Step 7 of 8
Step 7: the data room for selling your business
A data room is a secure space where the buyer and their advisors review everything they need to check: normalized financial statements, contracts, leases, employees, intellectual property, disputes and your Transition Document. Prepared well before the sale, it speeds up due diligence and cuts the surprises that lower the price.
No commitment. No cost. 45 minutes.
Focus regions: Eastern Townships (Estrie) · Montérégie · Centre-du-Québec · Mauricie · Quebec City region (Capitale-Nationale) · Montreal · Laval · Laurentians (Laurentides). 1 regional partner.
5articles to go further
This step is part of service 2: Prepare to sell. The three services together deliver the best result.
What you'll have at the end
- A data room organized to a buyer's due diligence checklist
- Normalized financial statements over 3 to 5 years
- Key contracts and agreements signed and filed
- The Transition Document at its center
How to do it
- Start from a standard due diligence checklist
- Have your EBITDA normalized with your accountant
- Put verbal agreements with clients and suppliers in writing
- Settle what's lingering: disputes, permits, asset ownership
- Organize the folders and control who sees what, and when
Step 7 articles
Go deeper
Step 7 · Data room
The data room: everything a buyer will check
A small business data room, folder by folder, with the Transition Document at its center. A structure you can copy to prepare your sale.
Read the article →Step 7 · Data room
Getting through due diligence without a price cut
Due diligence is often where the price slips. Here's what the buyer checks, and how to arrive prepared so you keep the price you agreed on.
Read the article →Step 7 · Data room
Normalized EBITDA: the number that sets your price
Normalized EBITDA is the base of most purchase offers. See how the adjustments work, with a worked example, before a buyer makes them for you.
Read the article →Step 7 · Data room
Putting your agreements in writing before you sell
Do your client and supplier contracts rest on a handshake? How to put your agreements in writing before the sale, without upsetting anyone.
Read the article →Step 7 · Data room
Preparing the sale two years ahead: the timeline
How to prepare to sell your business in 24 months, quarter by quarter: the 8 steps in order, from the process map to closing.
Read the article →
Frequently asked questions
- What is due diligence?
- It's the detailed review a buyer does before closing: finances, contracts, employees, risks. The data room is where they do that work.
- What is normalized EBITDA?
- It's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for items that won't recur for a new owner, such as an off-market owner salary.
- When should the data room be opened?
- Build it early, open it late: only to serious buyers, after a confidentiality agreement and, often, a letter of intent.
Do it with a pro
You can do it all yourself. With us, it gets done faster, and better.
We and our regional partner implement each step directly in your business, while you keep running it.
No commitment. No cost. 45 minutes.
Focus regions: Eastern Townships (Estrie) · Montérégie · Centre-du-Québec · Mauricie · Quebec City region (Capitale-Nationale) · Montreal · Laval · Laurentians (Laurentides). 1 regional partner.