Money records
- 3 years of tax returns and profit-and-loss reports
- Owner pay and one-time expenses separated from normal business costs
- A first estimate of SDE, meaning your yearly take-home profit as the owner
Private sale-prep checklist
Is your business ready for buyers?
Use this checklist before you share your company name, customer list, or financials. It shows what buyers usually ask for and where DealPilot can turn your answers into a private valuation estimate.
Free to start. No credit card. Your business is not listed unless you choose to publish later.
What this helps protect
You do not over-share private details before you know who is serious.
You see the weak spots before a buyer uses them to push down price.
You get a cleaner path from rough estimate to paid buyer-ready materials.
The 3 buckets buyers look at first
You do not need a perfect sale package to start. You do need enough order that a serious buyer can trust the story behind the numbers.
Customer proof
- Top customers by revenue, with any concentration risk clearly understood
- Recurring contracts, renewal dates, service plans, or repeat purchase patterns
- A plain explanation of how new customers find the business
Owner handoff
- Who runs scheduling, sales, hiring, and customer service when you are away
- Key employees who must stay after a sale
- Licenses, leases, vendor accounts, and systems a buyer would need transferred
Fix these before you go public
These problems do not mean your business cannot sell. They mean you should clean up the story before giving buyers leverage.
- Financials only live in your head or in a messy spreadsheet
- One customer or one employee could seriously hurt the business by leaving
- You are not sure what private information should wait until after an NDA, or confidentiality agreement
Turn the checklist into a private estimate
DealPilot starts with the same basics a buyer will ask for: revenue, profit, owner involvement, customer mix, and risk. Your answers stay private while you decide what to do next.
Start the free readiness estimate