Exit Planning and Execution
We lead the fixes. You make the calls.
Most firms won't tell you what they charge until you're in the room. Here's our whole menu: 32 pieces of hands-on work, each tied to something a buyer checks. Every item has a tight scope and one fixed price, set in writing before work starts, so the bill never grows with the hours.
How it works
A free written proposal for the work you pick: exactly what gets built, what's not included, what "done" means, the schedule, and the price. The proposal covers what you ask for. Figuring out what your business needs takes digging into it, which is what the Exit Baseline, the Relisting Readiness Plan, and the Enterprise Value Assessment are for.
One fixed price, set before work starts. Any change goes through a written change order we both sign first. Under $5,000, you pay half at signing and half when it's done. Larger projects are paid in three parts: a deposit, a payment at the midpoint, and the balance at the end.
You approve each piece before it counts as done. Once you've paid in full, everything built for your business is yours.
What these prices cover
Prices are for one company at one location with up to 25 employees, within the limits shown on each item. A bigger business, more locations, or more than one company gets a written quote before any work starts.
What you do, what we do
- You know how your business works. We do the heavy lifting: the building, setup, writing, and tracking.
- We don't do bookkeeping, legal work, or selling.
- We never contact your customers, vendors, CPA, attorney, or broker except through you.
- When a step needs your attorney or bookkeeper, we tell you what it's for. You hire them and pay them directly.
- You buy your own software and equipment, in your company's name, and add us as a user for the project. We remove our access when the work is done. We take nothing from any vendor.
Do it yourself, or have us lead it
Owner Working Group members get the templates and guidance for every item below as part of their membership. Anyone can have us lead the work. The price is the same either way.
Packages
Some of these work best together. Run them as a package and you pay less, because the work overlaps.
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Run Without You
Everything that makes the business run when you're not there.
In it: Backup and Cross-Training Plan, Job Description Set, Two-Week Absence Plan, Second-in-Command Authority Package, Management Meeting Routine.
$12,000 separately $13,000
Needs first: written procedures, from the Written Down package or ones you already have.
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Clean Books
Books a buyer and a lender can trust, month after month.
In it: Documented Earnings Package, Monthly Close Routine, Budget and KPI Routine, 12-Month and Cash Flow Forecast.
$10,500 separately $11,750
Needs first: a finished Exit Baseline or Relisting Readiness Plan.
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Written Down
How your business runs, recorded by your people and put in one manual.
In it: SOP Program and Operating Manual.
$2,500 setup plus $250 per procedure ($125 for short ones), manual included up to 25 procedures
separately $3,000 plus per procedure
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Ready to List
Everything in the company's name, and every document a buyer asks for, ready before you list.
In it: Transfer Inventory and Deal Room Binder.
$6,000 separately $6,500
Two or more owners? Add the Owner Agreement Summary, $2,500.
Package prices carry the same limits as the items in them, and are paid in three parts: a deposit, a payment at the midpoint, and the balance at the end.
Money and the books
6 items
What a buyer checks: can you prove what the business earns, and do the books hold up month to month?
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Documented Earnings Package
Can you prove what the business earns?
$3,500 up to 25 add-backs
See what's included
Every add-back on a written schedule with the document behind it. Three years of tax returns tied to your statements. A one-page cover memo for your broker or lender.
Done when every add-back is backed up and each year ties to the return within 5%, with every difference explained.
Needs first: a finished Exit Baseline or Relisting Readiness Plan.
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Monthly Close Routine
Do your books close every month?
$3,000 Accrual books add $500.
See what's included
A close checklist, a calendar, and a monthly report package. Your bookkeeper is trained, and we sit alongside the first three closes.
Done when three months in a row close by the 30th with every account reconciled.
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Budget and KPI Routine
What do you expect next year, and how close did you come last year?
$3,000
See what's included
The year's budget by month, loaded into your books. Targets on five numbers. A monthly budget-versus-actual review your team runs.
Done when three monthly reviews in a row are done on time, at least one without us.
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12-Month and Cash Flow Forecast
When was cash last tighter than you expected?
$3,250 or $2,250 after the Budget and KPI Routine
See what's included
Twelve months of cash in and out, a cash floor you set, a warning on every month that dips below it, and one what-if.
Done when three monthly updates in a row are done on time, at least one without us.
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Profit Leak Review
Are you paying more than you need to, or doing work you never bill?
$3,500 businesses up to $5M in revenue
See what's included
We check eight areas: subscriptions, supplier prices, insurance and finance costs, pricing gaps, unbilled work, callbacks, vehicles and fuel, and inventory and waste. Each problem we find gets a yearly dollar figure, you get a fix list, and we check what showed up in the books at 90 days. Fixed fee, never a share of savings.
