Checklist to Go Through After an Acquisition

After you buy a business, a proper M&A advisor or attorney will help you understand the next steps.

Depending on the business you buy you will want to make sure you get things transferred.

Here are some of the main things.

• Website usernames and passwords – The seller should create an excel sheet of all usernames and passwords you need after they change them to something secure like Global123@@
• Start changing credit cards on file right away with many accounts.
• Make sure the seller doesn’t cancel any important accounts – Make the seller feel comfortable you will reimburse them for anything they pay out of pocket. if you are shelling out more money than them for transfer, tell them you will credit that against anything.
• Have the seller bring all bills to $0 balance as of date of transfer/closing.
• Bank accounts – Provide access to whatever bank accounts someone needs by adding them as an authorized signer or user if there is any money that can potentially come in. Try to make sure they are closed down properly or transferred properly after a window period.
• Worker’s compensation – Make sure that there is proper coverage for worker’s comp
• Business insurance – Make sure you add the new address and business to the account.
• Do proper accounting after as there may be tax liabilities that carry over that one party is really responsible for.
• Accounts receivable – If you bought accounts receivable make sure things are proper and the people’s ledgers are proper so you don’t call on people with improper information. Figure out best practices.
• Staff – Decide which staff you are keeping and which ones you may lay off. If you are laying people off, it is best to have a transition consultant do so, so you don’t look like the bad guy out of the gate shaking things up. Remember to value staff for continuity, not just for X tasks for $Y it costs. Often, we recommend to create two denominations. $X for Y Weeks. and a set salary after that. Give them two options. Make them feel comfortable that they have an option to stay on temporarily to help with the transition and a longer term future.
• Letters – Send out letters to customers indicating transfer of ownership
• Payroll taxes – Seller should pay for payroll taxes up until date of close and buyer should pay payroll taxes after close

There are many more things to account for with some businesses.

The purpose of an acquisition is to sustain and grow.

Don’t be too abrupt with changes out of the gate. Then, there are too many variables to understand what affected what. If there is an increase or decrease, you will not know what attributed to it. Even if your systems are better, and you have 10 other locations running efficiently, and you see deficiencies, take it slow with the changes (unless you are buying a totally distressed asset you are trying to salvage from the depths). Abrupt changes can cause you to lose customers and staff. Implement small changes. The purpose of acquiring something is adding value. So incorporate the value at its maximum level without disrupting your other businesses, and then minimize the disruption that’s going on until you can come close to eliminating the weaknesses within it.

If you would like to hop on a call with us to go over things related to acquisitions and general business overview, please schedule a time here. We do a one hour deep dive where we go over your needs as it relates to acquisitions & business expansion, and then we go on the hunt for you to line up a business that fits.

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