Question 1

Can I shortlist investors located in a specific location?

Accepted Answer

Most businesses filter investors by where the investor wants to invest and not where they are physically located. But if you want to find investors who are based in a specific loaction, use the “Investor Location” filter instead of "Location" filter as shown below.

How to do it:

Open the “Investors & Buyers” page from the top menu.
In the left panel, click on the “Investor Location.” and select your preferred city, state, country or region.

Investor Location

Question 2

What is the validity period of my profile?

Accepted Answer

SMERGERS offers different validity periods for different paid plans, and these may change over time. To view the exact validity and expiry date of your paid plan, please check your dashboard or check the benefits pages. Note that your profile may become inactive before the end of the validity period if you use all the credits/proposals included in your plan. Free plans typically have a 3-month validity. Once your profile validity expires, you will lose any remaining credits/proposals. You can resubscribe before the expiry date to carry them forward.

Question 3

After I receive my professional plan documents, what next?

Accepted Answer

Professional Plan subscribers, will receive tailored documents such as a Valuation Model, Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM), Franchise Brochure, ROI Model, etc, prepared specifically for their business or franchise.

You have complete discretion in using these documents. You can share them with prospective investors on SMERGERS by messaging them from your 'Introductions' page, or upload them to your profile directly to make them accessible to all current and future introduced investors. It is up to you to decide whether you would like the investor to sign an NDA before you share these documents.

Please note, once the professional plan documents are prepared, SMERGERS shares them only with you and not with any other investors. These documents stay completely confidential with SMERGERS.

Question 4

When does the validity of a subscription plan begin?

Accepted Answer

If a subscription plan has a defined validity period, it begins from either the payment date or the activation date, whichever comes later. If the user already has an existing plan, the newly subscribed plan will take effect post expiry of the current plan. You can also check the exact validity date after payment by visiting your dashboard.

Question 5

Should I interact with someone who no longer has a profile on SMERGERS?

Accepted Answer

Please ensure you interact with your introductions only through the SMERGERS platform. In case the introduction is no longer available on your dashboard, then you should take precautionary measures and immediately stop interacting with that specific member.

Question 6

What exactly are Tags I see on a profile?

Accepted Answer

Tags are automatically created keyword phrases based on parameters selected on the profile, such as industry, location, transaction type, and so forth; there is no manual way to alter these tags. Search engines may be able to use these tags to search profiles.

Question 7

How does SMERGERS promote profiles on social media?

Accepted Answer

As per the terms of engagement that were agreed upon by the user during registration, SMERGERS can make its best efforts to advertise, market, and promote the user's requirements, including pictures, on various platforms and social media, with the goal of maximizing introductions. The decision to feature a profile on social media will be at the discretion of SMERGERS, taking into account factors such as high-quality pictures, attractive valuation, and business legitimacy. If you do not want your profile to be featured on social media, please send an email at help@inbox.smergers.com.

Question 8

Can I delete a message already sent on SMERGERS?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can delete messages sent by you. Visit the inbox page of the introduced member, identify the message that you want to delete, and click on the red "X" icon on the top right corner of the message. Confirm the deletion by clicking on the "Delete message" prompt.

Question 9

My profile was previously activated but is now "Closed" or "On hold" even though my subscription has not expired. Why?

Accepted Answer

We regularly scrutinize profiles, and depending on the results of our routine checks and input from users of the platform, your profile may be flagged for a re-verification. It will remain in the inactive state until the verification process is completed by the team. Please write to us with any proof/documents which could help us verify and re-activate your profile faster.

Question 10

I cannot login. How can I reset my password?

Accepted Answer

If you have forgotten your password, you can reset the same. Visit this link: https://www.smergers.com/login/ select the Login tab and click on 'Forgot your password?' as shown below.

You can enter your registered email address or phone number to receive a message regarding your account and reset your password.

Question 11

Does SMERGERS have a mobile app?

Accepted Answer

SMERGERS works as a Progressive Web App (PWA) which can be downloaded from the browser, instead of the App store. This is a lightweight app which takes minimal memory on your phone but an experience on par with native apps. To install, visit www.smergers.com on Safari (for iPhone) or Chrome (for Android Phones) and click on the logo to trigger the install message as shown below and follow the onscreen instructions.