Done when every area is reviewed, every problem found has a dollar figure, and every fix you picked is checked at 90 days.
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Growth Plan
Is your growth an idea, or a plan with numbers?
$5,000 up to four sized moves
See what's included
Eight to twelve possible moves. Up to four are sized for market, revenue, margin, startup cost, and payback. Each gets an owner, first-quarter milestones, and one number to track.
Done when you've approved the sized moves and each is checked at 90 days.
People
5 items
What a buyer checks: does the business run when you're not there?
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Backup and Cross-Training Plan
If someone quits tomorrow, who can do their job?
$2,000 up to 15 key jobs
See what's included
Every key job gets a backup, trained from the written procedure and signed off by you with a real example.
Done when every key job has a backup signed off to do it alone.
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Job Description Set
Does everyone know what their job is, including you?
$2,500 up to 8 roles
See what's included
One page per role, owners included, with an org chart that matches.
Done when you've approved every page and the org chart matches.
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Two-Week Absence Plan
When were you last away for two weeks?
$3,000 one owner
See what's included
A plan to be fully away, then the real test: you leave, and a stand-in runs the business.
Done when the two weeks happen and you were reached only for the emergencies on the list.
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Second-in-Command Authority Package
Who decides when you're not there?
$2,500 one person
See what's included
A signed letter of what your number two decides alone, with dollar limits, then 30 days of them doing it.
Done when 30 days are logged and every decision inside the limits was made by them, not you.
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Management Meeting Routine
Do your managers run the business together, or does everyone report to you?
$3,000 up to 6 people. Outside the Chicago area, travel is at cost or meetings run by video.
See what's included
A monthly one-hour meeting with five numbers, an agenda, and written notes. We run the first meeting, sit in on the second, and your team runs the third.
Done when three meetings in a row are held on schedule, one without us.
Written processes
3 items
What a buyer checks: is the way things are done written down, or only in your head?
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SOP Program
If you were gone, would anyone know how it's done?
$1,500 setup plus $250 per procedure ($125 for short ones). The count is set in your proposal.
See what's included
Your people record themselves doing the work. We turn the recordings into tested written procedures, tracked on one list a buyer can read. We never write your processes from scratch.
Done when every procedure is tested and approved.
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Operating Manual
Could a new manager run the business from a book?
$1,500 up to 25 procedures
See what's included
One manual covering roles, systems, every procedure, the calendar, key contacts, and what to do when something goes wrong.
Done when a manager confirms in writing they could run a normal week from it.
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Process Polish
Are your procedures still true?
$750 a year up to 25 procedures, plus $125 per changed procedure
See what's included
A once-a-year review where every procedure is confirmed, updated, or retired. You can run it yourself with our checklist.
Done when every procedure is answered and every changed one is approved.
Systems
6 items
What a buyer checks: does the work run on systems the business owns, connected to the books?
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Systems Map
Which software should you run, and in what order?
$2,500 up to 10 employees
$3,500 for 11 to 25
See what's included
One system per job, who owns it, what it costs a year, and the install order with a fixed price for each step. You keep the map whether or not you hire us.
Done when the map is delivered and walked through with you.
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IT Foundation Setup
Is your email in the company's name, or yours?
$4,000 up to 10 employees
$6,000 for 11 to 25
See what's included
Company email, one shared drive, two-step sign-in, a password manager, backup, and a checklist for when someone leaves. An admin guide for the two people who run it, and phishing awareness training for your team.
Done when all 15 readiness checks pass.
Needs first: a Systems Map.
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Accounting System Setup
Are your books in a system a buyer's lender will trust?
$5,500 from QuickBooks Desktop
$6,500 from spreadsheets or paper
Accrual books add $1,000.
See what's included
Moving onto QuickBooks Online, set up for your industry, with your bank, payroll, and job software connected, your bookkeeper trained, and 30 days of support. We never post entries in your books.
Done when you've been live 30 days and your bookkeeper runs a full week without help.
Needs first: a Systems Map.
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Field Service System Setup
Does your schedule live on a whiteboard?
$6,000 up to 5 technicians
$8,000 for 6 to 15
See what's included
Software for crews that go out to jobs: the schedule, customer history, and maintenance plans in one system connected to your books. Your office and technicians trained, plus 30 days of support.
Done when you've been live 30 days, every job is closed in the app two weeks running, and invoices match your books.
Needs first: a Systems Map.
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Shop System Setup
Are your repair orders still on paper?
