Your company reviewed, checked, planned and made ready for a lender or buyer
For owners of established companies. One report covering what a lender, investor or buyer will look at: the analysis of your accounts, a quality and due diligence review of your records, a 36-month business cash flow forecast, a business plan and a sale readiness review.
Limited scope. Due diligence on the records you provide, prepared for you. It is not an audit, and not a buyer’s full due diligence. The indicative value range is labelled as such and is not a formal valuation.
When you need one
- Before you borrow or refinance. Go to the bank with the answers to its questions and a forecast it can test.
- Before you grow. A plan for the next three years, built on what the accounts and records actually show.
- Before you sell or bring in investors. Know what their accountants will find, and fix it first.
- When you want one independent view of the whole business, from a Chartered Accountant and former fund manager.
The five parts
- 1. Financial and business analysis of up to five years of accounts: trends, margins, cash, borrowing and returns
- 2. Earnings, cash flow and balance sheet quality review, with a lender-style scorecard and due diligence of limited scope on your records
- 3. A 36-month business cash flow forecast, with a 13-week view
- 4. A business plan for the next three years
- 5. A sale readiness review: how a buyer will see the business, what comes off the price, working capital, an indicative value range, an exit plan and a data room checklist
- A summary and recommendations in order of value, one follow-up email of questions and one round of changes
Don't have all of this? Most owners don't.
You need nothing to get a quote. Once you agree it, send what you have. The first draft is due 5 working days after I have your answers to the brief and your figures.
Essential
- Your last two or three years of filed accounts
- Management accounts for this year to date, and the last 12 months month by month
- Bank statements for the last three to six months
- Aged debtors and creditors
- A list of your loans and finance: lender, balance, repayments, end date and security
- Your top ten customers and their share of sales
- A payroll summary: headcount and monthly cost
- A one-page note on your goals and timescale, or we cover it on the call
Helpful
- Your last four VAT returns, if you are VAT-registered
- Your order book or sales pipeline
- Leases: property, vehicles and equipment
- Shareholders, and any shareholder agreement
- Key customer and supplier contracts
- What the owners are paid, and any one-off costs
- How much you want to borrow, and what for
No management accounts? You can still start. I work from your filed accounts and your last three months of bank statements, and the report says clearly what that limits.
What it costs
The fee depends on your size:
| Annual turnover | Fixed fee | Charities and CICs |
|---|---|---|
| Under £1m | £4,949 | £2,469 |
| £1m to £5m, or 10 to 24 staff | £7,949 | £3,969 |
| £5m to £15m, or 25 to 49 staff | £9,349 | £4,669 |
Find your band from your latest annual turnover, or your average number of employees if that puts you in a higher band. Over £15m turnover or 50 or more staff: a fixed quote on request. Groups: each extra trading company at half its band price, plus £649 for the group view.
Bought one at a time, the five cost from £7,945, so the 5 in 1 saves about 38%. It costs less because all five come from one reading of your accounts and one forecast, not five separate pieces of work. Every quote is fixed in writing before I start. You pay nothing up front. When the report is ready I invoice, payable within 7 days, and send the final PDF once it's paid.
How it works
A free 10-minute call if you want one, or straight to the briefs by email. You send the standard brief and your records, most of which come straight from your bookkeeper. I send a fixed quote within 24 hours, then the first draft within 5 working days of receiving complete records. After delivery you can send one follow-up email with your questions.
The report is prepared for you. A lender, investor or buyer can see it once they have signed my standard release letter; anyone who wants to rely on it agrees separate written terms with me first.
About the 5 in 1
What are the five parts?
The financial and business analysis of up to five years of accounts; the earnings, cash flow and balance sheet quality review with due diligence of limited scope on your records; a 36-month business cash flow forecast; a business plan for the next three years; and a sale readiness review with an indicative value range. It opens with a summary and recommendations.
Is this an audit?
No. It is not an audit or any other assurance engagement. I test the records you provide, on a limited scope agreed in the engagement letter, and say what I checked and what I found.
Is this a valuation?
No formal valuation. The sale readiness review gives an indicative value range, from published multiples of earnings for similar small company sales, adjusted for net debt and working capital. It is labelled as indicative and is not an opinion of value.
What records do you need?
Monthly management accounts with a balance sheet, bank statements, aged debtors and creditors, sales by customer, VAT returns and payroll summaries, the year-end adjustments and tax computations from your accountant, and your plans for the next three years. Most of it comes straight from your bookkeeper. Read-only access to your bookkeeping software is the quickest route.
Can a lender, investor or buyer rely on it?
The report is prepared for you. A lender, investor or buyer can see it once they have signed my standard release letter. Anyone who wants to rely on it must first agree separate terms with me in writing, including a limit on my liability.
Is my information confidential? Can you sign an NDA?
Yes. I am bound by the ICAEW Code of Ethics, which requires integrity, objectivity and confidentiality. Everything you send me stays between us, and I will sign an NDA before you share any documents, at no charge.
Only need part of it? See the financial, business and due diligence review, the sale readiness review or the business plan.