Ten working days · NZD 6,000 ex GST · fixed
Business sale readiness. A clear plan in two weeks.
The Sale-Readiness Review helps New Zealand owners understand an indicative value range, likely buyer types and the preparation needed before listing. I work from your actual accounts and documents. For some owners the answer is to wait, and I say so.
The review, at a glance
- The fee
- NZD 6,000 excluding GST, fixed
- The timing
- Ten working days from payment
- The outcome
- A written report, a 60-minute presentation and a fix list with a target listing date
- Your choice
- Keep the report and act with your advisers. No obligation to take the programme.
What you get
A written report and a 60-minute presentation.
Prepared for you and your professional advisers to use in making decisions. Yours to keep, whatever you do next. The programme's broker briefing is a separate piece of work.
- The answer on one page
The indicative value range, the score out of 40, the conditions of sale and a go-to-market verdict: now, after preparation, or not yet.
- The numbers, on a buyer's basis
The adjustments a buyer may question, the supporting evidence, working-capital needs and financing questions to discuss with your advisers.
- The eight tests, scored
Each from 1 to 5, with the supporting evidence, gaps and recommended actions. What the eight tests are.
- The conditions of sale
Nine separate checks covering consents, premises, tax, IP and brand, security and debt, related-party terms, stock, customer contracts and licences. A strong operating score does not override an unresolved condition.
- The likely buyers
The buyer types that may suit your business, what each is likely to examine and how that affects preparation.
- The fix list and target date
What to fix, disclose or price in, with a named owner and date for each action. The recommendation sets out the route to market and whether an Exit Programme is warranted.
The value is always a range, never a single number: a business in this band is worth a multiple of its maintainable earnings, and both move with who's buying and what they find. I'm not a registered valuer; the review is a buyer's-eye range with the reasoning shown.
Your accountant, your lawyer and your broker stay yours. The professional work on the fix list goes to them.
Inside the report
The answer first. The reasoning behind it.
A view you can use with the people who know your business.
This illustrative first page brings the range, the buyer questions and the first actions together. The full report explains the evidence and reasoning behind them.
A made-up distribution business. This is an example of the format, not a client result.
See how the findings become actions →The answer on one page
A made-up business, to show the shape of the page: a specialist distribution business, 14 staff, revenue about NZD 6.2 million, two owner-directors.
- Maintainable earnings
- About NZD 580,000 after both directors' salaries at market
- Valuation range
- NZD 1.6 – 2.1 million. Illustrative range; buyer type and the unresolved risks affect the outcome
- Readiness score
- 23 / 40 · preparation gaps to work through
- Likely buyers
- A larger distributor in an adjacent category; a group buying similar businesses; management buyout as the fallback
- Go-to-market plan
- Illustrative target: prepare for listing in three to six months, subject to the conditions of sale and the evidence behind the fixes.
- First three fixes
- Name a second-in-command and move the two biggest customer relationships to them (test 1)
- Written supply terms with the customer that is 38% of revenue (test 6)
- Read the three agency agreements for change-of-owner clauses and get consents in advance (test 7)
The two weeks
Your week, then mine.
Ten working days from payment, assuming the material arrives by day four. Allow roughly seven to nine hours of your time for document collection, interviews and the presentation.
| Day | What happens | Whose time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engagement letter signed and fee paid; intake pack and data-room template sent | Start |
| 2–4 | You upload the accounts, agreements and operating records; I identify the gaps | 3–5 hours, yours |
| 4 | First interview: how the business actually runs | 90 min, both |
| 5–7 | Earnings, comparable sales, eight tests, conditions of sale and the fix list | Mine |
| 8 | Second interview: findings tested against what you know | 60 min, both |
| 9 | Presentation and written report | 60 min, both |
| 10 | Recommendation on the path from here; a decision call if useful | As agreed |
Who it suits
Is this the right starting point?
Take the review if
- You are ready to sell in the next six to twelve months and want an independent view of the preparation and indicative value.
- You have a number in your head and want to know if it survives contact with a buyer.
- A broker or your accountant has given you a figure and you'd like to understand what it rests on.
Don't take it if
- You need to sell in the next 90 days. Call a good broker today; I'll happily suggest some.
- The business is worth under about NZD 1 million. A broker's appraisal is better value.
- You already have a broker and a listing pack. The Second Opinion may suit, provided the business has not been advertised or shown to any buyer. Once it has, work with your broker and advisers.
Illustrative report excerpt · not a client result
From a finding to the next action.
The same made-up distribution business, translated into a working action list. Priorities, owners and timing would be agreed from the evidence in an actual review.
| Finding | First action | Who helps | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two customer relationships depend on the owner. | Agree a handover to the operations manager and involve them in account meetings. | Owner and operations manager | First 30 days |
| Largest customer is 38% of revenue. | Review continuity and termination terms; agree an approach with the lawyer. | Owner and lawyer | First 60 days |
| Agency agreements need change-of-owner checks. | Record each consent requirement and start the discussions that take time. | Owner and lawyer | First 90 days |
Fees and your next step
A useful Review. A separate choice after it.
The Review is NZD 6,000 excluding GST, fixed. Introduced owners pay NZD 5,500 excluding GST, with the introducer named on the engagement letter and invoice. The introduced price applies to the Review only. Invoiced on signing; payable before work starts.
If you sign an Exit Programme agreement within 30 days after the date we deliver the written Review report, NZD 3,000 of the Review fee (whether paid at 6,000 or 5,500) is credited against the first programme invoice and reduces the quoted total by NZD 3,000.
There is no obligation to take the programme. The report is for you and your professional advisers; it is not a formal valuation or a representation to a broker, lender or buyer.
Practical next steps
Which starting point suits you?
The review examines your evidence. These free resources can help you decide whether you need that work now.
- Free business sale readiness check
A first view from your own answers, without uploading accounts.
- How NZ businesses are valued
Earnings, multiples, transaction assumptions and the limits of an indicative range.
- Business sale document checklist
See the starting documents and evidence a preparation review may need.
A conversation first
A clear next step starts with a conversation.
Twenty minutes: what the business does, roughly what it earns, when you'd like to have sold. I'll tell you plainly whether a review is worth your money.
