The Deal-Killing Problem That Starts Well Before a Sale

One of the most consistent problems I've seen in small business M&A is that companies lack financial clarity and structure. They aren't built financially for decision-making or the deal process. --> No usable budget or forecast --> Minimal insight into margins by product/service, customer or job --> No clarity around KPIs or cash flow trends --> And their QuickBooks is often a mess, disconnected from how the business actually operates It's not that owners don't want better visibility — they just don't know how to implement financial structure or how impactful it could be for them. When it comes time to sell, they often lean on their broker and CPA to quickly clean things up and pull together financials for the deal. But those reports are usually a one-time fix. They don't reflect how the business really runs and they're unsustainable. What the business really needs is stronger financial structure WELL BEFORE a transaction is even on the table. Not only to prepare for a sale, but to operate more profitably and make better strategic decisions in the meantime. For background, before beginning a self-funded search in the Fall 2024, I spent 10+ years in investment banking as an advisor to small business owners when they were looking to sell or raise capital — typically working with businesses slightly larger than I now targeting for acquisition. I've not only advised owners through the M&A process, but also helped them develop financial structure and systems well in advance of it, so I've seen first-hand how transformative this can be. They operate with more confidence, make better decisions, and are far more credible in front of lenders, buyers, or investors when the time comes. So to complement my search, I've been exploring ways to help business owners as a fractional STRATEGIC FINANCE PARTNER. This would entail: --> Clean up, reconcile, organize and then automate QuickBooks + other integrated software to build an efficient foundation for data gathering and meaningful reporting & analysis --> Build a working budget and forecast model that an owner can use --> Track KPIs tied to owner goals with regular reviews and insights --> Create the financial outputs and reports that buyers, lenders and advisors expect --> Allow owners to use their financials to help manage the business proactively and make better strategic decisions WHY THIS MATTERS FOR BROKERS, CPAs and BUYERS: - Brokers work with businesses that are financially prepared to go to market and are more likely to close - CPAs benefit from cleaner systems and more reliable data - Buyers (especially in ETA) gain confidence when acquiring a financially transparent, efficient and scalable business I'm not actively marketing these services, but I'm eager to connect with brokers, CPAs, lawyers and others who have encountered this issue. Have you run into this in your deals? Do you see a path for integrating this type of role earlier in the process? If so, I'd love to hear from you. Drop a comment or reach out! redacted