Most owners dream of a clean, confident exit but quietly worry it will feel rushed or disappointing. This article helps you define what a real “win” looks like for you – financially, for your people and for your legacy – then turn that clarity into a simple exit project you can actually act on.

Many owners “plan” to sell in three years, then stay another five. This article shows you how to build an exit roadmap you will actually follow, with a clear sale window, quarterly priorities, named owners, and a simple monthly rhythm so your plan does not collapse the moment things get busy.

Many owners reach exit with a decent business but a thin support crew. Advice is fragmented, meetings feel disjointed and the owner ends up carrying most of the load. This article shows you how to define the advisory roles you really need, choose people who fit your values and create a simple rhythm so your accountant, lawyer, broker and others operate as a true team.

Many owners decide to sell because they feel done – tired, fed up or rattled by a scare. Buyers, lenders and valuers care less about mood and more about earnings trends, risk profile and deal conditions. This article shows NZ SME owners how to choose an exit window, review timing through life–business–market lenses, and use the waiting period to strengthen earnings quality, reduce risk and build buyer confidence so price and terms are driven by readiness, not a bad week.

Many owners focus on the deal and assume life after the sale will take care of itself. In reality, the hardest part starts once the cheque clears and the structure of work disappears. This article shows NZ SME owners how to treat “life after exit” as a project: clarifying ordinary-week lifestyle, realistic after-tax income, capital buckets, and new roles that provide purpose, connection and joy so the sale funds a chosen next chapter, not a lonely void.

Selling a business is billed as a commercial decision, but for most owners it feels deeply personal. Pride, grief, relief, fear and guilt can all show up during due diligence and negotiation. If you do not plan for that load, it leaks into rushed decisions, strained relationships and deals you later second-guess. This article shows NZ SME owners how to build a support crew, set emotional non-negotiables, spot red flags and plan for the “after” dip so the season is handled with care, not chaos.

Most owners have a number in their head about what their business is worth. When a proper valuation arrives, that hopeful figure often collides with market reality. It can feel like a judgment on your effort instead of neutral information about risk, earnings quality and future potential. This article explains the main valuation approaches in plain language, unpacks the drivers that sit under the headline number and shows how to turn a confronting report into a practical plan to strengthen value over time.

Many SMEs assume “the IRD is happy” means their numbers are sale-ready. Buyers see it differently. Cluttered charts of accounts, personal spending buried in expenses and one-off items hiding in profit all create uncertainty – and uncertainty reduces value. This article shows NZ owners how to rebuild their accounting from a buyer’s perspective: simplifying structure, clearly labelling personal and once-off items, and using a small set of regular reports they actually understand. The result is financials that are clean, credible and far more compelling at exit.

Many owners run cashflow on instinct and last-minute juggling. It works – until a buyer asks for a clear view of the next 12–24 months and all you have is last year’s accounts plus a hopeful story. This article shows NZ SME owners how to build simple 13-week and longer-term forecasts they actually understand and use. The result is a forward-looking cash picture that supports your exit window, builds buyer confidence and turns “trust me, it’ll be fine” into evidence they can take to their bank.

Many NZ SME owners hear about sale prices based on “four or five times EBITDA” but have little confidence in their own EBITDA. Lifestyle spending through the business, one-off shocks and tax-driven decisions all distort the profit picture, making multiples look soft or suspect. This article explains normalised EBITDA in plain English, showing how to adjust for personal, non-recurring and non-core items on both the downside and the upside. You will learn how to build a clear schedule from reported profit to normalised EBITDA so buyers can test assumptions without losing trust.

Tax is not just something to “get through” each quarter. When you are thinking about exit, the way you handle GST, PAYE and income tax quietly shapes how buyers feel about trusting your numbers. Shoebox receipts, last-minute returns and fuzzy coding might keep you technically compliant, but they also send a message: “we hope you do not look too closely”.This article explores how to move from “tax as survival” to “tax as part of the value story” – with practical steps for cleaning up records, tightening habits and front-footing any historic issues so nothing important is hiding in the shadows

Most owners are told to “grow revenue” before they sell. So they push volume while margins quietly stay thin. Turnover climbs, the team looks flat out, yet when buyers see gross margin and net profit the numbers feel underwhelming. That gap often becomes a lower multiple or a heavily conditional offer.

