By Sean
A letter of intent is the preliminary agreement entered into between a buyer and a seller. This document summarizes the terms and conditions that a buyer is proposing. When a LOI is executed, then the Buyer and Seller have in principle agreed to the terms and conditions of the transaction. We will generally be taking the Buyers point of view as in previous posts. Read more
By Sean
We issued a press release recently with the results of a market research survey:
A new survey shows small businesses are dissatisfied with their credit card processing arrangements. Transparent Financial Services (FeeFighters), operator of the only comparison shopping website for business financial services, today released the results of a survey that indicates many small businesses have little trust or loyalty to their credit card processor (also known as a merchant account provider). Major findings of the survey include: Read more
By Sean
As promised, we have created a sample indication of interest (IOI) to help our readers understand what a typical IOI looks like. As you read the document, you will notice that is generally follows our outline from our Indication of Interest post. This IOI is not meant to be a perfect fit for all situations. Instead, it should be used as a guide as you, the potential Buyer, considers what information needs to be conveyed as you evaluate and bid on businesses for sale. Read more
By Sean
An Indication of Interest (IOI) is an important document for businesses for sale. An IOI is a non-binding offer submitted to Seller to indicate the valuation in general terms that the Buyer would pay. This valuation is usually expressed in a dollar range by the potential Buyer. Obviously, IOIs may have a different order for paragraphs and information but generally an IOI contains the following information. Read more
By Sean
If you are looking to buy a company, you want to be sure and keep your eyes wide open. While you should generally stick with an industry you have experience with, it sometimes might be advantageous to consider companies or industries that you outside the box. If you feel you are a good operator and are able to get up to speed on an industry, then you should widen the range of industries you are evaluating. Read more
By Sean
By Sean
A non disclosure agreement (NDA) is a confidentiality agreement between two parties. This basically prevents one of the parties from disclosing the information specified in the agreement. This helps to ensure proprietary and sensitive material is kept confidential. This confidentiality agreement is also used in contract discussions, etc. Read more
By Sean
Interchange plus pricing is the most transparent form of pricing for credit card processing. While tiered and other forms of pricing mean processors can charge arbitrary markups, the processor markup for interchange plus pricing is fixed no matter what kind of transaction occurs. Read more
By Sean
An engagement letter is a combination of items – it’s a proposal, contract and listing of services to be provided. It formalizes the relationships between a customer (you or the person needing the services) and service provider (e.g., a consultant). Key items included in an engagement letter include the work to be performed, project deliverables (e.g., presentation, written work) and timing / structure of any payments. Engagement letters are important in several different cases – whether you are trying to buy or sell a business, hiring consultants to evaluate your industry, conduct customer surveys, evaluate new product lines, etc. Read more
By Sean
For several months our free auction software has been helping business owners get a better deal on their credit card processing. Today we launched a new version that is significantly improved. The improvements are mainly in the user interface, reducing the number of steps from 7 to 3 and providing better responsiveness and error feedback. If you own a small business and would like a better deal on your credit card processing, give it a shot. Read more
