How to Sell Your Landscaping Business: A Complete Guide

When Is the Right Time to Sell?

Timing can significantly influence the outcome of selling your landscaping company. While some owners sell due to retirement or relocation, others may need quick access to capital. It’s crucial to assess both personal motivations and business health when making this decision.

Indicators that it might be the right time to sell include:

• You’ve reached your financial or personal goals.
  
• You’re preparing to retire and have no successors.
  
• Business performance is declining and requires a fresh perspective.
  
• You want to explore other entrepreneurial ventures.
  
• The local or national market is peaking, offering better sale prices.
  

Importantly, you shouldn’t rush this decision. Begin preparing at least two to six months in advance. This period allows you to streamline operations, settle debts, organize financials, and prepare employee contracts—all of which help ensure a smoother transaction and a higher sale price.

Types of Buyers for Landscaping Companies

Understanding potential buyer categories can help tailor your pitch and negotiation strategy. Typically, sellers have four main options when considering who to sell their landscaping business to:

Selling to a Strategic Buyer

Strategic buyers are businesses from adjacent industries that benefit by acquiring a landscaping company. These could include property management firms, irrigation service providers, or even real estate developers who want to integrate landscaping into their suite of services.

Strategic buyers often offer better valuation multiples because they see added synergy and operational benefits. Their interest lies not just in your revenue, but also in your clientele, systems, and potential to cross-sell services.

Selling to a Competitor

A direct competitor may be interested in your business to expand their market share, acquire your client list, or eliminate local competition. However, competitors tend to undervalue certain assets like branding or customer goodwill, which they may not need.

The upside is that they’re already familiar with the industry and can make quicker decisions. The downside is you may not get the best financial offer, especially if they intend to strip down the business for assets and discard anything redundant.

Selling to an Individual Buyer

If your company falls within the valuation range of $400,000 to $2 million, selling to an individual is often the most practical and profitable option. This buyer is usually an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to enter the landscaping industry without starting from scratch.

Individual buyers typically require seller financing or third-party funding. They’re interested in turnkey operations and usually value the entire business,  equipment, branding, employees, and existing client contracts. However, they may also need more handholding post-sale, possibly requiring a transition period where the seller assists in operations.

Selling to a Private Equity Group

Private equity groups, or PEGs, are less common buyers in the landscaping space but can be highly lucrative. PEGs usually acquire a controlling stake in mid-size businesses to scale and resell them at a profit.

In such arrangements, the original owner may retain minority ownership and continue running the business. The aim is to grow revenues and margins significantly before selling to a larger strategic buyer or another PEG. This type of transaction is ideal for those not ready to retire completely and willing to stay involved in scaling operations under a new ownership structure.

How to Prepare Your Landscaping Business for Sale

Preparation plays a pivotal role in securing a successful deal. Buyers want businesses that can operate smoothly without the owner’s direct involvement. The more autonomous your systems, the more attractive your company becomes.

Organize Employment Documentation

In the landscaping sector, hiring undocumented or seasonal workers is unfortunately common. For a clean sale, ensure every employee is legally documented and on payroll with proper tax records. Buyers prefer companies with organized, compliant HR systems.

Broaden Your Customer Base

A diversified client base reduces risk for potential buyers. If 60-70% of your revenue comes from one or two major clients, that’s a red flag. Buyers worry that losing one contract could severely impact profitability. Try to secure various contracts—both residential and commercial—to mitigate this risk.

Clean Up Accounts Receivable

The fewer unpaid invoices you have, the healthier your cash flow appears. Prospective buyers evaluate this to determine whether they’ll need to invest extra capital upfront. By minimizing overdue receivables, you make your business financially more appealing.

Streamline Invoicing and Payments

Accurate and timely invoicing is a sign of good management. It also contributes to stable cash flow, which buyers will notice. Invest in robust invoicing software or use a standardized landscaping invoice template. Ensure records are properly categorized, receipts are saved, and payment cycles are predictable.

Equipment Maintenance and Upgrades

All machinery and tools should be in excellent condition. Buyers want to avoid additional investments post-purchase. If your mowers, trimmers, or transport vehicles are outdated, consider upgrading them before listing the business. This small investment can significantly increase the perceived value of your company.

