Guides for owners
thinking about a sale.
Direct, practical answers to the questions we hear most from founders and business owners on advisors, process, valuation, and buyers in the lower middle market.
Start here.
Four guides that cover most of what an owner needs before a first conversation: how a sale runs, how buyers value a business, what you actually keep, and how to pick the firm that runs it. Each one also appears under its topic tab.
Sell-Side M&A Process: A Guide for Lower Middle Market Business Owners
A 14-step walkthrough of how a sell-side process actually runs, from preparation through closing and the post-closing transition.
Read the Guide → The Basics · Updated September 24, 2026EBITDA and Business Valuation Basics: What Every Owner Should Know
What EBITDA actually measures, why buyers use multiples, and the common adjustments owners should understand.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · September 23, 2026What You Keep After Selling Your Business (2026)
A $20 million offer is not $20 million in your bank account. What comes out at closing, what gets paid later, and what federal and state taxes take.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · October 24, 2026How to Minimize Taxes When Selling Your Business (2026)
Twelve legal moves to cut the tax on a sale, the deadline for each, and a hypothetical $20 million example where the same price leaves $12.6 million or $17.9 million after federal tax.
Read the Guide → Choosing an Advisor · Updated July 30, 2026How to Choose an M&A Advisor for a Founder-Led Business
A practical framework for evaluating advisors when the business is your biggest asset and your life's work.
Read the Guide →Preparing to sell.
The work that happens before a process starts, and the places sellers quietly lose money at the end of one. Read these in order and you will know roughly what the next few years look like.
Should I Sell My Building With My Business? (2026)
Sell your building with your business, keep it and lease it to the buyer, or do a sale-leaseback? Rent, cap rates, taxes, and a landlord lease checklist.
Read the Guide → Plumbing · October 29, 2026How to Prepare a Plumbing Business for Sale in 2026: Licensing, Technicians, and Buyer Diligence
How to prepare a plumbing business for sale in 2026: license qualifiers, technician retention, dispatch and maintenance records, fleet, bonding and insurance.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · August 10, 2026Lower Middle Market M&A Outlook 2026
Deal activity in this size range is up while global counts fall. Why the 13.4x multiple and the $1.1 trillion of dry powder everyone quotes describe a market several times larger than yours.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · Updated September 8, 2026Business Succession Planning: A Guide for Family-Owned and Founder-Owned Companies
How to separate leadership succession from ownership succession, a phased three-to-ten-year timeline, the governance that prevents family conflict, and how M&A advisor fee models compare.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · Updated July 30, 2026What Buyers Look for in an Acquisition Target
The operational, financial, and management factors that shape how buyers evaluate and price a business.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · September 23, 2026How to Make Your Business Less Dependent on You (2026)
Buyers pay for a business that keeps working after you leave. The three-month test buyers use, seven steps to build a business that runs without you, and how long it takes.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · Updated August 1, 2026Quality of Earnings: What a QoE Actually Finds
Most of the QoE statistics quoted at sellers cannot be traced to any primary source. What the report actually costs, and which of your add-backs it kills.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · September 24, 2026EBITDA Add-Backs: A Seller’s Guide to What Holds Up (2026)
Buyers pay a multiple of every dollar you add back. Which add-backs hold up, the proof each needs, the adjustments that lower your number, and a sample schedule.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · Updated September 8, 2026Deal Structure: The Six Ways Buyers Build an Offer
Two offers at the same valuation can pay very differently. Cash, earnouts, rollover, seller notes, working capital, and staged buyouts, and which way each one shifts the risk.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · Updated August 1, 2026The Working Capital Peg: How Sellers Lose at Close
The least-read line in a purchase agreement. Six specific traps that move six figures after you have already agreed a price, and why buyers’ calculations are accepted in 7 of every 10 adjustments.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · August 12, 2026Earnouts, Escrows, and Holdbacks: What Is Actually Guaranteed
