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Owner FAQ

Private Company Seller FAQ

Clear first answers on valuation, preparation, diligence, confidentiality, working capital, and offer terms.

Start with three questions

Start with three questions: what the company earns, whether it can transfer without the owner, and how an offer turns headline value into seller proceeds.

Updated Jul 14, 2026

Owner reference

Owner questions

Open a question for the short answer. Related guides carry the deeper context.

  1. 01How can I get a rough sense of what my business is worth?

    Start with a reconciled earnings basis, the company's assets and liabilities, revenue durability, customer concentration, management depth, and comparable market evidence that actually matches the company's size and economics. A calculator can organize assumptions; it is not a formal valuation.

  2. 02What is quality of earnings?

    It is a record-backed review of reported results, proposed adjustments, revenue and margin patterns, and the risks that affect whether earnings can continue. It is related to valuation work but is not itself a valuation, audit, or promise that a buyer will accept an add-back.

  3. 03Are owner add-backs automatically accepted?

    No. Each adjustment needs an amount, period, reason, source record, recurrence test, and a realistic view of any cost a buyer would still incur. Owner compensation may also carry entity-specific tax issues that should be reviewed separately from the sale adjustment.

  4. 04What should I prepare before a valuation or sale conversation?

    Begin with reconciled financial history, an adjustment bridge, revenue and customer schedules, an owner-duty map, an organization chart with decision rights, material contract and legal indexes, and a list of seller priorities. The full sale-readiness checklist breaks the work into five files.

  5. 05When should I share customer names or detailed financial statements?

    Not through the initial web form. A blind customer schedule and broad financial ranges can frame the first conversation. Before sensitive disclosure, confirm the recipient, purpose, confidentiality terms, contact rules, and secure delivery method.

  6. 06Is customer concentration always a problem?

    A percentage alone does not answer the question. Review margin, tenure, renewal history, contract terms, pricing, relationship coverage, transfer consent, and the reason the customer stays. Two companies with the same concentration can carry very different exposure.

  7. 07How can an owner show that the business will run without them?

    Document the owner's actual duties, managers' decision rights, customer and supplier coverage, reporting cadence, operating procedures, and system access. Show examples of decisions the team already makes without the owner, then identify the duties that still need a transition plan.

  8. 08What is a working-capital target?

    It is an agreed level of operating assets and liabilities expected at closing, based on definitions in the deal documents. The included accounts, historical period, seasonality, reserves, and true-up process can affect proceeds and require accounting and legal review.

  9. 09Why can two offers with the same headline value be different?

    Cash at close, debt repayment, escrow, working capital, seller notes, earnouts, rollover equity, taxes, governance, and the owner's post-close role change timing, control, liquidity, and risk. Compare those lines before ranking the headline number.

  10. 10How should a seller evaluate an earnout?

    Neither by default. Read the metric, measurement period, accounting rules, operating control, dispute process, termination provisions, and required owner role together. Tax and legal treatment require company-specific professional advice.

  11. 11Does NextGen Seller introduce buyers or guarantee a valuation?

    No. The site provides educational tools and first-party intake for manual review. It does not guarantee a valuation result, buyer interest, an advisor match, a response, or a transaction outcome.

Continue reading

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