Foster Long-Term Contracts

The more long-term service contracts you have, the more stable and predictable your revenue stream appears. Offer discounted packages for seasonal contracts or annual maintenance plans. These agreements assure the buyer that revenues won’t dip immediately after the sale.

Focus on B2B Relationships

Commercial contracts tend to offer higher margins and more consistent revenue than residential jobs. Although both segments are valuable, a buyer will place more weight on business-to-business engagements due to their recurring nature and longer payment commitments.

Why Invoicing History Matters During a Sale

When potential buyers evaluate your business, they will look beyond just revenue. They want to understand your financial behavior—how quickly clients pay, how invoices are generated, and how disputes are resolved.

A complete invoicing history offers:

• Transparency in cash flow
  
• Proof of consistent customer behavior
  
• Insight into average transaction size and frequency
  
• Documentation of recurring revenue sources
  
• Clarity on past due accounts and write-offs
  

Buyers appreciate clean, organized invoicing systems. It reflects strong internal processes and reduces their due diligence workload. It’s not just about having digital invoices, but ensuring they are timely, traceable, and professionally formatted.

Positioning Your Business for Maximum Visibility

Marketing a business for sale isn’t like promoting lawn care services. It’s not about discounts, special offers, or flyers on doorsteps. The target audience here is very specific: investors, entrepreneurs, and companies interested in growth through acquisition.

Begin by defining what makes your business unique. Is it your stellar customer base? Your reputation in the community? Your operational efficiency? Pinpoint these strengths to communicate them clearly to potential buyers.

Craft a business profile that includes:

• Company history and mission
  
• Detailed services offered (landscape design, maintenance, hardscaping, irrigation, etc.)
  
• Financial performance over the last three years
  
• Breakdown of customer segments (residential vs. commercial)
  
• Equipment and assets
  
• Employee structure
  
• Contractual agreements (especially long-term ones)
  
• Operational systems and software used
  

This comprehensive document serves as your business’s résumé. It’s what brokers, investors, and serious buyers will review first to determine interest.

Choosing the Right Sales Channels

Selecting the correct platforms and channels to list your landscaping business is essential to attracting serious buyers. Depending on the size and scale of your business, you can explore one or more of the following:

Business Brokers

Working with a broker experienced in service businesses can significantly enhance your reach. Brokers maintain a network of buyers, know how to price businesses correctly, and handle confidentiality professionally.

If your company generates over $500,000 in annual revenue or has significant assets and contracts, a broker can help you identify qualified buyers and negotiate better terms. While they charge a commission—usually 8–12%—the value they bring often outweighs the cost.

Online Business Marketplaces

There are multiple reputable platforms where you can list your landscaping business, such as:

• BizBuySell
  
• BusinessesForSale
  
• BizQuest
  
• DealStream
  

These platforms allow you to advertise anonymously while offering interested buyers enough detail to reach out. Listings should include financial highlights, business category, asking price, cash flow, location, and transition support.

Be cautious to avoid including sensitive information (client names, proprietary processes) in the public description. Save those for NDA-signed, qualified buyers.

Local Networking and Industry Events

Don’t underestimate the power of your network. Speak to vendors, suppliers, industry contacts, and even friendly competitors. A trusted connection might be ready to expand or know someone who is.

Attending landscaping expos, franchising conventions, or small business networking events is another way to quietly spread the word that your business is on the market.

Direct Outreach

This is especially useful when targeting strategic buyers. Identify companies in adjacent or complementary industries and reach out with a formal pitch. For example, irrigation firms, snow removal companies, or even large-scale property developers might find your business a perfect fit for integration.

A professionally written prospectus sent to these companies can start a dialogue that leads to acquisition talks.

Creating a Strong Listing

When it comes to drafting the business-for-sale listing, details and tone matter. Buyers want reassurance that they’re purchasing a legitimate, profitable, and smoothly operating business.

Here are some tips to help your listing stand out:

• Be Specific: Include tangible metrics—revenue, cash flow, contracts, fleet size, average job value, etc.
  
• Keep it Professional: Use neutral, confident language. Avoid emotional wording like “my baby” or “hard to let go.”
  
• Show Growth Potential: Buyers want to know how they can scale. Include unexploited opportunities like upselling, expanding to new areas, or adding services.
  
• Address Weaknesses Honestly: Every business has areas of improvement. Acknowledging them adds credibility and builds trust.
  