An earnout pays only if the business hits agreed targets after closing, and the buyer controls the books that decide it. Revenue against EBITDA, what escrow and holdback do differently, and what a seller can negotiate before signing.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · October 24, 2026Seller Financing in a Business Sale (2026): How Seller Notes Work and What Owners Risk
What a seller note is, a worked $5 million example with a default after year two, where your note ranks behind bank debt and SBA standby terms, what you can recover if the buyer stops paying, and how the payments are taxed.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · October 23, 2026Rollover Equity Explained: What Your Second Bite Is Really Worth (2026)
Typical rollover percentages, why the class of equity matters more than the percentage, a worked waterfall at three exit values, the terms to negotiate, and how the rolled portion is taxed.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · September 2, 2026How Sellers Protect Themselves After Closing
The median escrow is 10% of the deal without reps and warranties insurance and 0.5% with it. What caps, baskets, survival periods, and a policy each do to the money you keep.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · September 23, 2026Letter of Intent: What to Negotiate Before You Sign (2026)
The letter of intent is the last point where buyers compete for your business. What binds when you sign, how long exclusivity should last, and the 12 terms to settle first.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · September 23, 2026What You Keep After Selling Your Business (2026)
A $20 million offer is not $20 million in your bank account. What comes out at closing, what gets paid later, and what federal and state taxes take.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · September 22, 2026Asset Sale vs. Stock Sale: What Business Owners Need to Know in 2026
What each structure actually transfers, which liabilities follow the business, and how contracts, employees, taxes, and the purchase agreement change what a seller keeps.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · September 16, 2026Family Business Succession Planning 2026: What to Do When There's No One to Take Over
When no family member or employee is ready to take over: five realistic paths compared on valuation, cash at closing, employee continuity, and your role after closing, and why one unsolicited offer is not a market price.
Read the Guide → MSP & IT Services · September 16, 2026How to Prepare an MSP for Sale: A 24-Month Readiness Checklist (2026)
What to fix at 24, 12, and 6 months out: contracted recurring revenue and founder dependence first, then contract terms and customer concentration, then the PSA, RMM, and SLA records buyers test.
Read the Guide → Pet Care & Dog Daycare · September 17, 2026How to Prepare a Dog Daycare Business for Sale in 2026
A two-phase readiness timeline: what needs 12 to 24 months of operating history, and what you confirm in the last three to six. Adjusted EBITDA support, owner dependence, membership and deferred revenue, licensing and lease consent, and facility condition.
Read the Guide → Preschool & Childcare · September 17, 2026How to Prepare a Preschool or Childcare Business for Sale in 2026
Enrollment that survives a buyer’s test: licensed capacity against usable capacity by classroom, tuition and subsidy reconciled to cash, credential and licensing files, lease consent, and the state change-of-ownership approvals that set the closing date.
Read the Guide →The sale process.
How a sell-side process runs from first call to wire, how long each phase really takes, and the language you will hear along the way.
Will I Have to Keep Working After I Sell My Business? (2026)
Will you have to keep working after you sell your business? How long buyers ask sellers to stay, what you are paid, and what happens if the job ends early.
Read the Guide → The Sale Process · November 5, 2026Do I Have to Sign a Non-Compete When I Sell My Business? (2026)
Must you sign a non-compete when you sell your business? The law after the FTC rule, typical length and scope, the tax trap, and what to negotiate.
Read the Guide → The Sale Process · November 5, 2026How to Compare Multiple Letters of Intent Before Signing Exclusivity (2026)
Compare letters of intent before signing exclusivity: cash at closing vs. headline price, financing proof, remaining diligence, and what counsel should review.
Read the Guide → Preschool & Childcare · October 29, 2026How to Evaluate an Acquisition Offer for Your Preschool or Childcare Business (2026)
How to evaluate an acquisition offer for a preschool or childcare business: cash at closing, buyer funding, real estate, licensing approvals, confidentiality.
