Coming to the decision to sell your healthcare practice is no easy decision. There are a lot of moving pieces to consider when putting your healthcare business for sale. The slightest mistake can cost you a lot of money in the form of lower value and hefty fees. Luckily, the experts at Aptus Exchange are here to help you prepare for one of the biggest decisions in your career.
Before you start the process, you should first ask yourself these four questions:
- Why do you want to sell your healthcare practice?
- What type of buyer are you looking for?
- What do you want your staff, patients, and yourself to get out of selling your practice?
- When do you want to sell your practice?
These are important issues that will greatly impact placing your healthcare business for sale. Your “why” will help you determine your needs—if you really want to sell your practice or if you are frustrated and going through a rough patch.
Follow These Tips to Get Started
These are the tips that healthcare practice brokers recommend. Following these tips will go a long way toward ensuring a successful practice transition.
Organize Your Business for Sale Right Now
Ensuring your business is organized is just good business. However, in the case of selling your healthcare practice, you want to make sure you take the necessary steps to ensure your paperwork and finances are in order just in case a sale is your course of action.
Keep Your Monthly Statements in Order
The first rule of business is to keep your financial statements in order. Your financial records will be the first introduction to your business a potential buyer will have. Depending on the state of your finances, this is usually what helps a buyer decide what they are willing to pay for your practice. Make sure your records are easy to understand and to explain.
Review Your Records and Minutes Taken
It’s important to review all corporate minutes and records and ensure all minutes and filings are updated.
Review All Contracts with Suppliers, Customers, and Third Parties
When reviewing your contracts, take into consideration whether a desirable contract is transferable. Also, when entering into new contracts, analyze whether they will be valuable to potential buyers.
Review Your Employment Contracts
Consider non-compete agreements with key employees. Healthcare buyers typically want key employees to stay on after the sale. Enforcing non-compete agreements also varies state to state.
Review Your Rental and Equipment Leasing Agreements
Review your leases to see if they can be transferred. Also, review leasing agreements for how much your landlord stands to gain from the sale of your healthcare practice.
Review Your Insurance Coverage
What type of insurance do you have? Liability insurance can be either occurrence based or claims made. If your insurance is claims made, your buyer may require you to purchase “tail insurance” just in case.
Ensure You Update Your Policies and Procedures
Update and streamline your processes and procedures. If you have unwritten rules, it’s time to put them in writing so that everyone is on the same page.
Take Care of Old Accounts
Write off old balances and collect on outstanding accounts. When you sell your healthcare practice, you don’t want any outstanding accounts holding your sale back.
Clean Out Your Storage
Clean out unused equipment. If you don’t already have a plan in place to remove and destroy old records, there is no time like the present to put one in place.
Be upfront and honest with your employees, patients, referral sources, and clients when the time is right. That being, after you’ve made the decision to sell and already have a buyer and sale is imminent. You don’t want to tell too much too soon.
