Exit readiness score

Can a buyer trust the numbers in a week?

• Monthly close within 15 days of month-end

  A 45-day close is a buyer red flag.

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Reviewed or audited financials for the last three years

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Clean separation between business and personal expenses

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• GAAP-adjacent accrual accounting (not pure cash)

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Backup for every material add-back saved and tagged

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

Does the business run without the owner in the field?

• Named #2 who can run the day-to-day

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Written SOPs for the core workflows

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Field software of record (ServiceTitan / Jobber / Housecall Pro)

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Tenured, bonded, and licensed technicians across the roster

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Documented hiring and training process

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

The quality and diversity of revenue.

• Top customer is less than 10% of revenue

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Top-5 is less than 25% of revenue

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Recurring revenue (memberships, maintenance) above 25%

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Online reviews score at or above the trade average

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

The next buyer wants to see where the next multiple of growth comes from.

• Three-year revenue CAGR at or above trade average

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Written, defensible growth plan for the next 24 months

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Pricing has moved with (or above) inflation

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Clear territory or service-line expansion opportunity

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

What a buyer's lawyer will ask about.

• Licensing is current in every state you operate in

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• No active litigation of material size

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Insurance is current and adequate for the trade

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• No single-vendor dependencies in equipment or software

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

Short version. For the full picture, see the owner dependence scorecard.

• Owner works less than 30 hours per week

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Owner is out of sales and dispatch day-to-day

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully

• Business runs smoothly during owner's 2-week vacation

  Not at allA littleSomewhatMostlyFully