Read the Guide → Sale Process · Updated September 8, 2026Sell-Side M&A Process: A Guide for Lower Middle Market Business Owners
A 14-step walkthrough of how a sell-side process actually runs, from preparation through closing and the post-closing transition.
Read the Guide → Sale Process · Updated July 30, 2026How Long Does It Take to Sell a Business in the Lower Middle Market?
Realistic timelines for each phase of a sale, and the factors that most often speed up or stall a deal.
Read the Guide → Sale Process · Updated July 30, 2026Strategic Buyer vs. Private Equity Buyer: Which Is Better for Sellers?
How the two buyer types differ on price, terms, speed, and what happens to the business after close.
Read the Guide → The Sale Process · October 24, 2026Selling to an ESOP vs. Private Equity vs. a Strategic Buyer (2026): What Owners Should Compare
An ESOP, a private equity firm, and a strategic buyer compared on cash at closing, seller notes, the fair market value cap on ESOP pricing, what happens to employees, Section 1042 tax deferral, and closing certainty.
Read the Guide → Sale Process · August 18, 2026What is an M&A Auction Process?
How a multi-buyer auction runs stage by stage, and how it compares with negotiating quietly with one buyer.
Read the Guide → Sale Process · September 7, 2026Due Diligence Checklist: What Buyers Request
What the buyer’s accountants, lawyers, and lenders actually ask for after the LOI, and how to have it ready first.
Read the Guide → Sale Process · September 25, 2026When to Tell Employees You Are Selling Your Business (2026)
Who to tell first, who hears at signing or closing, what to say, how stay bonuses work, what the WARN Act requires, and what changes for staff in an asset or stock sale.
Read the Guide → Sale Process · September 20, 2026Someone Wants to Buy My Business: How to Evaluate an Unsolicited Offer (2026)
Verify the buyer, protect confidentiality, and see how the headline price differs from cash at closing before you choose among four responses.
Read the Guide → Dog Daycare & Pet Care · October 13, 2026How to Evaluate an Offer for Your Dog Daycare or Pet-Care Business (2026)
Compare one buyer’s price with an independent valuation, separate cash at closing from the headline, and check how each buyer treats unused packages, leases, and licenses.
Read the Guide → Sale Process · September 25, 2026Selling Your Business to a Search Fund or Independent Sponsor (2026)
How searchers and sponsors finance an offer, the SBA rules that shape your seller note and role, the terms they ask for, and how to vet one before you grant exclusivity.
Read the Guide → Reference · Updated July 30, 2026M&A Glossary: Lower Middle Market Terms Explained
Plain-language definitions of IOI, LOI, EBITDA, rollover equity, earnouts, and the other terms you'll hear during a sale.
Read the Guide →Valuation and what businesses sell for.
What buyers pay and why. Start with the basics, then find the multiples for your industry. Advisor comparisons for these same sectors are under By Sector.
How to Price a Business for Sale in 2026: Asking Price vs. Buyer Offers
How to price a business for sale in 2026: published asking price vs. private range vs. invited bids, building a defensible range, and comparing offers on cash at closing.
Read the Guide → The Basics · Updated September 24, 2026EBITDA and Business Valuation Basics: What Every Owner Should Know
What EBITDA actually measures, why buyers use multiples, and the common adjustments owners should understand.
Read the Guide → Business Services · Updated August 1, 2026Business Services Valuation Multiples
“Business services” is a filing cabinet, not a sector. A composite multiple covering both pest control and commodity staffing tells an owner nothing, and the reason is that contracted revenue and recurring revenue are not the same thing.
Read the Guide → Childcare & Daycare · August 1, 2026Childcare & Daycare Valuation Multiples: What Centers Sell For
Every published multiple ladder for this sector traces back to brokerage marketing rather than transaction data. What centers actually sell for by operator size, and why occupancy sets the ceiling on all of it.
