meet your exit-readiness team
Your exit-readiness team works from the same books we keep.
Group photo coming soon
Group photo: BBK Accounting team.
BBK Accounting team
The BBK Accounting team keeps your books accurate and complete through every stage, the foundation every buyer and investor looks at first.
Photo coming soon
Headshot of Matt Appel, Lead Fractional CFO & Exit Planning.
Matt Appel
Lead Fractional CFO & Exit Planning
Matt helps owners find the value drivers buyers pay for early enough to move them, reduce owner dependence, document add-backs as they go, and build a realistic valuation range before anyone asks.
Bio coming soon
Depending on your needs, your exit planning may be led by Matt or another experienced CFO on our fractional CFO team.
Photo coming soon
Headshot of Patrick McMillan, Quality of Earnings & Transaction Advisor.
Patrick McMillan
Quality of Earnings & Transaction Advisor
Patrick is an independent quality of earnings specialist for buy-side and sell-side diligence, from a quick red-flags check to a full report.
Bio coming soon
It starts with accurate, complete books
Every exit depends on financials that hold up under review. That's the foundation all of our services build toward, and it's where we start:
-
Cleaning up and completing your books, so every account is reconciled and every period is accounted for.
-
Moving to accrual or GAAP-ready reporting, so your financials show true performance and meet the standards buyers and investors expect.
-
Consistent, reliable monthly reporting, so you have a track record, not just one good year.
Image coming soon
Image: a neat stack of reconciled monthly financial statements on a desk, ready for review.
The earlier you start, the better. Clean, consistent financials over several years tell a much stronger story than books tidied up just before a sale.
A confidential go-between during the deal
Word that an owner is thinking about selling can unsettle a team. During negotiations, BBK can act as a neutral third party, providing financial information directly to potential buyers and their advisors so your staff never needs to be involved.
- Confidentiality: your employees don't see buyer requests or learn about the sale before you're ready to tell them
- One point of contact: buyers and their advisors get answers from the people who know your books best
- Less disruption: you keep running the business while we handle the financial questions
Advanced exit planning and transaction support
Once your books are in order, our exit-planning specialists take on the specialized work:
- Exit readiness planning: identifying the value drivers early enough to still improve them
- Reducing owner dependence, so the business can run, and sell, without you
- Add-backs and normalized earnings, documented so they hold up in diligence
- Quality of earnings reviews, from a quick red-flags check to a full independent report
- Transaction advisory through the sale, capital raise, or exit
Your books stay with us throughout, so everyone works from the same reliable numbers.
Image coming soon
Image: a business owner and advisor reviewing a valuation summary together across a table.
What this looks like in your industry
Law firms:
revenue by practice area and attorney, clean trust records, and a firm that doesn't depend on one partner's book of business
Construction and trades:
job-level margins, backlog, and equipment values buyers can verify
SaaS and technology:
recurring revenue, churn, and deferred revenue recorded the way buyers and investors expect
Restaurants and hospitality:
per-location results and owner perks separated from true operating costs, so add-backs hold up
Professional services:
client concentration and owner dependence measured early, while there's still time to reduce them
How it works
-
Review where you stand. We assess how complete and reliable your books are today, and what a buyer or investor will want to see.
-
Build the foundation. We clean up and complete your books and move you to accrual or GAAP-ready reporting where it makes sense.
-
Add exit planning and transaction support when you're ready, including an independent quality of earnings review.
-
Support the deal. We act as your confidential financial liaison with buyers and their advisors.
Image coming soon
Image: an owner shaking hands with a buyer at the close of a sale.
Pricing
Prices on this page are for these services on their own. We can build them into a customized package with any of our other services, such as bookkeeping, financial reporting, and tax planning, for one monthly price. Schedule a call to put yours together.
- Cleanup and catch-up: $100 per hour, with an estimate up front. See bookkeeping pricing.
- Accrual and GAAP-ready setup: $150 per hour, scoped and quoted before work begins. See Financial Reporting & Accrual Accounting pricing.
- Confidential deal liaison: $150 per hour.
- Exit planning, quality of earnings, and transaction advisory: quoted individually.
Frequently asked questions
When should I start preparing to sell?
Ideally, years before you plan to sell. Buyers look at several years of financials, and value drivers take time to improve.
Do you perform quality of earnings reports?
We prepare your books for one, then arrange an independent review. The review is performed independently of your bookkeeping, which is what gives it weight with buyers.
Can you keep the sale confidential from my employees?
Yes. We can serve as the point of contact for buyers' financial questions, so your team doesn't need to be involved.
Do I need GAAP-compliant financials to sell?
Not always, but buyers and investors take consistent, GAAP-based financials more seriously, and they hold up better in diligence.
Still have questions about preparing to sell?
We'll talk through your timeline and what buyers or investors will want to see.
Start preparing now
Tell us what you're planning and when, and we'll help you build the financial foundation to get there.