Safari on iOS Chrome on Android

iOS web app Android web app

Question 12

How to change the currency in which the amounts are displayed?

Accepted Answer

The currency symbol is displayed on the top left portion of the website. By default, this is set to the local currency of your location. If you wish to change this, click and select the required currency from the dropdown. All numbers on the website will now be shown in the currency you have selected.

Question 13

Can I get a list of investors with emails and phone numbers?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, we do not sell investor databases and there is no option to directly access the phone numbers and emails of our members, as we believe this leads to unwanted calls and spam emails. Instead, you can list your business on SMERGERS and generate interest from investors to connect with you. You will have complete access to investors' email and phone numbers who specifically express an interest to connect with your business. If you are an advisor with multiple business opportunities, you can explore our Sell-side advisor plans to list multiple mandates and generate investor interest for each opportunity separately.

Question 14

How do I request permanent data deletion on SMERGERS?

Accepted Answer

Login to the account which you would like to permanently delete and then visit the following link: https://www.smergers.com/profile/delete-account

Question 15

I received an email stating "Member feedback for your profile". What is this? Where can I find all such feedback?

Accepted Answer

For select profiles, investors on SMERGERS have the option to mark their feedback on why they did not connect with the business/franchise profile. The feedback is not displayed publicly but is shared with you, the business owner, so you can use the same to make your business/profile better. You can find all such Feedback received on your dashboard under "Feedback from Members".

Question 16

How can I unsubscribe from emails?

Accepted Answer

Log in to your Dashboard, click your profile picture on the upper right corner and select "Settings" as shown in the image below. You'll see an option to update your "Email Preferences" on the left side.

Question 17

How do I change my existing password?

Accepted Answer

Log in to your Dashboard, click on your profile picture on the upper right corner and select "Settings" as shown in the image below. You'll see an option to "Change Password" on the left side of this page.

Question 18

Where can I see the number of emails sent as part of accelerated marketing?

Accepted Answer

Login to your Dashboard and click on the Introductions page. Accelerated marketing emails appear as Exclusive Emails Sent on the left hand side, directly beneath the Profile Insights graph, along with the number of emails already sent. The emails are sent over a period of 3-4 weeks after profile approval.

Question 19

Why does my closed profile still show up on a search engine?

Accepted Answer

Once a profile is closed we mark the transaction has closed and remove it from search engine indexing. But Google and other search engines may still retain it and show the results for a while which isn't in our control.

Question 20

Are documents uploaded on my business profile publicly visible?

Accepted Answer

Documents uploaded on a business profile are not publicly visible. They are accessible only to introduced members depending on the option you select on your profile:

If “Display company details to introduced members so that they can know about my company” is checked, introduced members can access the documents.

If unchecked, then the buyers/investors would not be able to access the documents even after the introduction and would instead see this message: "Profile owner has disabled view of documents. You can request these documents by messaging the user after introduction."

Question 21

What if I pay the finder's fee and then the buyer/investor backs out?

Accepted Answer

SMERGERS Finder's fee would be applicable as soon as a definitive agreement is reached between the parties or on receipt of the first tranche of payment, whichever is earlier. In cases where the buyer breaches the definitive agreement, the parties involved will have to settle it through legal recourse.

Question 22

Is there an option to temporarily close my profile?

Accepted Answer

There is no option to temporarily close a profile. You can instead "Close" your profile and reopen it when required. To close your profile, log in to your dashboard and click on the "Close" button on the profiles shown below. Please note that the subscription validity will remain unaffected and will follow the original payment date.

Close Profile

You may reopen your profile anytime within the subscription validity by clicking on "Edit & Reopen" as shown in the picture below.

Reopen Profile

Question 23

How are notifications generated on my dashboard?

Accepted Answer

Dashboard notifications are based on the location, deal size, and industry preferences set in your account. These preferences are also used for sending email recommendations. You can edit them by visiting your dashboard and clicking on the ‘Feed Preferences’ section on the left side under your profile picture.

Dashboard Notifications

Question 24

Can I display the logo and company name on my advisor profile?

Accepted Answer

The display of the logo and company name for advisor profiles, funds, and banks will be determined by SMERGERS based on several factors including but not limited to: the date of establishment, past deal closure information, positive feedback received from businesses, etc. If you wish to not have your logo and company name displayed, you can send us an email at help@inbox.smergers.com.

