Top Tips for practice owners

As a practice owner, you will have to consider the sale of your practice at some point in the future.  I have outlined some of the key things to consider in advance of a sale that will assist in maximising the value of your practice and make the process as smooth as possible.

1. Books and records

It is good practice to maintain your accounting records as you would other compliance documentation in an orderly system with easy access.  Storing these digitally can improve ease of access.  Cloud based accounting packages are excellent tools.

The benefit of having ready access to this information will save you time in the lead up to the marketing of your practice and also a significant amount of time during the due diligence review of information required by a buyer.

2. Maximise profitability

Have you benchmarked your practice against the market recently?  Are you paying your associates above the market rate?  Are you key costs in line with your competitors?  It is not easy to take a step back from the day-to-day running of the practice.

The benefit of implementing the changes will not only improve your profits in the short term in but also importantly, maximise the price that you can achieve from the sale.

3. Discuss with experienced Corporate Finance advisors

Even if you are years away from the event, taking early advice can help with the preparation for a sale.  Some of the most active buyers in the market will require you to stay on for anything up to 5 years.

Discussing your plans well in advance will give you peace of mind that you are on track to deliver the best outcome for you.  This might even mean the sale of your practice sooner than you expected.

For more information please contact Michael Edwards (michael.edwards@aab.uk) or your usual AAB contact.

To find out more about Michael and the Corporate Finance team, click here.