Before you sell your business.

Preparing a business for sale means making its records, ownership and obligations clear enough for a buyer to assess. Starting before there is a deadline gives you more room to address gaps and make informed decisions.

If you have a year, use it to work through the priorities below. If a buyer has already approached, the same checklist can help you decide what needs attention first. The timetable depends on the business and the proposed sale.

Get the financial picture ready.

Work with your accountant on reliable accounts, supporting records and the explanation for any adjustments. Identify how debt, stock, receivables, employee liabilities and working capital may be treated in the transaction.

Accounting analysis and legal drafting need to fit together. A commercial assumption in the accounts should not depend on wording the sale agreement does not contain.

Check ownership and key contracts.

Collect company and ownership records, leases, customer and supplier contracts, licences and intellectual property documents. Ask your lawyer to identify transfer restrictions, change-of-control clauses, security interests and consents that may affect the proposed structure.

Where work has been done by a founder or contractor, check the documents recording who owns the resulting intellectual property. Keep signed variations with the relevant contracts.

Separate the business from its owner.

Document which relationships, approvals and systems depend on you personally. Decide what support you are willing and able to provide after completion.

Your operational team can record responsibilities and handover tasks. Your lawyer can reflect agreed assistance in the transaction documents, including a transition services agreement where one is needed. Your accountant can assess the financial consequences of the proposed arrangements.

Consider structure and approvals early.

Ask your accountant and lawyer to assess a share sale or asset sale before committing to a structure. Check tax consequences and any relevant concessions against current requirements; eligibility should not be assumed.

Identify possible regulatory approvals and counterparty consents. A sale to a large or foreign buyer can raise different questions from a sale to another local owner.

Build a usable data room.

Create an index, use clear file names and keep current agreements with their amendments. Record known gaps and explanations. Agree confidentiality, access and information-sharing arrangements before allowing a buyer in.

Keep a separate issues list showing what needs a decision, who is responsible and the next step. That makes the preparation actionable without suggesting that every task has to be finished before a conversation can begin.

For broader planning, see the Australian Government’s business-sale guide. For tax background, the ATO’s small business concessions guidance explains why eligibility needs to be checked.

Tell us where your sale planning stands. We can discuss the proposed legal work and how it fits with the other preparation.