Straight answers on A/E firm sales and buyouts

The substantial majority of your proceeds are paid at closing.

With 10 percent employee equity, owners typically receive all proceeds at closing. With 5 percent employee equity, owners typically receive approximately 95 percent at closing, with the balance structured through a seller note or negotiated consideration. The exact structure depends on cash flow, deal size, and lender underwriting.

It is simpler, faster, and less expensive.

ESOPs are a specialized retirement plan that costs hundreds of thousands to set up and maintain, making them primarily viable for large firms. The Step-Up Legacy Plan enables employees to purchase using SBA financing, eliminating that complexity and ongoing cost. You still achieve continuity, culture preservation, and liquidity, without the headaches.

Most of the time, yes. Buyers typically access the down payment through a home equity loan, and there can be multiple buyers, which reduces the amount each one contributes.

We also have other solutions to help the buyers with the down payment. Remember, we are arranging SBA financing with 5 to 10 percent down. Our banking partners specialize in these transactions, so you get your money up front while your employees step into ownership.

Yes. In most cases there is more than one buyer. That is common when additional people are needed for the down payment, and because a single new owner cannot match the seller's efficiency on day one.

It depends. If the buyers put 10 percent down, the seller usually does not provide financing. If they only have 5 percent to invest, the seller typically lends the other 5 percent. Unusual risk, such as high customer concentration, may call for a seller note.

Yes. The employees know their jobs, but they need someone to teach them your responsibilities in insurance, budgeting, and administration. We recommend planning to stay for a year after the sale, with your hours decreasing over time until you are only on call.

You may be surprised. It often works better than you think.

The Step-Up Legacy Plan works best for firms with $1M to $8M in revenue and 10 to 50 employees. If you are smaller, it may still be possible depending on your profitability, client base, and staff experience.

Ideally two to three years before retirement, which gives you time to prepare financials and develop your employees' skills. If you are ready now, a sale can often be completed within six months.

Typically 3 to 6 months from start to finish, depending on valuation, financing, and legal due diligence.

Timing depends on how quickly your financials are prepared, how ready your employees are to move forward, and lender processing. We manage the process to keep strong momentum.

Roughly half of all businesses fail within two years, usually from a lack of cash flow. Buying an established firm gives you immediate cash flow from existing customers, trained staff, and a far easier path to bank financing.

Generally a down payment of around 15 percent of the purchase is sufficient, and additional money for working capital helps. Every transaction is different, and the banks we work with frequently include working capital in the acquisition loan.

Yes, in most cases. We work only with architecture, engineering, and land surveying businesses, and we have relationships with banks that want to finance our clients.

Absolutely. The bank puts more money into the transaction than either the buyer or seller, and conducts extensive due diligence through specialists. The bank also requires an outside third-party valuation, which aligns the buyer's interest with the bank's and lets the seller get paid at closing.

Most owners sell to retire. We work exclusively with architecture, engineering, and land surveying firms, and the typical seller is an owner who has spent decades building the practice and wants to exit with the firm in good hands.

It runs from a confidentiality agreement through closing in a defined sequence. You sign an NDA, review the offering summary, meet the seller, submit an offer, arrange bank financing, complete due diligence, and close.

With SBA financing, the stretch from accepted offer to closing typically takes 45 to 90 days, driven by how quickly documentation comes together.

Yes. The process starts with an initial video call with the seller. If that goes well, the prospective buyer and seller meet in person.

Ask the questions the offering summary cannot fully answer. Common ones: Will you sign a one-year employment agreement? How many employees are likely to stay after the sale? Why are you selling? What would you do to grow the business? Will you provide seller financing? How many hours do you work per week? Who handles marketing besides you?

Every figure we provide traces directly to a source document, most commonly CPA-prepared financial statements and federal tax returns. The bank also confirms that the tax return matches what was reported to the IRS before it funds the loan.

Because most people have never purchased a business, and the process demands significant money and time. An experienced M&A advisor guides you through valuation, financing, and closing, and answers the questions you did not know to ask.

Like real estate agents, M&A advisors are frequently paid by the seller, but a code of ethics requires them to deal honestly with both sides.

If you buy a business we have listed for sale, you do not pay a fee. If we act as your buyer's broker to find and acquire a firm, there is a fee for that engagement.

Yes. If one of our listings fits, we walk you through the process, explain how the business is valued, and advise you on next steps.

We also act as a buyer's broker when we are not the listing advisor. That can include calculating a target's value, helping you find a firm, negotiating the acquisition, and arranging bank financing.

We strongly recommend hiring an attorney experienced in business transitions rather than a generalist. We compare it to having a podiatrist work on your heart. Both are doctors, but their expertise is in entirely different areas.