I am going to talk about two different scenarios here.
First scenario is where we had a vendor contact us who said he didn’t think his practice was worth anything and after the tax returns had all been done by the end of January this year i.e. Feb 2024, he was going to contact all of his clients and let them know that he was retiring, and they had to find another accountant. Then he remembered he had received some Newsletters from Draper Hinks and so decided to call us and see if there was anything we could do to change his mind.
He preferred to have face to face meetings so at the beginning of November he came into the office to talk to Nicola. The meeting went well and Nicola was able to explain to him that his practice was worth something and he should find a buyer for his fees. By selling his practice, not only did he get paid some money, but he could oversee the transfer of clients from his practice to the buyer’s practice, thereby ensuring all clients were given a continuous high level of service enabling them to carry on with running their respective businesses. After completion of the deal, he made sure the transition was seamless and there was minimal disruption to the clients.
If you care about your clients, it matters how they are looked after when you have hung up your calculator and retired. He was over the moon and thanked us for all our help.
Second scenario is where we were contacted by a vendor who had had enough of running his practice and was suffering from stress. He said he wanted to sell asap and we worked with him saying we could find a buyer in a very short period of time. However, he had left it too late. He had a nervous breakdown, couldn’t cope and so told all his clients to find another accountant. No handover, no seamless transition and most important no money in the bank for the vendor. We were all really upset that he decided to just “battle on” until he was unable to work. Everyone is the loser in this situation. Don’t let this happen to you.
Just shutting your door is not the answer. Finding a good home for your clients always, and I mean always, makes the vendor feel better. It reduces stress, takes away any guilt and puts cash in your bank. Win for the buyer, win for the vendor, win for the clients, win for the staff and win for the broker managing the deal from start to finish.
If you are getting to the end of your tether and need to find a way out, then call us. Please get in touch with me, Nicola Draper, on 01788 816440 or email me at n.draper@draperhinks.co.uk or book a no obligation appointment using this link https://calendly.com/draper-hinks/q_a.
Let me see how I can be of assistance. I look forward to talking to you.