Question 25

How to use Bundle Plan credits to upgrade expired fast track profiles?

Accepted Answer

If you have Fast Track credits left from your Bundle plan, you can use the same to re-upgrade your expired business profiles. To do the same login to SMERGERS, click on "Edit" under the profile you wish to resubscribe, and scroll all the way down to choose “Existing Fast Track Credits” as shown in the picture and click "Submit".

Question 26

What is the official email address mentioned in the profile used for?

Accepted Answer

The official email address is used only for verification purposes. All transactional and marketing emails, based on your email preference, are sent only to your registered email address and not to the official email address. Even introduced members see only your registered email address and not the official email address mentioned in your profile.

Question 27

I have problems with the party I closed a deal with. What can I do?

Accepted Answer

SMERGERS is an online marketplace that connects businesses, investors, franchises and advisors. While we carry out basic checks on profiles that go live on the platform, the final responsibility of conducting thorough due diligence prior to deal closure lies with the users. You may also refer to the best practices.

If there is any transaction related concern at any stage, then both parties need to resolve it along with their concerned team and, if necessary, seek legal recourse. SMERGERS would be unable to mediate such disputes between parties as it is beyond the scope of our services. However, we encourage the aggrieved party to report the issue by sharing complete details and documentation so that our team can go through it, investigate the matter, and take appropriate steps on the platform as deemed necessary.

Question 28

Please explain the terms used in a Franchise profile

Accepted Answer

Space Required: The physical area required to set up a franchise outlet or office space. Typically specified as a range.
Brand Fee: A fee charged by the franchise brand owner to the franchise investor that permits the investor to operate under the brand name. This fee may either be a one time expense or be charged on a periodic basis.
Total Investment: An all-inclusive estimated cost of setting up a franchise outlet or office. The investment amount always includes the brand fee, cost of the office setup, cost of the outlet setup, legal and compliance costs, marketing costs, and other incidental start-up costs which includes employee salaries, and inventory costs. Typically specified as a range to account for circumstantial variables.
Royalty/Commission paid: Royalty is the recurring fee paid by the franchise investor to the franchise brand owner for the right to sell the brand’s products or services. In this scenario, the franchise investor collects the entire revenue and then pays the franchise brand owner a royalty fee.
Commission: Commission is the fee paid by the franchise brand owner to the franchise investor. In this scenario, either the franchise brand owner collects the entire revenue directly or the franchise investor collects the entire revenue and then remits either the entire revenue or the cost of the products sold/services rendered to the franchise brand owner. The franchise brand owner then compensates the franchise investor in the form of a commission for having sold its products or services.
Both royalty and commission can either be a fixed recurring fee or specified as a percentage of the monthly or annual revenue.
Monthly sales per franchise: The monthly sales per franchise is the estimated gross revenue that the franchise outlet is expected to generate in one month of operations. If the franchise brand owner already has similar outlets that are operational, the estimated monthly sales per franchise is expected to be in line with the average monthly revenue generated by the existing outlets similar to the franchise outlet.
Profit Margin: This is the estimated pre-tax profit a franchise investor is expected to make. This margin accounts for the cost of goods sold and/or the cost of the services rendered, operational expenses including rent, utility bills, and salaries, and the royalty fee or commission received as applicable.

Question 29

How to change my personal profile picture?

Accepted Answer

The profile picture is picked up automatically from your social login. To edit it please login to your Dashboard and click the Edit icon at the bottom right of your photo as shown below and select an alternate picture.

Question 30

Will payment for a subscription plan be charged automatically on a recurring basis?

Accepted Answer

None of the subscription plans on SMERGERS renew automatically. User will have to manually resubscribe to continue using the plan based on the validity of the plan. Details of paid plans can be viewed here.

Question 31

What is SMERGERS?

Accepted Answer

SMERGERS is derived from "SME" (Small Medium Enterprises) and “Mergers”. The online platform was developed to help SMEs to find reliable matchmaking and transaction opportunities i.e. Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Private Equity, Venture Capital Fundraising, Debt Syndication, Joint Ventures, and Franchising.