$6,500 up to 5 technicians
$8,500 for 6 to 15
See what's included
Software for a repair shop: repair orders, inspections, parts, customers, and vehicles in one system connected to your books. Your service writers and technicians trained, plus 30 days of support.
Done when you've been live 30 days, every repair order is in the system, and invoices match your books.
Needs first: a Systems Map.
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Project System Setup
Are change orders agreed by text?
$7,000 up to 10 users and 10 open projects
$9,000 for 11 to 25 users and 25 open projects
See what's included
Software for contractors running multi-week jobs: estimates, change orders, progress billing, and job cost in one system connected to your books. Your office, project leads, and crews trained, plus 30 days of support.
Done when you've been live 30 days, every change order is signed in the app before the work, and job cost matches your books.
Needs first: a Systems Map.
Sales and customers
9 items
What a buyer checks: will the customers and the sales stay after you leave?
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Lead and Pipeline Tracking
How many quotes are sitting out with nobody following up?
$3,000 or $2,000 if we set up your software
See what's included
Every lead logged with where it came from, and every open quote with a status and a follow-up date, in the software you already have.
Done when every lead and quote is tracked two weeks in a row.
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CRM Setup
Where do your customers and open deals live?
$5,000 up to 3 salespeople
$6,500 for 4 to 10
See what's included
For businesses that sell to other businesses and have no job software: leads, quotes, and customers in one system connected to email and your books. Everyone who sells trained, plus 30 days of support.
Done when you've been live 30 days and every open deal has a next step two weeks running.
Needs first: a Systems Map.
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Pricing and Quoting Guide
Can anyone but you price a job?
$4,000 one line of work, one person learning
See what's included
Your way of pricing, written down with a calculator, quote limits, and allowed exceptions, then a 10-job test against your own prices.
Done when someone other than you is quoting live.
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Funnel Measurement
Which marketing dollars actually bring in work?
$3,500
See what's included
A monthly report by lead source: leads, quotes, wins, and cost per lead.
Done when your person builds three monthly reports in a row, the last without us.
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Customer Handoff Program
Do your biggest customers call you, or the company?
$3,500 up to 20 key customers
See what's included
A customer-by-customer handoff with overlap at every step, lowest risk first. We run the first wave of up to 10 customers over 90 days. You decide every move.
Done when every key customer has a new contact and the first wave is underway.
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Customer Agreement Rollout
How much of your repeat business is on a handshake?
$3,000 up to 25 customers
See what's included
Which customers get a written agreement, the terms laid out for your attorney, scripts for your team, and a first wave of up to 10 customers offered over 90 days. Your attorney writes the agreement and bills you directly.
Done when every customer in the first wave has been asked and renewals are tracked.
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Customer Diversification Plan and Tracker
What would it take to get your biggest customer under 20% of sales?
$3,000 up to 50 target accounts
See what's included
The math, a list of target accounts, an outreach plan your team works, and a monthly tracker. The selling is yours.
Done when every target account is assigned and your person runs the tracker without us.
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Review Program Setup
Will your Google profile transfer to a buyer?
$3,000 one location
See what's included
Your profile fixed and in a company account, the review ask built into every finished job, your crew trained, and a monthly tracker for 90 days. We never write or buy reviews.
Done when every person who closes jobs is trained and every review gets a reply.
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Competitive Advantage Statement
Why do customers pick you?
$2,500 one line of work
See what's included
Two pages: three advantages with proof, a comparison with your competitors, and an outside source on where your market is heading.
Done when every advantage is backed by your own records and you've approved it.
Getting ready to sell
3 items
What a buyer checks: is everything in the company's name, and can you answer their document list fast?
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Transfer Inventory
Whose name is your domain in? Your main phone number?
$3,000 up to 75 items
See what's included
A list of everything a buyer expects to get, who holds it now, and how it moves. A fix list for anything in your personal name. A plan for closing day. Worth doing years before a sale.
Done when every item has a holder, a way to move, and a date.
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Deal Room Binder
How long would it take to answer a buyer's document list?
$3,500 up to about 150 documents
See what's included
Every document a buyer asks for, gathered and indexed, with a list of what's missing and preparation for the customer calls a buyer will want. It goes to your broker at listing.
Done when every item is in, has a fix scheduled, or doesn't apply, and you've approved the index.
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Owner Agreement Summary
Do all the owners agree on when, for how much, and to whom?
$2,500 up to two people
See what's included
Each person answers separately, we lead two sessions as the neutral party, and everyone signs a one-page summary. This is not a legal agreement.
Done when everyone has signed and every open item has a next step.
Not sure where to start?
The Exit Baseline shows which of these your business needs and in what order. If your business was listed and didn't sell, start with the Relisting Readiness Plan.