Whether you are approaching retirement age or just thinking about a transition, there are several things you can do to prepare your practice to sell, eliminate headaches, increase your sales price, or reduce your costs. Here are a few tips:

1. Assess your equipment. Upgraded practices sell faster. If you are more than five years away from retirement, we recommend a few upgrades such as digital x-rays, repair and/or re-cover your waiting room chairs, and, if needed, freshen up the paint. If you’re closer than five years, you will not get the tax benefit of major upgrades, so just stick to paint and carpet.
2. Clean up your accounts receivable. Reimburse patient credits, collect old accounts, and keep the A/R current.
3. If you have an associate, make sure you have an associate agreement with a non-compete.
4. If you have an employment agreement with your corporation and you are a C-Corporation, you may need to terminate yourself a few years before retiring. Consult your tax accountant.
5. Consult your financial advisor and tax accountant. How much of a “parachute” do you need to retire? How much do you currently have? What are the tax consequences of retiring now or in five years?
6. Get a practice valuation to see what proceeds you will get from the sale.
7. Be realistic in considering the time it takes to sell. In remote areas, it can take a year or two.  Metro areas, much less.
8. Keep your production up as you near retirement. Many dentist’s slowdowns in their last few years. Keep up your current pace.
9. Assess your staff. Do you have too many employees? Do you have one that should have been let go previously?  
10. Have a practice assessment performed by a qualified consultant. Many will do it for free or for a small fee. This may reveal some areas for improvement you can implement over the next few years.

By focusing on these items in the coming years as you near retirement, you will avoid having your practice production and your practice value go down in your later years. Call for a free consultation. Or, if you are thinking about transition right now, contact us for a list of current buyers.