Over the years, I've met a lot of healthcare business owners who confidently tell me, "I think we're ready to sell." And almost every time, once we start peeling back the layers, they discover they're mostly ready — but not quite where they thought they were.
That's not a criticism. It's simply a reflection of what selling a healthcare business requires today. The path to a successful transaction is more complex and more scrutinized than ever.
That's why our team at VERTESS created a practical Healthcare M&A Readiness Self-Assessment, available to download here or complete online. It's a simple yet detailed tool you can use right now to score your preparedness across eight key areas that matter to prospective buyers. The assessment is easy enough to complete in one sitting, but thoughtful enough to reveal strengths, gaps, and blind spots you might not notice otherwise.
Eight Pillars of M&A Readiness
Let me walk you through the areas our scorecard covers and why each one is more important than many owners realize.
1. Financial readiness
If there's one place where deals often fall apart, it's here. Buyers need to trust your numbers — not just broadly, but line by line. That means GAAP-compliant financial statements, timely and documented month-end closes, clearly reconciled adjusted EBITDA, and forecasts built on defensible assumptions rather than intuition. Buyers will look at things like AR/AP aging, revenue recognition patterns, and even whether personal expenses flow through the business.
The readiness assessment helps you quickly see whether your financial house is "buyer-ready," or whether cleaning up a few areas now could dramatically strengthen your position later.
2. Legal and compliance
Healthcare transactions attract more regulatory and contractual scrutiny than almost any other sector. Buyers want to see updated licenses, accurate corporate records, complete contracts, and clear proof that you own — and have protected — your intellectual property. They will check for pending disputes, confirm HIPAA, OSHA, FTC, or state-specific compliance, and look for any change-of-control issues buried in agreements.
This section of our questionnaire helps you anticipate the issues buyers will inevitably uncover and ideally address them before transaction diligence begins.
3. Operational readiness
I always ask owners a simple question: If you stepped away from your company today, would the business keep running smoothly? Buyers are looking closely at whether processes are documented, systems support scalability, key performance indicators and dashboards exist, vendor agreements are current and transferable, and your management team can carry the business forward. They will also examine IT security, backup practices, and disaster-recovery readiness. These are items that can be overlooked until they become deal-stoppers.
The assessment helps you gauge just how transferable and resilient your operation really is.
4. Strategic readiness
Every buyer wants a compelling and defensible growth story. But strategic readiness goes deeper than that. It's about having clearly defined exit objectives, an ideal buyer profile, an understanding of your valuation drivers, and realistic timing tied to market conditions. Evaluating deal-breakers early, documenting your investment thesis, and articulating your competitive differentiation all help buyers immediately understand why your company is an attractive opportunity.
A well-structured strategy reduces uncertainty and increases confidence, which are two qualities buyers value immensely.
5. Tax readiness
Taxes rarely get center stage when owners prepare for a sale, but they are one of the biggest sources of late-stage surprises. Buyers want to know your filings are current, multi-state compliance is accurate, existing audits or disputes are resolved, and that you've thought carefully about deal structure (asset vs. stock) and its impact on net proceeds. Modeling after-tax outcomes under different scenarios can save you from misunderstanding what you will actually walk away with.
Our tool helps you determine whether you're tax-clean or whether you should loop in a tax advisor early.
6. Human capital and HR
Your employees are a major component of what a buyer is acquiring. They'll examine employment agreements, compensation structures, retention plans, IP assignment and confidentiality documentation, and whether your worker classification (W-2 vs. 1099) follows labor laws. Benefit plans and ERISA compliance also matter, as do succession and continuity plans for key roles.
This section of the VERTESS scorecard prompts you to evaluate whether your personnel systems can withstand diligence and support a smooth transition.
7. Customers and markets
Buyers want to see revenue stability, not just revenue strength. That includes reasonable customer concentration, assignable customer contracts, defensible churn and retention metrics, and a clear understanding of your competitive landscape. They'll also dig into your sales pipeline quality, conversion rates, and how well your growth opportunities are supported with evidence.
This part of the assessment helps you understand how a buyer will assess the durability and attractiveness of your market position.
8. Owner and personal readiness
Even when everything else is ready, many deals stall because the owner is not. Personal goals, post-exit financial planning, family alignment, and emotional readiness all play a role. Buyers want to know that you have thought about what comes next, modeled your net proceeds, and planned for transition, including who will take over responsibilities you currently hold.
This section encourages honest reflection. A business can be deal-ready long before its owner is, and that's okay. Awareness is the first step.
A Simple, Structured Way to See Where You Stand
Our spreadsheet uses a clean 1–5 scoring system for each question. Each section calculates its own average, and your overall readiness score is a weighted blend of all categories. It's straightforward, but the insights it produces will be incredibly valuable.
Most owners aren't fully ready when they begin thinking about a transition. You don't need perfection; you just need preparation. And the earlier you understand your readiness level, the more time you have to strengthen it.
If you're considering a sale — or even just beginning to think about one — download the VERTESS Healthcare M&A Readiness Self-Assessment here or complete our online scoring survey and see where you truly stand. It's one of the simplest ways to start preparing for a smoother, more successful transaction.