Selling a Secondary Education Business

Most K-12 businesses are valued based on the earnings an owner can take out each year, adjusted for one-time or owner-specific expenses. Higher values usually go to companies with proven reorders across school years, repeatable district purchasing access such as co-ops, and a delivery model that survives the summer surge. You can get a quick estimate with Rejigg’s free valuation calculator, then pressure-test it against your seasonality and renewal evidence.

No. Brokers usually charge 5–10% of the sale price for a process you can run yourself when you have the right tools and buyer access. Rejigg gives you pre-vetted buyers, digital NDAs, direct messaging, and a secure data room so you can sell broker-free without losing control of your timeline. Start with the Owner’s Guide, then list once your documents tell a clear district-ready story.

Often, yes. Lenders typically want steady cash flow and clean documentation because K-12 revenue can swing with school calendars and procurement cycles. Expect questions about school-year renewal proof, how exposed you are to a few large districts, and whether summer delivery forces you to front payroll or hardware before invoices get paid. You can model payments and scenarios with Rejigg’s SBA loan calculator before you negotiate price and seller financing.

Six to nine months is common, and the school calendar can stretch that if diligence hits during peak delivery or renewal season. Deals move faster when you can show procurement paths, renewal history by school year, and a realistic summer delivery plan because buyers cannot infer those from an annual profit and loss statement. Rejigg keeps buyer conversations and next steps organized with diligence checklists and a built-in data room.

Call it out plainly. Label which projects were driven by ESSER money, then show what replaced that revenue after 2023 and whether margins held up. Buyers usually accept a grant-fueled spike when you can show a clean timeline, a handful of post-ESSER wins, and gross margin by product line. Keep the proof simple and store it in your Rejigg data room so you do not relive the same questions in every buyer call.

Working capital is the cash your business needs to cover day-to-day operations, like payroll, subcontractors, and vendor bills, while you wait for districts to pay invoices. In K-12, payment timing and invoice rejections can create real cash strain, especially if you deliver hardware or do summer installs. Buyers may ask you to leave a minimum amount of working capital in the business at closing. Rejigg helps you share accounts receivable and payable detail in the data room so the numbers are clear.

Buyers look at revenue from your top districts, but they also pay attention to concentration by state, by funding source, and by purchasing path. A single large district can be stable, but leadership turnover or a board shift can still change buying behavior quickly. Helpful proof includes multi-year purchase history and multiple contacts per district across instruction, IT, and purchasing. Rejigg makes it easier to share district-level revenue and renewal history under NDA.

Expect requests that match district reality. Buyers commonly ask for purchase order and invoice examples, contract vehicles such as co-op agreements or awarded RFPs, your rollout plan and delivery history, and the privacy and security responses you reuse with district IT teams. If you sell curriculum or software, include IP ownership proof and key licenses. A Rejigg diligence checklist plus the built-in data room keeps this organized and out of your inbox.

Keep the circle tight and share information in stages. Most sellers avoid telling staff or customers until they have a serious buyer because rumors can hit right before renewals or summer delivery planning. On Rejigg, buyers are pre-vetted and sign NDAs digitally before seeing sensitive details. That lets you move diligence forward while protecting district relationships and keeping the message consistent.

Most transitions are built around the school calendar. A common pattern is heavier involvement for the first 60–90 days, then lighter support through the next renewal season and summer implementation window so districts see continuity. The right timeline depends on whether you hold key relationships **or** you are the operational quarterback who keeps projects moving. Rejigg’s transition planning guide helps you map handoffs to the dates districts care about.

An LOI is a short document that outlines the main deal terms before the buyer starts full due diligence. In K-12, pay attention to terms tied to seasonality, like earnouts based on summer rollouts or renewals that depend on districts reissuing purchase orders. Also, look closely at working capital expectations and any assumptions about transferring contract vehicles or vendor approvals. Rejigg’s negotiation guide helps you review terms before you lock in momentum.

They come up when buyers feel uncertain about school-year renewals, procurement access, or whether revenue was inflated by a funding wave. Earnouts can be workable when the measurement is simple and the seller still has real influence over the outcome during the transition period. They tend to create friction when the target depends on district budget politics or a buyer changing delivery and pricing after close. Rejigg’s offer comparison tools help you line up earnout terms side-by-side.

Often, yes. Buyers commonly ask the seller not to launch a competing K-12 offering for a period of time since district relationships and implementation know-how are part of what they’re buying. Enforceability depends on your state and the exact wording, so get legal advice before you sign. From a deal standpoint, define “competing” clearly so you can still work in education without tripping the restriction. Keep drafts and signed versions organized in the Rejigg data room.

Buyers usually ask for proof that fits school constraints, like rollout schedules, go-live dates, training logs, and how you handle mid-year surprises such as staff turnover or schedule changes. They may also want support trends and a few examples of escalations, including who handled them and how fast they closed. You do not need perfect metrics, but you do need a consistent process and believable evidence. Rejigg helps you share this under NDA without oversharing district names too early.

They want to know what fails, who pays, and when the cost hits your profit. Warranty swaps, returns, and shipping can quietly eat margin, especially during the school year when districts expect fast replacements. Expect diligence on return rates, supplier reliability, spare unit policies, and whether you pre-stage inventory ahead of summer installs. Clear documentation reduces negotiation noise. Use Rejigg’s data room to share equipment lists, vendor terms, and historical return and replacement records.

It depends on whether the deal is structured as an asset sale or a stock sale, how the price gets allocated across goodwill versus equipment or software, and your personal tax situation. K-12 contracts and curriculum or software IP can affect these allocation discussions because buyers often want deductions tied to specific assets. Have your CPA model scenarios early so you are not surprised late in the process. Rejigg helps by keeping drafts and deal terms organized as structure evolves.

Compare certainty and fit with district reality. Look at how the buyer plans to protect procurement access, staff summer delivery, and handle seasonality in payments and staffing. Then review how much is cash at close versus seller financing or an earnout, plus how the timeline lines up with renewal season and summer rollouts. Rejigg’s deal tracking and offer comparison dashboard shows terms side-by-side so you can make a clean decision.

Ideally 6–18 months before you want to close. A lot of the proof buyers want in K-12 is school-year based, so you need time to package cohorts, document purchasing paths, and show at least one summer delivery season that runs on a plan instead of heroics. Start with the prepare-to-sell guide, then build your data room until the story is obvious when someone skims it.