Before You Buy a Business in Australia

Description

That café advertising "$3,000 a week net profit" may be a genuine opportunity. It may also be a demanding job that only pays because the owner works 55 unpaid hours and the rent review hasn't happened yet.

Before You Buy a Business in Australia is a practical decision guide for the stage before you commit. It shows you how to look past the listing, the seller's explanation and the headline profit, so you can decide, with clear reasons, whether to investigate further, negotiate, seek advice or walk away.

Who it's for

This book is written for people considering buying an existing small business in Australia, especially:

• first-time business buyers who have never been through a business sale

• newcomers to Australia who are unfamiliar with local business practices, leases and regulations

• employees thinking of buying themselves a job and wanting to know what that job will really pay

• couples and families planning to run a business together

• anyone investing a large part of their savings who wants to understand the risks first.

You don't need an accounting or legal background. Technical terms are explained in plain Australian English, and a glossary is included.

What's inside

The book has 11 focused chapters, each ending with a core question and a list of practical checks:

1. What Are You Actually Buying? Asset sales versus share sales, goodwill, and what depends on someone else's consent.

2. Reading Between the Lines of a Listing. What "net profit", "add-backs" and "cash business" really mean.

3. Testing the Numbers. How to check a seller's figures against tax returns, BAS, bank statements and supplier records.

4. The Workload Behind the Profit. Owner hours, unpaid family help, and your true hourly rate.

5. Customers. Customer concentration, contracts, and loyalty to the departing owner.

6. Staff and Employment Obligations. Transferring employees, their entitlements, and underpayment risk.

7. The Lease and the Premises. Options, assignment, rent reviews, refits and make-good costs, with state-by-state notes.

8. Online Businesses and Platform Dependence. Account ownership, marketplace risk, and checking online sales and traffic.

9. Buying a Franchise Resale. Franchisor approval, fees, refurbishments, renewal and the Franchising Code.

10. The Seller, the Broker and the Sale Process. Deposits, conditions, warranties, restraints and settlement.

11. Deciding. Walk-away signals, how to negotiate, and how to brief your advisers.

Along the way, you'll find:

• Six documented Australian matters from courts, tribunals and regulators. They include a Melbourne café sold on figures that didn't hold up, and a Sydney pharmacy whose turnover was inflated. Each is explained with its source, what was found, and what a buyer can learn.

• Clearly labelled worked examples: a café, a family takeaway, a cleaning business, a hair salon, a retail shop, an online store and a franchise resale. Every example states its assumptions and shows the arithmetic.

• A sources section with links to the judgments and regulator publications, so you can check the material yourself.

Your practical guide: eight ready-to-use worksheets

Print them, fill them in as you investigate, and take them to your accountant and lawyer:

• Listing Decoder: test every claim in the advertisement.

• Document Request List: track what you've asked for, received and reviewed.

• Profit Reconciliation Sheet: check that the records agree and calculate your own adjusted profit.

• True Workload Calculator: put a value on unpaid labour and find your real hourly return.

• Lease Checklist: capture the terms, costs and risks before you commit.

• Questions for the Seller: 25 questions to ask in writing.

• Adviser Briefing Sheet: prepare your accountant and lawyer so their time is well spent.

• Decision Scorecard: bring your findings together into a clear decision.

Why this book

Buying a business can offer independence and a livelihood, but only if the reality matches the promise. This guide won't tell you whether a particular business is a good buy. It will help you ask better questions, spot gaps in what you've been told, and understand what you're committing to before you risk your savings.

This book provides general information only and is not legal, tax, financial or migration advice. Always seek advice from a qualified accountant and lawyer who act for you.