Selling a Retail Services Business

A Retail Services business is usually priced as a multiple of the yearly owner profit, after you add back personal and one-time expenses you ran through the company. Buyers pay more when POS sales reconcile cleanly to deposits, labor is stable, and the lease and vendor terms can transfer without drama. You can start with Rejigg’s free valuation calculator, then tighten it up with real add-backs and store-by-store results.

Yes. Many Retail Services deals use an SBA 7(a) loan, especially for owner-operated concepts like salons, repair shops, and specialty retail with services attached. Lenders focus on clean financials, a clear POS-to-bank reconciliation, and a lease with enough remaining term plus options. To model payments at different down payments and rates, use Rejigg’s SBA loan calculator before you negotiate price.

No. Brokers charge 5–10% of the sale price for work you can do yourself with the right tools and a clean process. Rejigg gives you pre-vetted buyers, digital NDAs, a secure data room, and offer tracking, so you can run a professional sale without paying a percentage. Start with the prepare-to-sell guide, then list once your diligence package is ready.

Most Retail Services sales close in 3–9 months from the first buyer call to closing. The biggest delays are usually landlord consent for the lease assignment and how fast you can produce clean POS exports, payroll detail, and reconciliations. If you want speed, build the diligence set before you go to market and keep buyers moving on a clear timeline. Rejigg’s deal dashboard and messaging keep everything in one place.

Expect requests for POS exports, merchant processor statements, bank statements, payroll reports, sales tax filings, the lease and amendments, inventory counts and aging, vendor agreements, and rebate support. Buyers often ask for warranty or service plan obligations, equipment lists, and access details for key systems like scheduling and marketing accounts. Rejigg’s built-in data room is designed for this, so you can control what gets shared and when.

Gift cards and store credit are liabilities because customers can redeem them after closing. Many deals handle this with a closing adjustment based on the outstanding balance on a specific cutoff date, plus a written agreement on how you treat “breakage,” the portion you don’t expect to be redeemed. Export the outstanding gift card and store credit report, and agree on the number before final documents. Keep the schedule in your Rejigg data room so versions don’t drift.

Working capital is the cash tied up in daily operations, mostly inventory, receivables, and payables. In Retail Services, the negotiation usually comes down to inventory levels, vendor bill timing, and any processor or marketplace payouts that lag behind the sale date. Buyers often ask for a “normal” level at closing so they are not funding a rebuild on Day 1. Rejigg’s offer comparison view helps you compare working capital terms across offers.

If the lease can’t be assigned, the deal often slows or stops because the buyer is buying a business without the location. Sometimes you can fix it with a new lease or a landlord consent process. Subleasing can work in some cases, but many landlords and lenders push back. Read the assignment clause early and start the landlord conversation sooner than you want to. Store the lease package in Rejigg so buyers can review it without you forwarding documents everywhere.

Most buyers value inventory at cost, not retail price, and they discount or exclude aged, obsolete, expired, or unsellable stock. A common approach is a physical count close to closing, followed by a purchase price adjustment based on what was actually counted. If you have consignment goods, separate them clearly because they are not yours. An inventory aging report plus recent count history keeps this from becoming a last-week fight.

Seller financing can bring in more buyers and sometimes supports a higher price, but you are taking repayment risk. In Retail Services, that risk usually ties back to lease stability, staffing stability, and how dependent revenue is on specific employees or managers. If you offer seller financing, get clear on down payment, payment schedule, and what happens in a default. Rejigg’s offer tracking shows those terms side-by-side so you can compare risk, not just price.

An earnout means part of the price gets paid later, only if the business hits an agreed target. In Retail Services, it comes up when revenue depends on a key manager, a partnership that might change, or a big season that hasn’t happened yet. Earnouts can be fine if the target is simple to measure from POS and bank data. Put the measurement rules in writing so neither side can game it after closing. Rejigg’s deal comparison helps you weigh earnouts against cleaner offers.

Buyers usually ask for a non-compete so you don’t open a competing location nearby and take customers. They also ask for a non-solicit so you don’t recruit employees or market to the customer list after closing. Reasonable distance and time vary by category and by how far customers actually travel in your market. Get the main terms agreed early so it doesn’t turn into a last-week argument. Rejigg helps you track term changes during negotiations.

Taxes depend on deal structure and what you’re selling. Selling assets like equipment, inventory, and customer lists can land differently than selling the company entity. In Retail Services, the split between goodwill, equipment, and inventory affects what gets taxed and at what rate, and some states also have sales tax rules around certain asset sales. Talk to a tax pro early. Keep a simple allocation schedule in your Rejigg data room so everyone works from the same numbers.

Confidentiality matters in Retail Services because rumors can lead to resignations and nervous customers. Most owners share high-level information first, then share sensitive details only after the buyer is vetted and has signed an NDA. You also control timing around landlord and vendor outreach, since that can leak quickly. Rejigg supports this workflow with pre-vetted buyers, digital NDAs, and permissioned data room access so each buyer only sees what you allow.

A good Retail Services transition is practical. It usually includes introductions to the landlord and key vendors, training on scheduling and payroll approval, and a clear handoff for customer complaints, refunds, and warranty exceptions. Most buyers value a steady first 60 days over big changes. Rejigg’s transitioning guide helps you map the handoff so the buyer keeps the weekly rhythm intact.

The issues that blow up Retail Services deals are usually basic but painful: POS sales that don’t reconcile to deposits, ugly surprises in returns and chargebacks, inventory that looks valuable on paper but won’t sell, and lease problems that block assignment or push rent to an unprofitable level. Vendor approvals can also drag timelines out. You rarely need perfect books. You do need clean exports, supporting proof, and answers that hold up under follow-up questions.

Data gaps are common after a POS switch, and many buyers can live with it if you explain it clearly and give a backup source. Most of the time, you show what you have from the old system, then use merchant processor statements and bank deposits to rebuild the missing period at a monthly level. Flag the gap early so it doesn’t look intentional. Rejigg’s data room makes it easy to label the gap and store the backup support next to the POS files.

Compare offers based on what you actually keep and how likely the deal is to close. Look at cash at close, seller financing, earnouts, inventory treatment, working capital, lease contingencies, and timing. In Retail Services, a headline price can be misleading if landlord approval is shaky or the staffing plan is optimistic. Rejigg’s offer comparison dashboard shows terms side-by-side so you can see trade-offs quickly without building spreadsheets.