Seven mistakes that cost owners money at sale
Overpricing, thin records, lease problems, breaking confidentiality and leaving tax too late. The seven mistakes that most often cost owners money at sale.
General information only, not financial, legal or taxation advice. Tony Pope holds Queensland Office of Fair Trading licence 4963575.
The short version
- Overpricing does not test the market, it burns it. Buyers who pass on a listing rarely come back when the price drops.
- Records that do not reconcile are the single most common cause of extended due diligence.
- A short lease with no option is a genuine obstacle to finance, not a detail to sort out later.
- Confidentiality breaks cost real money through staff resignations and customers hedging.
- Asset sale versus share sale has significant tax consequences and belongs with your accountant early.
None of these are exotic. They are the ordinary mistakes, made repeatedly, and each one has a cost that is easy to quantify after the fact and easy to avoid beforehand.
Mistake 1: pricing on hope instead of evidence
Owners price on what they need, what a neighbour reportedly got, or what the business felt like at its best. Buyers price on evidence.
An overpriced listing does not test the market, it burns it. Interest is highest in the first four to eight weeks. Buyers who look and pass rarely come back when the price drops, and a listing that has been sitting invites the question of what is wrong with it.
Mistake 2: financial records that do not reconcile
If the financials, the accounting file and the bank do not agree, due diligence stops being verification and becomes investigation. Even where the cause is innocent, it costs weeks and it costs trust.
Mistake 3: treating a short lease as a detail
A buyer needs tenure for at least as long as their finance runs. Their lender applies that test independently and often more strictly. A lease with two years left and no option is an obstacle to funding, not a formality to sort out at settlement.
Mistake 4: telling staff, customers or suppliers too early
Staff who hear the business is for sale hear that their job is uncertain. The good ones, the ones with options, start looking. Customers hedge. Suppliers tighten terms.
None of it shows as a single event. It shows up in the numbers three months later, precisely when a buyer is examining them.
Mistake 5: leaving capital gains tax until a contract exists
Structure drives the tax outcome and structure is hard to change once a contract is on foot. Owners regularly discover the consequences after the point at which anything could be done about them.
Mistake 6: choosing asset sale or share sale without advice
The two are different transactions with different tax, liability and transfer consequences for both sides. Buyers usually have a preference. So should you, and it should be an informed one arrived at with your accountant rather than a default.
Mistake 7: going to market before the business is ready
Almost every other mistake here is a symptom of this one. Six to eighteen months of preparation is what separates a business that sells cleanly from one that sits, drifts and eventually sells for less to a buyer who sensed the fatigue.
Common questions
What is the biggest mistake owners make when selling?
Going to market unprepared. Almost every other mistake on the list is a symptom of it.
Does overpricing really matter if I can reduce later?
Yes. Interest is highest in the first four to eight weeks. A listing that sits and then drops signals that something is wrong with it.
Can lease problems stop a sale?
They can. A buyer needs tenure for at least as long as their finance runs, and their lender applies that test independently.
Keep reading
All notes on selling a business · All seller guides · What is my business worth?
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