Readiness Scan — Exit OSx

Eight questions about how the business runs today — no financials needed. We translate the answers into the readiness gaps a serious acquirer (strategic, private equity, or search fund) would flag, and how much each would discount you because of them.

Believable

Trust in numbers + story

Our financial statements are prepared by...

An external CPA firm — annual auditAn external CPA firm — annual reviewAn external CPA firm — compilation only, or in-house bookkeeper with tax-CPA touchpointAn in-house bookkeeper or owner, no CPA involvementDifferent sources in different yearsI'm not sure

Buyer questions about operations, finance, and customers could be answered today by...

The owner plus 2+ other members of management, independentlyThe owner plus one other leader who could each answer fully on their ownMostly the owner — one other person could cover some topics, but not mostOnly the ownerNo one fully — knowledge is fragmented across many peopleI'm not sure

Transferable

Survives without the owner

Our customer relationships are primarily held by...

Documented in a CRM with multiple team members touching each accountDocumented in a CRM, mostly with a single account owner per customerAccount managers who hold relationships but no formal systemThe owner personally — most key customers know the owner directlyThe owner is the only point of contact for most customersI'm not sure

Strategic-buyer divergence: a competitor/adjacent acquirer already has account managers who can absorb your customers. PE and Search Fund need transferability before the deal closes.

If the owner stepped away for 60 days, day-to-day decisions would be made by...

A documented chain of command with clear authority — operations continue without consultationTwo or more managers covering different functions — most decisions resolved without the ownerOne manager who calls the owner for material decisionsDecisions wait, or default to whoever is most senior on siteOperations would stall — only the owner makes most decisionsI'm not sure

Durable

Predictable cash flow

Our revenue mix is...

Mostly recurring (subscriptions, retainers, contracts >1 year)Mostly repeating (same customers, project-by-project, predictable cadence)Mix of recurring/repeating and one-time projectsMostly one-time projects with some repeat businessMostly one-time / episodic — each engagement is newI'm not sure

If your work is naturally project-based (construction, M&A advisory, consulting), one-time engagements are normal for your model — we weigh lumpy revenue less heavily than for a business that could be recurring.

Our largest single supplier or distribution channel accounts for...

Less than 15% of cost-of-revenue or distribution15-30%30-50%50-75%More than 75%I'm not sure

Market Position

Moat + pricing power

When a customer considers switching away from us, the barriers they face are...

High — long-term contracts, integration with their systems, switching costs, or proprietary IP they depend onMedium — embedded but not technically locked inSome — they'd lose institutional knowledge or relationshipsLow — could switch with 30-60 days of noticeNone — services are commoditized; customer switches based on priceI'm not sure

When we raise prices, our customers typically…

Accept it — we rarely lose anyone over priceMostly accept it — we lose only the most price-sensitivePush back — so we raise selectively and hold our largest accounts flatResist it — so we usually absorb cost increases insteadSet the price for us — we compete on price and can't move oursWe haven't raised prices, so we can't say

Answer all 8 questions to see your result.

See what a buyer would flag — before they do.

Believable

Transferable

Durable

Market Position