Read the Guide → Dental & Orthodontics · September 16, 2026Dental Practice Valuation Multiples (2026): What DSOs and Private Buyers Actually Pay
SDE and adjusted EBITDA multiples cannot be compared until you check the earnings behind each. Reported ranges by practice size, why a DSO and an individual dentist price the same practice differently, and what 60% to 70% cash at closing leaves deferred.
Read the Guide → Accounting & CPA Firms · October 13, 2026How to Value an Accounting or CPA Firm Before a Sale
Normalize partner pay, test which clients will transfer, weigh attest and ownership rules, and follow a worked example from enterprise value to cash at closing.
Read the Guide → Accounting & CPA Firms · October 23, 2026Selling a CPA Firm to Private Equity in 2026: What Owners Need to Know
How private equity offers split attest and nonattest work, what state licensing and independence rules require, what reaches you at closing, and how PE compares with internal succession or a regional merger.
Read the Guide → Commercial Landscaping · October 23, 2026Selling a Commercial Landscaping Company (2026)
Who is buying commercial landscaping companies, what they pay at each size, and how buyers price maintenance contracts, snow, construction, fleet and H-2B labor.
Read the Guide → Commercial Landscaping · October 23, 2026M&A Advisors and Business Brokers for Commercial Landscaping Companies (2026)
Salt Creek Advisory, CCG Advisors, Calder Capital, Keystone Business Advisors and Harris Williams compared for commercial landscaping owners on deal-size fit, documented sector sales and fees.
Read the Guide → Commercial Landscaping · October 26, 2026Commercial Landscaping Valuation Multiples (2026)
SDE for owner-run firms, EBITDA above that. What the published figures are built on, and how buyers price snow, fleet age, retention and the mix of maintenance and construction.
Read the Guide → Commercial Landscaping · October 26, 2026Who Buys Commercial Landscaping Companies in 2026
The platforms, new sponsors and strategic buyers acquiring commercial landscapers this year, why BrightView is not among them, and how each buyer type structures an offer.
Read the Guide → HVAC & Home Services · October 13, 2026HVAC and Plumbing Company Valuation Multiples
SDE for small shops, EBITDA once a buyer hires a manager. What the data shows at each size, why the 9.5x headline average runs high, and how an offer turns into cash at closing.
Read the Guide → Dog Daycare & Pet Care · Updated September 24, 2026Dog Daycare & Pet Care Valuation Multiples
Boarding, daycare, and grooming get underwritten as three separate businesses even when they share a building. The occupancy math behind the margin, and what veterinary consolidation says about where this is heading.
Read the Guide → Manufacturing & Industrials · Updated August 1, 2026Manufacturing Valuation Multiples: What Plants Sell For
EBITDA ignores the equipment a plant cannot avoid replacing. Subtract maintenance capex and the multiple changes shape, which is most of why private equity and strategic buyers quote such different numbers for the same business.
Read the Guide → MSP & IT Services · July 30, 2026MSP Valuation Multiples: What Managed IT Services Businesses Sell For
Published EV/EBITDA multiples by deal size and segment, why MSPs trade below the broader IT services market, and what moves a shop up or down its range.
Read the Guide →By sector.
The advisors, buyers, and consolidators active in the industries we work in. Pair each of these with the matching guide under Valuation. We advise directly in five of them: preschool and childcare, business services, industrials and manufacturing, MSP and IT services, and dog daycare and pet care.
Who Should Value a Preschool or Childcare Business Before a Sale? (2026)
Who should value a preschool or childcare business before a sale: sale estimate, broker opinion, or credentialed appraisal, with five providers compared.
Read the Guide → Sector Focus · November 2, 2026Who Buys Plumbing Companies in 2026
The private equity platforms, new sponsors and strategic buyers acquiring plumbing companies in 2026, the deals they announced and how each structures an offer.
Read the Guide → Sector Focus · November 2, 2026Who Buys HVAC Companies in 2026
The private equity platforms, strategic buyers, family offices and ESOPs acquiring HVAC companies in 2026, with a deal log and how each structures an offer.
