What Buyers Can Expect from APS

The normal flow of the buying process is as follows:

1. Submit the buyer's Information form on the Register to Buy page. All information collected is kept completely confidential and will never be shared with anyone outside our company.
2. We will contact you and have you fill out some forms lsuch as a confidentiality agreement.
3. We will discuss the listings and send you information on firms you are interested in. We'll work together to find a practice that fits your requirements.
4. Once we find the right practice, we will interview the seller to gain further information about the policies, procedures and operations of the practice.
5. If the practice is of interest, we'll discuss pricing and terms. You can then request whatever additional information is needed to make your decision.
6. There might be a meeting between the seller and buyer.
7. You will make an offer to purchase by faxing or mailing a Letter of Intent to Accounting Practice Sales. This will establish price and terms and allow us to cease selling efforts to other parties. Note that this Letter must be received before any due diligence investigations begin.
8. Once the Letter of Intent is signed by both parties buyer and seller will set up a time to perform due diligence investigations for the purpose of verifying the representations made previously. This is usually a good time to also discuss the transition.
9. One party, usually the buyer, will prepare the Purchase Agreement. It is recommended that both sides engage attorneys.
10. If outside financing is used the buyer will need to get loan approval and a commitment letter. Loan approval wil require the seller and the buyer to submit certain information to the lender.
    Sign the Purchase Agreement and close with the seller.

Sellers represented by Accounting Practice Sales generally will not bear the risk of client retention. At Accounting Practice Sales, we believe that buyers have control over client satisfaction and that practices should not be sold under any type of "seller guarantee" or pricing formula that is based on the buyer's success.

We urge you to consider our view by reading the article entitled "Who Should Bear the Risk of Client Retention?"

Most practices will be sold for cash to the seller at closing or with a note that is fixed in amount and is not contingent on the future success of the buyer. If a seller desires to make an exception to this general principal, we will inform you of that choice prior to closing.

All of our listings at Accounting Practice Sales include goodwill, furniture, equipment and software in the sales price. Sellers retain the accounts receivable, work in progress and all debt.

We hope this answers all your questions about the buying process. Please contact us with any questions; we're happy to clarify any information. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you!