• Highlight Automation or Systemization: If your company has CRM software, scheduling tools, or digital invoicing systems in place, mention them. It signals that the business can run smoothly without micromanagement.
  

Setting the Right Asking Price

Pricing your landscaping business requires balancing data with market trends. If priced too high, the business may sit on the market without real offers. If priced too low, you risk losing hard-earned value.

To calculate a reasonable asking price:

1. Assess Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE): This includes profit, owner salary, perks, and one-time expenses that won’t carry over to the buyer.
   
2. Apply an Industry Multiple: Landscaping businesses typically sell for 2–4x SDE, depending on factors like recurring revenue, growth, and customer concentration.
   
3. Consider Asset Value: Include equipment, vehicles, tools, and goodwill. However, depreciated or outdated items should be realistically valued.
   
4. Factor in Market Conditions: If demand is high in your region or your niche services are rare, you can price at a premium.
   

While you can calculate a price independently, getting a professional valuation helps justify your figure to potential buyers.

Managing Confidentiality

One of the most delicate parts of marketing a business for sale is maintaining confidentiality. You don’t want your clients, staff, or competitors to know prematurely. Leaks can cause disruptions, employee churn, or client loss—all of which reduce business value.

To manage confidentiality:

• Use blind listings that don’t reveal your business name
  
• Require NDAs before disclosing sensitive information.
  
• Work through brokers or lawyers to screen a serious buyer.s
  
• Limit who knows internally—only key management should be informed early on
  

The sales process should be discrete but transparent for those involved. Professionalism in communication fosters trust and keeps operations intact during the transition.

Preparing Marketing Materials

Apart from the listing itself, there are supplementary documents buyers will expect:

• Executive Summary: A one-pager with highlights
  
• Financial Summary: Profit & loss for the last 3 years, balance sheet, tax returns
  
• Asset List: Vehicles, equipment, software licenses
  
• Employee Overview: Roles, tenures, wages
  
• Customer Snapshot: Industries served, service frequency, churn rate
  

These materials should be neatly organized and ready to share once a buyer expresses verified interest. The more thorough and clean your documents, the more serious and valuable your business appears.

Communicating With Buyers

Once your marketing materials are live and outreach has begun, you’ll start hearing from potential buyers. Here’s how to manage these conversations:

• Respond Promptly: Timeliness reflects professionalism.
  
• Ask Qualifying Questions: Determine if they’re financially capable, experienced in the industry, and serious.
  
• Be Honest: Represent your business fairly. Overstating success or hiding weaknesses will only hurt the process later.
  
• Listen for Intent: Some buyers are looking to strip assets, others are planning to grow it long-term. Know who you’re dealing with.
  

At this stage, it may be worth engaging an attorney or broker to handle negotiations and paperwork.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Marketing

Marketing your business for sale comes with its own set of pitfalls. Here are common errors to avoid:

• Setting an unrealistic price without justification
  
• Revealing too much information in public listings
  
• Failing to prepare financials in advance
  
• Ignoring professional help due to cost concerns
  
• Waiting too long to begin the sale process
  
• Not knowing your buyer’s motivation. tion
  

Avoiding these issues will help ensure smoother discussions and a faster closing.

Why Invoice History Is a Silent Sales Tool

One often-overlooked marketing asset is your invoicing record. Organized, timely, and consistent invoicing shows a potential buyer that your operations are well-structured. It also proves:

• Clients are billed regularly and reliably
  
• Payment cycles are controlled.
  
• Cash flow is managed well.
  
• There is minimal revenue leakage.e
  

If you’ve been using an invoice generator or billing software, highlight that. It’s an advantage many buyers appreciate as it reduces reliance on manual processes and offers data transparency.

Transition Planning Post-Marketing

Once a buyer shows serious interest, you’ll need to plan for the transition phase. This often includes:

• A 30 to 90-day period of owner support or consulting
  
• Introducing the new owner to clients and staff
  
• Helping establish vendor relationships
  
• Transferring digital tools and software
  

Being proactive in this process will reinforce buyer confidence and smooth out the sale experience.

Understand Buyer Motivation Before the Talks Begin

The first step to successful negotiation is understanding the potential buyer’s reason for purchasing your business. This insight allows you to frame your deal terms in a way that aligns with their objectives.