In reality, margin is one of the fastest levers you can pull before exit. Small, well-targeted improvements drop straight to the bottom line and directly influence what a buyer is willing to pay. This piece unpacks why margins drift, where value is usually left on the table, and how a few calm, deliberate changes can add serious weight to your sale price.

Most owners know they should tidy costs before they sell. The problem is, “cost cutting” has a terrible reputation. Done badly it burns out staff, annoys customers and leaves a business looking brittle just when buyers are checking for strength. Done well it quietly lifts profit, sharpens focus and proves that your operation is lean without feeling starved.This article walks through how to trim fat without cutting vital muscle – mapping where money actually goes, finding quiet wins, protecting customer trust and staff safety, and turning those changes into a story a buyer can respect.

Plenty of owners run decent businesses that constantly feel short of cash. Sales look fine, profit is respectable on paper, yet the bank account tells a different story. Customers pay when they feel like it, debtor days drift upward and you smooth the gaps with overdrafts and personal funds.When a buyer arrives they look past profit to how quickly cash turns up. Slow collection makes them nervous. It signals extra risk, extra funding and extra hassle once you have left. This article unpacks why habits drift, how to tighten debtor days without burning relationships, and how to turn better cash discipline into a stronger sale story.

Plenty of owners run a good business through accounts that also quietly pay for life. Phones, vehicles, a bit of bach internet, the odd “client” fishing trip. It all feels harmless while you are at the helm. Then a buyer turns up and wants to know which expenses reflect the true cost of running the business – and suddenly your profit looks like jelly.This article unpacks why the blur happens, how to build a clean normalisation schedule, and how to shift habits so personal lifestyle sits in your life, not in the P and L a buyer is relying on.

Many owners fall in love with the headline sale price and treat tax as a fuzzy “we’ll sort that later” detail. Then the real calculations arrive. Company tax on the gain, depreciation clawback, personal tax on drawings or earn outs – and suddenly the number in the contract is not the number in your pocket.This article walks through why that happens, how different deal structures change what you actually keep, and how to bring your accountant into the planning early so tax becomes a lever, not a nasty surprise.

Many owners treat tax risk as something to worry about only if IRD comes knocking. Then a buyer’s adviser starts due diligence and suddenly bright line, GST on land, PAYE and old “she’ll be right” decisions are all under the microscope.This article explains how to map tax risks early, build a simple tax risk register, work with your accountant to fix or disclose issues, and turn a messy history into a calm, explainable story that buyers can trust.

Plenty of owners feel confident about their accounts until a buyer’s adviser asks the quiet question: “What contingent liabilities sit around the business.” Suddenly guarantees, disputes, warranties, make good clauses and old staff or tax issues all matter.This article walks through a practical way to list and explain contingent liabilities before you go to market. You will learn how to build a simple risk register, decide what to tidy up, what to disclose and how to turn potential deal-breakers into evidence of mature stewardship.

Behind most SMEs sits a tangle of overdrafts, term loans, guarantees and security schedules that no one has looked at for years. That is fine until a buyer’s banker starts asking hard questions. This article shows you how to list every facility, map charges to assets, clean up old securities and understand your personal guarantees so banking supports your exit rather than undermining it.

If your P and L is full of personal perks, one off dramas and experimental projects that never paid off, buyers will quietly value your business off the “messy” profit line. This piece explains how to strip out non-core costs in a disciplined way, create a clear normalisation schedule and shift genuine lifestyle and one off items out of the business as you approach exit. The goal is not to invent profit, but to reveal it in a way that stands up under due diligence so serious buyers can justify paying properly for what you have built.