Preparing to sell a business: your questions answered.

Businesses worth roughly NZD 1–10 million, which usually means maintainable earnings of about NZD 300,000 to 2.5 million. Below that, a broker's appraisal is usually better value than my review. Owners anywhere in New Zealand.

Yes. Rodara works with owners throughout New Zealand, alongside their existing accountant, lawyer and licensed broker. The starting point is the business and its sale timing. My Queenstown operating experience informs the work; you do not need to be in the Southern Lakes to use the service. Discuss your business and timing.

Start before listing, while there is time to build evidence and test the handover. The Review and Exit Programme are designed for owners ready to sell in six to twelve months. Some issues take longer. If you need a sale within 90 days, speak to a licensed broker and your professional advisers first. The 6–12 month preparation guide explains how to stage the work.

With a conversation. Twenty minutes, free, no commitment: what the business does, roughly what it earns, when you'd like to have sold. If you'd rather, take the free readiness check first. You'll hear from me within one working day.

No. The free first conversation is twenty minutes and needs a rough description of the business and your timing. Documents come after the engagement letter and payment, into the agreed access-controlled data room.

The Review says so and explains what to fix, disclose or price in. An Exit Programme is not offered where a condition of sale fails, three or more tests score 1, or the total is under 16. We can discuss the Value Programme or a later revisit where longer-term work is needed. If a buyer is already at letter of intent (LOI), there is no Exit Programme; the fix list goes to your lawyer and accountant acting on the deal.

The Sale-Readiness Review is NZD 6,000 excluding GST, or NZD 5,500 when introduced, invoiced on signing and payable before work starts. The Exit Programme is NZD 6,000 a month standard or NZD 8,000 larger/group, typically two to six months, with scoped months and a quoted total. A larger business has a likely sale value above NZD 3 million; a group means two or more trading businesses sold together. An eligible NZD 3,000 Review credit reduces the programme total. Owner-controlled delay beyond the scoped term can incur NZD 4,000 plus GST a month outside that total. The Pre-listing Second Opinion is NZD 2,500 excluding GST. Your other advisers and implementation costs are separate. Programme examples, credit and terms.

Allow roughly seven to nine hours over the ten-working-day Review for gathering documents, two interviews and the presentation. The Exit Programme has a fortnightly 45-minute owner check-in and a weekly check-in with the fix-list owner, plus the work you and your team agree to do.

The report is yours to keep for you and your professional advisers. You can use the Review on its own and work through the fixes with your team; there is no obligation to take the Exit Programme. If you sign within 30 days after delivery of the written report, a NZD 3,000 credit can apply to the first programme invoice and reduce the quoted total. At the end of the engagement the data room is returned to you or deleted; Rodara keeps its own records for seven years.

No. The Review gives an indicative range with its earnings basis, assumptions, relevant comparisons and risks explained. An earnings multiple can be a useful approach for an established, profitable business; asset-heavy, loss-making or unusual businesses may need a different approach. I'm not a registered valuer, and the Review is not a formal valuation or an estimate of net sale proceeds.

Your accountant may already cover some of this work. We should agree the gap before starting, so you do not pay twice for the same thing. I add an operating perspective on the preparation, likely buyer questions and an action list. Accounting, tax, legal and other professional work stays with your own advisers.

No. Rodara does not market businesses, introduce buyers, negotiate or take part in a sale. The preparation ends at hand-over to the licensed broker you appoint. No fee is linked to a sale, its timing or its price, and no fee is taken from a buyer or broker.

No. Your licensed broker handles marketing, buyer introductions and negotiation. Rodara does not communicate with buyers or their advisers, give them access to the data room or answer their due-diligence questions, before or after hand-over. The engagement letter carries the full conflicts rule, including associated persons and the family investment offices. Read the rule.

Your information is confidential. The data room is open to you, Oscar and an associate bound by confidentiality; others receive material only on your written instruction. Referrers see client material only with your agreement. At the end, the data room is returned to you or deleted, and Rodara keeps its own records for seven years. The privacy statement has the detail.