Here are some common buyer profiles:

• Strategic Buyers want to acquire your customer base, services, or market share to integrate into their operations.
  
• Competitors may be interested in eliminating you as a rival and may not value your brand or team as much.
  
• Individuals are often first-time buyers looking for a stable, profitable venture.
  
• Private Equity Groups seek growth opportunities with measurable return on investment and often require you to stay on board temporarily.
  

Tailor your communication accordingly. For example, a strategic buyer might appreciate discussions around customer overlap or service bundling, while an individual buyer may want assurances around transition support and team stability.

Preparing for the First Conversation

When a buyer expresses interest, the initial conversation is critical. This is your opportunity to share just enough information to build interest while protecting your business’s sensitive data.

Here’s what you should prepare before that first call or meeting:

• A sanitized executive summary or teaser document
  
• Your non-disclosure agreement (NDA)
  
• A pre-qualification checklist (proof of funds, relevant experience, etc.)
  

After the NDA is signed, you can safely share more details about operations, financial performance, client contracts, and more.

Due Diligence: Be Ready for Deep Questions

Once a buyer is seriously interested, due diligence begins. This is the stage where they verify all your claims and inspect your business from the inside out.

They’ll examine:

• Three years of financial statements
  
• Customer retention rates and contracts
  
• Employee roster, roles, and pay structure
  
• Equipment condition and ownership records
  
• Tax returns and liabilities
  
• Legal matters, if any
  

Prepare a digital data room to store and share these documents. Organizing them ahead of time shows professionalism and increases buyer confidence.

Don’t be surprised if they ask to speak with a few team members or request site visits. Be cooperative, but protect the confidentiality of your sale by limiting access until you’re confident in their intentions.

Valuation Gaps: Justify Your Asking Price

Many negotiations hit a snag over valuation. If a buyer offers significantly less than your asking price, don’t panic. Instead, be ready to explain how you arrived at your valuation.

Use your financials and industry metrics to back up your asking price. Demonstrate:

• Growth trends in revenue and profit
  
• Stable or increasing customer base
  
• Low client churn
  
• Well-maintained assets
  
• Contracts with recurring revenue
  

If you’re using industry multiples (like 2–3 times seller’s discretionary earnings), show comparable sales or valuation ranges from landscaping businesses in your region. The more you can rationalize your number with data, the better your leverage.

Structuring the Deal: Beyond Just the Price

The sale price is just one part of the negotiation. The structure of the deal—including payment terms, handover period, warranties, and contingencies—can impact the final value you walk away with.

Common Components of a Landscaping Business Sale:

• Asset Sale vs. Stock Sale: Most small business sales are structured as asset sales, where the buyer purchases only business assets (equipment, client contracts, goodwill) and not liabilities.
  
• Earnouts: Some deals include performance-based future payments, such as receiving 10% of gross revenue for the first 12 months post-sale.
  
• Seller Financing: You may agree to finance part of the sale. For example, the buyer pays 70% upfront and the rest over 2–3 years. This expands your pool of buyers but carries risk.
  
• Transition Periods: Buyers often request the previous owner to stay involved for 30 to 90 days to help with transition, client introductions, and operations.
  
• Non-Compete Clauses: Buyers will want you to sign a non-compete agreement to ensure you won’t launch a similar business nearby for a defined period.
  

Understand each of these terms before agreeing. Consult your attorney or accountant to model the financial impact of different deal structures.

Emotional Readiness and Flexibility

Selling a business you’ve built from the ground up is emotional. There’s pride, anxiety, and fear involved. But emotion shouldn’t guide your negotiation.

Practice detachment and be ready to compromise where necessary. No buyer will view your business with the same personal lens. Stay focused on your end goal: exiting profitably while ensuring the business can thrive under new ownership.

That said, don’t rush into accepting the first offer. Interview multiple buyers, even if one seems promising early on. Competition can drive up the final sale price or help you get more favorable terms.

Negotiation Tips for Landscaping Business Sellers

To help you negotiate confidently, keep these proven tips in mind:

• Don’t disclose too much too soon: Share information gradually and only after NDAs are signed.
  
• Know your walk-away number: Decide the lowest acceptable price and terms ahead of time.
  
• Let your broker or attorney lead tough talks: They bring objectivity and experience to the table.
  
• Negotiate from strength: Emphasize systems, contracts, and stability.
  
