Key points
- To sell your startup efficiently, give your M&A advisor everything they need to position, price, and promote it — ideally gathered before you go to market.
- The essentials: your goals for the sale, 3+ years of financial records, IP summaries, asset and inventory lists, real-estate leases, a team breakdown, and marketing and operational materials.
- Preparation is the biggest lever on outcome — being ready removes stress, speeds the sale, and helps justify your valuation to buyers.
- A good advisor guides you through pricing, deal structure, negotiation, due diligence, and closing while you keep running the business.
- Match the advisor to your business type and deal size; for software companies, a specialist SaaS broker is often the better fit.
You’ve decided to sell your business — now it’s time to prepare for the big day. Selling well means understanding the acquisition process and avoiding the hurdles along the way. You could do it alone, but an experienced mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisor helps you get the most out of the sale and steers you through every stage.
This guide is your selling-a-business checklist for working with an advisor: exactly what to give your M&A advisor so they can position, price, and promote your startup — and get you to a faster, higher close. Even if you haven’t hired one yet, gather these now so you’re ready when you are.
Thinking of selling? List your startup on Acquire.com and get matched with buyers — or let our M&A team guide your exit.
How an M&A Advisor Helps You
An M&A advisor lets you stay focused on running the business while they steer you through the identification, negotiation, due diligence, and closing phases. One of the most important early decisions is determining a likely price and a deal structure the market will accept.
Price a business too low, and you leave money on the table. Price it too high and the marketplace ignores you for more attractive opportunities. And price is only a pretax number — it ignores the timing of payments and tax liability, both of which belong in any pricing discussion.
A good advisor provides intelligent financial analysis but also knows how to peel back the onion — assignment of contracts, leases, revenue concentration, working-capital needs, industry trends, key employees, and more. (A specialist SaaS business broker can be especially valuable for software exits.)
How to Prepare Your M&A Advisor
If you want a quick, clean sale at the highest possible price, you must equip your advisor with everything they need to position and promote your startup.
Every acquisition is different, and every advisor has their own process — but at a minimum, share the documents and details below. Even if you’re only thinking about selling, collect this now so it’s ready when an advisor or buyer asks. We write a lot about preparing a business for sale because it genuinely makes or breaks a deal — and being ready removes an enormous amount of stress.
Quick checklist: what to give your M&A advisor
- Your goals for the sale
- Financial records (3+ years)
- Intellectual property summaries
- Equipment, fixtures & inventory lists
- Real estate leases/titles
- Team breakdown
- Marketing materials
- Operational materials
Here’s each in detail.
1. Your goals
An advisor can only serve you well when they understand why you want to sell, how the business performs, and what matters most to you in the deal.
Planning to retire or start something new? How much do you need to exit? Do you want the highest price or the fastest transaction? What matters more — total compensation or cash at close? Are you willing to stay through a long transition? How important is cultural fit for the new owners? These answers shape how the advisor prices the business (see valuation multiples by industry), which buyers they market to, and even whether they advise you to delay going to market. It’s also worth clarifying your broader exit strategy up front.
2. Financial records
Include at least three years of tax, income, and expense records on a trailing (continuously updated) basis. You or your accountant likely maintain these already — but set up a system to share them at a moment’s notice, such as a data room or a folder of duplicate records the advisor can access on demand. This is also exactly what buyers will request during due diligence.
3. Intellectual property summaries
If you create or own intellectual property (IP), record a summary: who owns it, plus any signed NDAs or Proprietary Information and Invention Assignment Agreements (PIIAA). You don’t need to go granular — just enough to justify your valuation to a potential buyer.
4. Equipment, fixtures & inventory lists
Identify physical assets — equipment, fixtures, inventory — that would be included in an acquisition, then list and photograph them (with values if you can). Your advisor must specify what’s included and excluded, since it affects your valuation.
5. Real estate
Own or lease real estate or other property? Gather copies of all leasing agreements and share them. This clarifies what is and isn’t part of the deal, and helps buyers plan for transition (transferring leases and titles to a new owner takes time).
6. Team breakdown
Advisors want to understand the people behind the business. Share positions, salaries, benefits, and a short bio for each (CVs or LinkedIn links help). For contractors, share their contracts and flag any rights to work done for the company, such as IP.
7. Marketing materials
You’re the expert on your product. Hand over your marketing materials, ads, and performance stats so the advisor can understand and sell your upside — including your unique value proposition — to buyers who don’t yet know your USPs. This feeds directly into a strong confidential information memorandum (CIM).
8. Operational materials
For a complex business model, you may need to share operational materials. The advisor often acts as your proxy — the better they understand your operations, the easier the sale. Share what you can to justify your financial projections and showcase desirability.
The list above is just a starting point — your advisor will tell you exactly what they need and when. But preparing the basics in advance speeds everything up: the sooner they have the details, the sooner they can market your startup and get you that life-changing acquisition.
Ready to see what your startup could sell for? If you’re a profitable SaaS business with $100k+ ARR, get a sell-ability score from the Acquire.com M&A team and learn what the market pays for a startup like yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do you give an M&A advisor to sell your business?
At minimum: your goals for the sale, three-plus years of financial records, IP summaries, equipment/inventory lists, real-estate leases, a team breakdown, marketing materials, and operational materials. Gather these early so you can hand them over the moment your advisor or a buyer asks.
How do I prepare my business to sell?
Start by clarifying your goals and organizing your financials into a shareable system (like a data room). Then document your IP, assets, team, and marketing so an advisor can position and price the business accurately. See our full guide on preparing a business for sale.
What does an M&A advisor actually do?
They guide you through identifying buyers, pricing and structuring the deal, negotiation, due diligence, and closing — while you stay focused on running the business. A good advisor also analyzes your financials and operations to maximize your outcome.
How do I choose an M&A advisor?
Match the advisor to your business type and deal size, and confirm they understand your industry. For software companies, a specialist SaaS broker is often the better fit. See what type of M&A advisor you should choose.
Ready to sell? List your startup on Acquire.com and reach thousands of vetted buyers. (Looking to buy instead? Browse startups for sale.)
The content on this site is not intended to provide legal, financial, or M&A advice. It is for information purposes only, and any links provided are for your convenience. Please seek the services of an M&A professional before any M&A transaction. It is not Acquire’s intention to solicit or interfere with any established relationship you may have with any M&A professional.