Read the Guide → Sector Focus · November 1, 2026How to Sell an Electrical Contracting Business in 2026: Licensing, Backlog, and Buyer Offers
How to sell an electrical contracting business in 2026: license continuity, key electricians, WIP and backlog, bonded work, adjusted EBITDA, and buyer offers.
Read the Guide → Sector Focus · November 1, 2026How to Sell an HVAC Business in 2026: An Owner’s Guide
How to sell an HVAC business in 2026: timing, unsolicited offers, strategic vs. sponsor buyers, licensing continuity, adjusted EBITDA, and cash at closing.
Read the Guide → Sector Focus · November 1, 2026How to Sell a Franchise Business in 2026: A Guide for Multi-Unit Owners
How to sell a multi-unit franchise in 2026: transfer terms, franchisor approval, leases, unit-level earnings, qualified buyers, and cash at closing.
Read the Guide → Sector Focus · October 30, 2026Who Buys Preschool and Childcare Businesses in 2026
Who buys preschool and childcare businesses in 2026: national chains, PE-backed platforms, regional operators and individual buyers, and what each pays for.
Read the Guide → MSP & IT Services · October 29, 2026How to Sell a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) in 2026: An Owner’s Guide
How to sell an MSSP in 2026: separating security fees from tool resale, proving SOC delivery, incident history, contract risk, buyer types and deal terms.
Read the Guide → Commercial Cleaning · October 29, 2026How to Sell a Commercial Cleaning Business in 2026: Contracts, Buyers, and Deal Terms
How to sell a commercial cleaning business in 2026: contract consent and rebid terms, wage pass-through, account-level profit, buyer types and cash at closing.
Read the Guide → Early Childhood Education · Updated July 30, 2026Best M&A Advisors for Early Childhood Education
Six advisors compared including HINGE and SchoolWise, what preschools actually sell for, and the platforms buying right now.
Read the Guide → Business Services · Updated July 30, 2026Best M&A Advisors for Business Services
Six advisors compared by vertical, published fee benchmarks, and how many deals Alpine’s platforms closed last year.
Read the Guide → Manufacturing & Industrials · Updated July 30, 2026Best M&A Advisors for Manufacturing & Industrials
Six advisors compared using Axial’s 2026 industrials rankings, fee benchmarks, and why industrials is the busiest category in the market.
Read the Guide → Dog Daycare & Pet Care · August 5, 2026Best M&A Advisors for Pet Care & Dog Daycare Businesses
PET|VET, Peakstone Group, Lincoln International, Capstone Partners, DanaShift, and Salt Creek compared for owners of dog daycares, boarding facilities, grooming operations, and pet resorts.
Read the Guide → MSP & IT Services · Updated September 10, 2026Best M&A Advisors for MSPs & Managed Service Providers
Not one of the six publishes an MSP deal count you can check against anything but its own website. What the FINRA records show instead, and why the firm ranking first for this search works for buyers.
Read the Guide → MSP & IT Services · October 23, 2026Who Buys MSP Businesses in 2026? Strategic vs. Private Equity-Backed Buyers
Operating MSPs, PE-backed platforms, and sponsors forming a new platform compared on cash at closing, rollover equity, client consents, and what each plans for your staff and clients.
Read the Guide → Accounting & CPA Firms · August 24, 2026Best M&A Advisors for Accounting & CPA Firms
Four advisors compared for practice owners weighing a sale, an internal successor, or a PE platform, with what firms actually sell for on normalized EBITDA.
Read the Guide → HVAC & Home Services · August 24, 2026Best M&A Advisors for HVAC Companies
Salt Creek, Good Hope, Align, Cetane, CT Acquisitions, and Schryver compared on deal-size fit, who the advisor actually represents, and which firms publish a fee model at all.
Read the Guide → Dental & Orthodontics · August 27, 2026Best M&A Advisors for Dental Practices
Salt Creek, TUSK, McLerran, PTS, Large Practice Sales, ADS, and Henry Schein compared on practice-size fit, fee transparency, and whether a DSO or an individual dentist is the better buyer.