• Frame weaknesses positively: Turn potential red flags into opportunities for growth.
  
• Be transparent with tax and legal liabilities: They will be uncovered during due diligence anyway.
  
• Follow through professionally: Buyers respect sellers who are responsive, organized, and solution-oriented.
  

How Your Financials (Especially Invoicing) Impact Negotiation

During negotiation, a clear financial history is your most powerful weapon. Beyond profit and loss statements, potential buyers will examine your invoicing habits and payment records closely.

Here’s why structured invoicing makes your business more attractive:

• Shows Predictability: Reliable billing practices reflect consistent service delivery and professional operations.
  
• Supports Revenue Claims: If your income is well-documented through recurring invoices, it validates your earnings.
  
• Simplifies Buyer Analysis: Buyers can easily project future income based on existing client patterns.
  
• Reduces Legal Risk: Accurate records protect against claims of missing revenue or underreported income.
  

If you’ve been using a cloud-based invoicing platform, now is the time to showcase it. Share dashboard screenshots or reports with interested buyers to support your narrative.

Handling Objections Gracefully

Buyers may raise objections like:

• “Your revenue depends on you.”
  
• “Too many clients are residential and price-sensitive.”
  
• “Your equipment is outdated.”
  
• “Your margins are thin compared to industry averages.”
  

Rather than reacting defensively, acknowledge their concerns and offer solutions:

• Emphasize documented systems that allow others to take over your role
  
• Highlight recurring contracts and commercial clients..
  
• Offer partial replacement credits oof detailed equipment maintenance logs.
  
• Show how operating costs can be reduced post-sale
  

The goal is to keep the conversation moving forward by addressing concerns with facts.

Finalizing the Agreement

Once both parties agree on price and terms, it’s time to draft the Letter of Intent (LOI). This non-binding document outlines key terms and sets the stage for final contract drafting.

Here’s what an LOI typically includes:

• Sale price and breakdown
  
• List of assets and liabilities included
  
• Timeline for due diligence
  
• Closing date
  
• Transition responsibilities
  
• Confidentiality and exclusivity clauses
  

From there, the formal purchase agreement is developed. Always work with a qualified attorney to review and negotiate these contracts.

Once everything is signed, funds are transferred through escrow, and the business changes hands.

Why Invoicing Matters When Selling Your Landscaping Business

Your invoice history reflects much more than just billing—it tells the story of your company’s financial reliability, client relationships, operational systems, and overall professionalism. When buyers evaluate your business, they are not just looking at how much money you make—they’re looking at how predictable and scalable your revenue is.

Here’s why invoicing becomes a core focus during due diligence:

1. Validates Revenue Claims

Buyers need to verify that the revenue you claim matches the actual payments received. Well-organized invoicing records act as a paper trail that validates your income over time.

For example, if you report $500,000 in annual revenue, but the invoices are missing or inconsistent, the buyer will either walk away or offer a much lower price. Conversely, a consistent stream of professional invoices confirms both sales volume and client retention.

2. Highlights Client Consistency

Recurring invoices show that your business serves repeat customers, which increases valuation. Buyers want to see that a portion of your revenue comes from dependable monthly or seasonal contracts rather than one-time jobs.

A year’s worth of invoices showing weekly lawn maintenance, monthly landscape design, or quarterly tree services provides strong evidence of client loyalty.

3. Demonstrates Operational Systems

Buyers don’t just buy your tools or customer list—they invest in your systems. Clean invoicing workflows imply that your operations are structured and transferable.

For instance, a buyer reviewing a streamlined invoicing system that automatically sends reminders, calculates late fees, and tracks payment statuses will view your company as less dependent on the owner for day-to-day functions.

4. Supports Clean Financial Records

Financial statements, such as income and cash flow reports, are only as reliable as the data behind them. When your invoices match bank deposits, you reduce the chances of accounting discrepancies, underreported income, or tax risks.

Clean records also save buyers time and money during due diligence, allowing them to close faster and more confidently.

5. Speeds Up the Sale Process

Time kills deals. Buyers want transparency, and if you can’t produce accurate billing records promptly, it leads to delays and second-guessing. Organized invoicing helps you answer financial queries quickly and makes the entire transaction more efficient.

