For business owners

Is your business ready to sell?

Most owners plan to exit within a decade. Almost none are prepared. Check your readiness and get a value estimate in about five minutes, free, right here in your browser.

You won't sell to a fund. You'll sell to a trained operator chosen for your business, with dedicated capital and a 15-year marketplace behind them.

Start the free check See the packages
The research

The numbers behind the succession crisis

From the Succession Tsunami report published by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, based on a national survey of 2,479 business owners. The research was sponsored by SuccessionMatching, our partner marketplace.

76%

of Canadian small business owners plan to exit within the next decade, putting over $2 trillion in business assets in motion

9%

have a formal written succession plan. Even among owners exiting within 12 months, only 16% do

91% vs 59%

owners with a formal plan are confident their exit will succeed, versus 59% of owners with no plan at all

54%

say finding a buyer or suitable successor is their biggest obstacle. Every package below includes a year of buyer matching

43%

say valuing the business is a top obstacle, and 84% of them found determining their value genuinely difficult

17%

plan to simply wind down and close, letting the value of a life's work vanish rather than transfer

Source: Succession Tsunami: Preparing for a decade of small business transitions in Canada, CFIB, 2023.

The readiness check

Where does your business stand today?

Twelve questions and a few numbers. You get a readiness score, an estimated value range, the valuation method that fits your business, and the gaps costing you value.

Sale readiness and value check Step 1 of 4

About your business

These questions establish how your business should be valued.

How long have you been operating?
Which best describes your growth?
Do you have completed financial records for the past five years? Buyers and lenders verify everything against your records.
Are your profits consistent from year to year?
Please answer every question before continuing.

Can it run without you?

Transferability is what buyers actually pay for.

Could the business run for four consecutive weeks without you?
How much of your revenue comes from your single largest customer?
How much of your revenue is repeat or under contract?
What is your premises situation? Short or non-assignable leases are one of the most common deal killers.
Are there personal expenses in the business books?
Please answer every question before continuing.

Your numbers

Rough figures from your last full year are fine. Your numbers never leave your browser.

$
$
Owner benefit add-backs Amounts in your expenses that really benefit you, the owner. Buyers add these back to see what the business truly earns. Leave blank what does not apply.
Your salary and the payroll costs on it
$
Family members on payroll beyond the work they do
$
Personal vehicle, travel, phone, and insurance
$
True one-time expenses that will not recur
$
Other discretionary spending
$
$
Where does most of your business value sit?
Please choose where your value sits, or skip this step.

You, the owner

Deals fail on personal readiness as often as they fail on price.

When do you plan to exit?
Do you have a succession plan today?
Do you know the after-tax amount you need from the sale to fund what comes next?
Do you know what your week looks like after the sale?
Please answer every question before continuing.

Your results

A snapshot of where you stand and what to fix first.

Sale readiness

0/100

Estimated value range

What is costing you value

See which package fits

This is a pricing readiness estimate based on the answers you provided, not a formal business valuation. It cannot be used for financing, tax, legal, or litigation purposes. Your answers stay in your browser and are not uploaded, stored, or shared.

Private by design: everything is calculated on your device. Nothing is sent to our servers.

Three service levels

Choose your path to a successful exit

Every package includes one year of SuccessionMatching.com marketplace access to match with qualified buyers from a pool of 2,000+ registered investors.

Readiness report

Find out if your company is at the point where you are ready to sell.

$995 USD

One-time. Fully credited if you upgrade within 12 months.

  • Guided DCF and market-multiple valuation with a defensible value range
  • Sale-readiness score across the factors buyers actually check
  • Valuation method assessment: which of five methods fits your business
  • Ranked gap report showing what is costing you value
  • 30-minute results debrief with a succession specialist
  • One year of SuccessionMatching.com access
Get started

Recommended based on your results

Most popular

Formal Succession Plan

The complete program that prepares your business for buyers.

$15,000 USD

18 to 20 week program. Payment plans available.

  • Everything in the Readiness report
  • Seven one-on-one facilitated sessions over 18 to 20 weeks
  • The full succession workbook covering every question a buyer will ask
  • Facilitator-reviewed DCF report with consulting to understand it and act on it
  • Five sale-ready documents: Sell Sheet, Pitch Deck, Sell Book, Due Diligence Package, and Confidential Succession Plan
  • One round of document revisions
  • One year of SuccessionMatching.com access
Get started

Recommended based on your results

Sale-ready advisory

Two years of structured work to close the gap between today's value and your number.

$40,000 USD

Two-year engagement. Payment plans available.

  • Everything in the Formal Succession Plan
  • Eight structured 90-day sprints: owner independence, financial hygiene, revenue quality, team and systems, legal readiness, and growth story
  • Monthly one-on-one advisory calls
  • Three formal re-valuations so you can watch your number move
  • Go-to-market decision gate with negotiation coaching
  • One year of SuccessionMatching.com access, activated when you are ready to list
Get started

Recommended based on your results

The Formal Succession Planning program is delivered by SuccessionMatching.com, the commission-free marketplace our team has operated for 15 years. Purchases are completed there, and your year of marketplace access starts immediately.

The process

How the program works

The Formal Succession Planning program has been refined over 15 years of real transitions. It is a collaborative working process: we guide, organize, and format; you provide the knowledge only an owner has.

Assess

Start with the readiness check above. Your score, value range, and gap report tell you which package fits and what to fix first. The valuation method survey confirms how your business should be valued before any number is put on paper.

Build the plan

Seven facilitated sessions walk you through everything a buyer will examine: financials, operations, staff, customers, suppliers, premises, and your own transition goals. Between sessions you gather information with templates, examples, and support. Expect 3 to 10 hours of work per period; the work you put in determines the quality of what comes out.

Receive your documents

Your answers become five professional documents: a Sell Sheet to introduce the opportunity, a Pitch Deck for first meetings, a Sell Book for qualified buyers, a Due Diligence Package that answers roughly 90% of what a sophisticated buyer will ask, and a Confidential Succession Plan for you and your advisors. Every document is reviewed by your facilitator before you see it.

Match with buyers

With your documents ready, your SuccessionMatching.com membership connects you to a marketplace with 2,000+ registered buyers and $681M+ in committed buy-side capital. Owners using succession services report higher confidence in a successful exit than those who go it alone.

Next step

Talk to a succession specialist

Book a free 20-minute call to review your readiness results and find the right path. No obligation, and you keep the results either way.

Get in touch

Prefer email? sell@successionstart.com

Why owners choose this program

Track record
15 years of matching owners with buyers
Marketplace
2,000+ registered buyers
Buy-side capital
$681M+ committed
Commission
None. The marketplace is commission-free
Research base
CFIB Succession Tsunami report