Read the Guide → Plumbing & Home Services · August 28, 2026Best M&A Advisors for Plumbing Companies
Salt Creek, Good Hope, SF&P, The Advisory IB, Main Street Wealth, Ridgefield, and Three Sixty Seven compared on fee model, deal-size fit, and how much of the price a PE platform actually pays at closing.
Read the Guide → Legal Services & Pet Care · Updated July 30, 2026Why Roll-Ups Are Heating Up in Legal Services and Pet Care
Why two fragmented, owner-heavy industries are attracting active roll-up interest, and what it means if you're in one.
Read the Guide →Choosing an advisor.
Who actually does this work, what the fee should be, and how to tell an investment bank from a broker before you sign anything. Read these if you are still deciding who to call.
How to Choose an M&A Advisor for a Founder-Led Business
A practical framework for evaluating advisors when the business is your biggest asset and your life's work.
Read the Guide → Choosing an Advisor · Updated July 30, 2026Sell-Side Advisor vs. Business Broker: What’s the Difference?
Where brokers and investment banks overlap, where they diverge, and which one fits your size and situation.
Read the Guide → Choosing an Advisor · Updated July 30, 2026Best M&A Advisors for Selling a $20 Million Company in 2026
Twelve firms compared, what survey data says a $20M success fee should actually cost, and the retainer question most owners forget to ask.
Read the Guide → Choosing an Advisor · Updated July 30, 2026Top Lower Middle Market Investment Banks in 2026
Thirteen firms compared on their own strengths, what the league tables genuinely measure and where they stop, and real fee benchmarks.
Read the Guide → Choosing an Advisor · August 7, 2026M&A Advisor Fees: What a Sale Actually Costs
Retainers, Lehman formulas, and pure success fees compared, plus the four engagement-letter terms that move your total cost more than the headline percentage does.
Read the Guide → Choosing an Advisor · Updated July 30, 2026Best Business Valuation Firms for a Lower Middle Market Sale
Most “best business valuation firm” lists mix tax, litigation, and startup work into one ranking. This one is scoped to a single job: valuing a business ahead of a sale.
Read the Guide → Choosing an Advisor · August 17, 2026Best M&A Advisors and Investment Banks in Chicago for Lower Middle Market Deals (2026)
Five firms compared on deal size, sector coverage, principal access and fees, including ours, with the disclosure that we wrote the list and why the order is not a ranking.
Read the Guide → Choosing an Advisor · August 23, 2026Best Boutique M&A Firms for Founder-Led Lower Middle Market Companies (2026)
Six boutique M&A firms compared on deal size, fees, and principal involvement, including ours, with the disclosure that we wrote the list and why the order is not a ranking.
Read the Guide → Choosing an Advisor · September 15, 2026Best Exit Planning Advisors and Consultants for Business Owners (2026)
Six firms and organizations compared on specialization, fee model, deal size and senior involvement, including ours, with the disclosure that we wrote the list and why it is a fit exercise rather than a ranking.
Read the Guide →From the founders.
Why we built the firm the way we did, and a few things we think about that have nothing to do with a deal.
Why We Built Salt Creek Around Relationships, Not Transactions
Jack Pitts on why community and real relationships are a better foundation for this business than treating deals as pure transactions.
Read the Note → Jack Pitts · July 1, 2026Coming Home: Family, the Midwest, and This Fourth of July
A personal note from Jack Pitts on leaving private equity in New York, coming home, and building something with his brother.
Read the Note → Connor Pitts · June 30, 2026Community, the Midwest, and What It Means to Sell a Family Business
Connor Pitts on Midwest community, growing up around a family business, and what actually changes for a town when one gets sold.
Read the Note → Jack Pitts · June 18, 2026How AI Is Actually Changing Business (Not the Hype Version)
A grounded look at where AI helps, where it falls short, and how we use it at Salt Creek Advisory
Read the Guide →