--- title: "Selling Your Business: Records Buyers Ask For | MCC" description: "The financial package, add-backs and cleanup buyers expect. Worked normalization example." url: "https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/bookkeeping/guides/selling-your-business-records-buyers-will-ask-for" --- Bookkeeping guide · Updated October 12, 2026 # Selling Your Business: Records Buyers Will Ask For When a buyer looks at a small business, the first question is whether the numbers can be trusted. Sellers with organized books move faster and face fewer price reductions. Start preparing well before you list the business. A lawyer and a CPA should guide the deal itself. By [Matthew Coleman](/about), MCC Solutions **Quick answer.** Buyers of a small business typically ask for profit and loss statements and balance sheets for several years plus year-to-date, the tax returns for the same years, bank statements, sales tax filing history, payroll reports and a list of loans and leases. Want this handled for you? Monthly bookkeeping, cleanup and year-end close for small businesses. Start with a free health check of your books. [Free health check](/bookkeeping/health-check)[Get a quote](/bookkeeping/#interest) **Related:** [Trial balance explained](/bookkeeping/guides/trial-balance-explained) · [Owner contribution or loan](/bookkeeping/guides/owner-equity-and-capital-contributions) · [Closing entries and retained earnings](/bookkeeping/guides/closing-entries-and-retained-earnings) **Free tools:** [Price per unit calculator](/bookkeeping/price-per-unit-calculator) · [Credit card fee calculator](/bookkeeping/credit-card-fee-calculator) [![Intuit ProAdvisor Gold tier badge](/img/credentials/intuit-proadvisor-gold.png)](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77)Gold tier in Intuit's ProAdvisor program. [See my Intuit listing](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77) Keeping your own books? Tallyfinch does invoices, bank import and reports on your computer. [See Tallyfinch](/bookkeeping/mcc-books-downloadable-bookkeeping-software) ## The core financial package Expect to provide profit and loss statements and balance sheets for several years, plus year-to-date figures. Provide the tax returns for the same years, because buyers compare the returns with the statements. Add bank statements, a sales tax filing history, payroll reports and a list of loans and leases. Signing a will in New Jersey? [The estate signing package (notary, witnesses and the Surrogate run)](/notary/packages/estate-package), or [book a notary visit in New Jersey](/notary/#order). If the books and the returns disagree, be ready to show a reconciliation. Unexplained differences cost credibility. ## Normalize and explain the numbers Owners often run personal costs through the business or pay themselves in unusual ways. Buyers want to see what the business would earn under a new owner, so list any one-time items and owner perks. Support each adjustment with a document. A schedule of these adjustments, prepared with your CPA, is a standard part of the package. Be honest. Overstated adjustments are found in due diligence and damage trust. ## Details behind the statements Prepare aging reports for receivables and payables, the inventory count and valuation, a fixed asset register, customer and vendor lists with sales concentration, and contracts. Show the schedule for loans and leases that may transfer. Include the W-9 and 1099 history if contractors are important. Buyers will check sales tax compliance and payroll tax filings, so make sure those are current. ## Clean up before listing Reconcile every account, clear uncategorized items, fix known errors with documented entries, and consider having a CPA prepare reviewed financial statements for the last year. Resolve open tax notices. Tidy the chart of accounts so categories mean the same thing across years. Cleaning up takes months if the books are behind. Start early. ## Protect confidentiality and organize the data room Use a secure shared folder with a clear index and share records with serious buyers under a signed confidentiality agreement. Remove personal data that is not needed and restrict access to payroll and tax ID details. Log what each party viewed. Keep a copy of everything shared, so you know what the buyer has seen. After closing, provide the buyer with the records they are entitled to, and keep your own for the retention period. A good test is to hand a friend with no knowledge of your business the folder and ask three questions: how much did the business earn last year, who are the biggest customers, and what does it owe. If they can answer from the documents alone within an hour, a buyer's accountant probably can too. Finally, keep your own reports consistent from month to month. Buyers distrust statements that change format or categories every year, because they cannot compare periods, and that doubt can lower an offer. Note any change in method or category in a short memo, so a reader understands why a number moved. ## Worked example with numbers A buyer asks for three years of statements, tax returns, a list of add-backs and customer concentration. Normalize the profit: net income $85,000, plus one-time legal $6,000, plus owner's personal vehicle $4,000 equals adjusted $95,000. Document each add-back with support. ## Mistakes that cost money Unreconciled books. Add-backs with no support. Missing contracts. ## Check your work Have a person outside the business read the package and list questions. ## Common questions **Will buyers accept my own spreadsheet?** Rarely for anything beyond a very small deal. Statements from accounting software tied to tax returns are more credible. **Should I disclose problems?** Yes, with advice from your attorney. Problems found later can derail a deal or lead to claims. **How early should I start?** A year or more before listing is ideal, though even a few months of cleanup helps. This guide is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Rules, fees and due dates change; check with the IRS, the NJ Division of Taxation or a licensed professional for your situation. Let us handle it [### Monthly bookkeeping Categorizing, reconciling and monthly reports, with cleanup, payroll and NJ filings available. Bookkeeping →](/bookkeeping/) More guides - [Buying a Business: Opening the Books and First-Year Records](/bookkeeping/guides/buying-a-business-opening-books-and-first-year-records) - [Side Hustle Bookkeeping for People With a Day Job](/bookkeeping/guides/side-hustle-bookkeeping-for-people-with-a-day-job) - [Bookkeeping for Contractors and Builders](/bookkeeping/guides/bookkeeping-for-contractors) - [Restaurant Bookkeeping: Sales, Tips and Food Cost](/bookkeeping/guides/bookkeeping-for-restaurants) Free tool - [Bookkeeping health check](/bookkeeping/health-check) [All guides](/bookkeeping/guides) Reach families handling estates, aging parents and life changes who read this guide: [advertise here](/advertise#family). Do it yourself ### Business Valuation & Three-Statement Cash Flow Forecaster Enter last year and a few drivers; get linked statements that balance, a DCF value, and a grid showing how much the answer moves with your assumptions. [See what's inside ($49)](/toolkits/business-valuation-forecaster)14-day full refund Tallyfinch ### Books you keep on your own computer Tallyfinch does invoices, bills, bank import, reconciliation and the main reports, in a file you own. $99 once, then $5 a month for updates; the app keeps working if you stop the plan. It does not do payroll or sales tax filing. The free download records up to 60 entries. [See Tallyfinch](/bookkeeping/mcc-books-downloadable-bookkeeping-software) [Download it free](/tools/pro/trial/mccBooks) [Compare the three apps](/software) ## Rather have us keep the books? Ask for a quote. [Get a Quote](/bookkeeping/#interest)[Call (908) 444-6373](tel:+19084446373)