Start with the evidence you already have.
A readiness review looks at the financial information available for a proposed sale and the gaps that may need resolving. The objective is a practical preparation list, with responsibilities and priorities agreed around your timing.
Reconcile the trading story.
Annual accounts, monthly management reports and forecasts should tell a coherent story. Explain changes in margins, revenue recognition, exceptional items and the cash position. Where figures do not reconcile, identify the cause before circulating them to prospective buyers.
Make dependencies visible.
Record material customer and supplier concentrations, the owner’s responsibilities and the roles needed after a sale. Separate signed work from pipeline. Contract terms and legal conclusions should be reviewed by the appropriate advisers; the financial analysis should make its assumptions explicit.
Working capital needs attention.
A profitable business can still need cash to fund stock, debtors and seasonal trading. Prepare debtor and stock ageing, creditor information and monthly working-capital patterns. A single year-end balance may not represent the resources needed to operate normally.
An actionable preparation plan.
Agree which issues need resolving before approaching buyers, which can be explained with evidence and which require specialist input. The output can include an information-gap list and a prioritised plan. It does not replace a buyer’s due diligence or promise a sale or higher price.