Diligence / English starting point
Business acquisition due diligence checklist
Free small business acquisition due diligence checklist in Excel and PDF. Track evidence, findings, owners and next steps.
Document preview
What’s included
- Financial reconciliation, owner duties, add-backs and working capital
- Customers, suppliers, contracts, permits and ownership
- Employees, equipment, systems, privacy and transition
- Editable responsibility, status, due date, evidence and finding columns
Excel workbook · PDF
A starting point for the actual deal.
Use this checklist to investigate a business before committing to the purchase. It organizes the questions to answer across financial performance, contracts, people, assets and operations. Each check explains what evidence to examine. Keep the evidence, your finding and the decision separate: receiving a document does not mean its contents have been verified.
Generic English edition. Governing law and transaction details require your review.
How to use this template
- Choose the checks relevant to the business with your advisers.
- Assign responsibility and record the evidence needed for each check.
- Review the evidence and note the finding, open question or reason an item does not apply.
- Resolve material issues before agreeing the final transaction conditions.
Common questions
Is this the same as a document request list?
The checklist records what you need to establish. The request list records what you ask the seller to provide. Use the two together, then assess whether the supplied records answer each question.
Does it cover every industry?
It provides a general small-business starting point. Add industry, licensing, environmental, tax and jurisdiction-specific checks with the people advising your transaction.
Keep the next step in view.
Use the business buying guide for the full process, or review the due diligence guide for deeper checks.
Download the general buyer checklist PDF
These English resources are general starting points. Adapt them to the business, transaction and governing law with your advisers. They are not jurisdiction-specific legal documents or a substitute for professional advice. Free to adapt for your own business or transaction. Redistribution as a template product is not included.