Invoicing Best Practices to Boost Buyer Confidence

Even if you’re not planning to sell your landscaping business immediately, implementing better invoicing habits now will pay off later. Here are specific strategies to elevate your billing operations and maximize business value:

Use a Centralized Billing System

A cloud-based invoicing solution ensures all your records are in one place, easy to access, and consistently formatted. This avoids the confusion and inefficiencies of using multiple platforms (or paper-based systems).

Digital systems also allow you to create custom reports, export invoices for due diligence, and quickly demonstrate revenue trends.

Automate Recurring Invoices

For clients on weekly, monthly, or seasonal plans, set up recurring invoices to reduce manual errors. Automation not only saves time but also ensures invoices are sent on schedule—an important factor for demonstrating predictable income streams.

Include Detailed Service Descriptions

An invoice should tell the story of the work performed. Use itemized line entries such as:

• Lawn mowing and edging – Weekly service
  
• Tree pruning – One-time event
  
• Landscape design – Phase 1 (Design Draft)
  
• Mulching – Spring Seasonal Package
  

Clear details help buyers understand your service structure and pricing strategy. They can also see which services are most profitable or commonly requested.

Record Payment Timelines

Mark each invoice with the actual payment date. This helps buyers assess customer payment behavior and calculate average days to payment—a key cash flow metric.

Buyers prefer businesses with timely-paying clients and will look closely at overdue invoices during due diligence.

Implement Late Payment Policies

Charging late fees or applying reminders reinforces professional standards. If your business enforces timely payment, it suggests disciplined operations and financial awareness—two traits that buyers value highly.

Pre-Sale Checklist for Invoicing Records

When preparing to sell your landscaping company, use the following checklist to organize your invoicing records for review:

• Past 24 months of invoices (downloaded or exported)
  
• Summary of recurring clients with contract details
  
• Breakdown of revenue by service category
  
• Invoices matched to payment records or bank deposits..
  
•  Aged accounts receivable report
  
• Open invoices or payment disputes
  
• Credit notes or discounts issued
  

This package makes it easy for buyers to analyze your earnings, spot patterns, and build confidence in your business’s financial integrity.

Real-World Scenario: How Invoicing Helped Secure a Better Deal

Let’s say you operate a landscaping company that services 80 residential and 20 commercial clients. Over the last three years, you’ve used a digital invoicing system that auto-generates monthly bills for maintenance and seasonal services.

When a buyer reviews your business, they quickly observe that:

• 70% of clients are on monthly plans with auto-billing
  
• Payments are received within 14 days on average.
  
• Commercial contracts contribute 45% of total revenue.
  
• No outstanding invoices exceed 30 days.
  

This level of transparency and predictability allows you to justify a higher valuation. The buyer is assured of continuity, which enables them to close quickly and offer a better price.

Contrast this with a seller who uses handwritten invoices and has no record of recurring income—the deal will likely stall or end in a lowball offer.

How to Transition Invoicing Systems to the New Owner

Another benefit of having digital and structured invoicing is that it’s easy to transition to the new owner. As part of the sale, you can hand over:

• Access credentials to the billing platform
  
• Client profiles with invoicing history
  
• Recurring billing templates
  
• Reporting dashboards
  

You can also include a short training session on how the system works. This helps the new owner hit the ground running and minimizes disruptions for clients.

A smooth invoicing transition reassures the buyer and strengthens their confidence in your handover plan.

Addressing Invoicing Concerns During the Sale

Buyers may have questions about certain patterns in your invoices. Be ready to answer:

• Why did revenue dip in certain months?
  
• Why do some clients pay late?
  
• Are there clients with ongoing disputes?
  
• How are seasonal services billed and tracked?
  

Anticipate these questions and prepare honest, documented responses. This removes suspicion and shows that you have nothing to hide.

If you’ve taken deposits, issued refunds, or had a few delayed payments, that’s fine—just be transparent and show that issues were handled properly.

Conclusion:

If you want to sell your landscaping business for its full value, start with your invoices. They reveal your income consistency, client reliability, operational discipline, and business health—all the things a buyer wants to know before writing a check.

By treating invoicing not just as a task, but as a core financial strategy, you set yourself apart from sellers who run their businesses on assumptions and incomplete records.

If your invoicing system is in disarray today, now is the time to fix it. Get organized, go digital, and build the kind of transparency that unlocks top-dollar offers when you’re ready to exit.