SMEs across the globe have been underserved by traditional Investment Banks, especially in the area of Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A). SMERGERS is an alternative business matchmaking platform for such small to mid-sized enterprises to access affordable investment banking services to sell, buy, invest, franchise, or divest businesses through an online platform.

The SMERGERS Logo, featuring six interlocking square boxes, represents our core mission and the six steps of the M&A process: Deal Discovery, Business Valuation, Negotiation, Financing, Due Diligence, and Closure Agreements. We offer these services either through in-house services or partner firms. To learn more about us, visit www.smergers.com/about

Question 32

Why am I not receiving emails from SMERGERS?

Accepted Answer

There could be several reasons why you may not be receiving our emails.

1. Firstly, visit this page: Not receiving emails to check if your email address has been tagged as invalid in our system. If so follow the process mentioned in the page to resolve the same.

2. If the above page does not show any issues with your email, the problem could be at your end. Please check your spam folder, email filters and maximum inbox capacity to ensure your inbox is working fine and receiving emails. If your email service provider allows you could whitelist info@smergers.com so emails are received at your end without any blocking from your email service provider.

If none of the above work, please send an email to info@smergers.com stating you are not receiving our emails even after following the above steps.

Question 33

How to accept a business proposal?

Accepted Answer

If a business proposal sent to you meets your investment criteria, you connect with this business for free. To connect with the business directly from your email, simply click on the green "Connect" button as shown below.

Alternatively, you can also visit the Messages section on the top right of your dashboard to view all proposals received. Click on the "View" button to see the business details as shown below. Type your message to the business and click on the "Connect For Free" button to directly connect with the business.

Please note that accepting a proposal is free and your introduction credits are not used when you connect with a business or franchise which has sent you a proposal. For more details please refer to: Do my credits get used if I accept a proposal?

Question 34

How do I logout from SMERGERS?

Accepted Answer

If you have logged in from your desktop or laptop, please click on your profile picture on the top right of your screen and select the last option "Logout" from the dropdown.

If you have logged in from your mobile, please click the navigation menu on the top left of your screen and select the last option "Logout" from the dropdown.

Question 35

How does the 'Unlimited Proposals' plan on sell-side work?

Accepted Answer

Unlimited Proposal allows you to enhance your outreach and get the best visibility for your business or franchise profile on SMERGERS. You get unlimited proposal credits (subject to fair usage policy) to reach out to registered investors and acquirers for a period of 1 year. SMERGERS will also trigger proposals from your business to top 50 investors/acquirers in your sector. Additionally up to 3,000 registered members from your industry will receive your business profile over an email blast as part of the marketing outreach.

To check the pricing and subscribe to this plan, log in to your profile, click on edit, and scroll all the way down to choose "Unlimited Proposals" plan inside "Select Individual Services" section.

Question 36

How can I connect social media accounts to my SMERGERS account?

Accepted Answer

You can connect LinkedIn, Facebook and Google accounts to your SMERGERS account by logging on to your dashboard and clicking on the links shown below. Logging into SMERGERS using your social account automatically captures this information if they are registered under the same email address. Kindly note that these social media links are not displayed on your public profile but would rather reflect in blue as verified once connected.

Social Media Accounts

Question 37

How to archive introductions I'm no longer interested in?

Accepted Answer

All introductions that you no longer wish to pursue or have been concluded can be archived by clicking on the "Archive" button on the bottom left of the introduction card as shown below. All archived introductions can still be accessed by clicking on the "Archived" tab on top of the introductions page.

Question 38

How to resubscribe to emails from SMERGERS?

Accepted Answer

If you accidentally unsubscribed to all emails from SMERGERS, you can resubscribe by logging in to your dashboard. Click on "Edit" next to "Email Preferences" on your profile card. Under the “Important Communication” you could choose the “Subscribed” option as shown below and save the changes.

If you are unable to log in to your account, you can click on this link: Not receiving emails from SMERGERS and follow the instructions provided to re-activate your email address.

Additionally, if you wish not to receive any marketing emails from SMERGERS (and wish to receive only important communication regarding your profile and queries) you can select "No Email" option for New Opportunity Notifications and Business Proposals.

Email Preferences - Edit Email Preferences - 2nd Page

Question 39

Why can't I change my business profile to a different business?

Accepted Answer

Each business profile created is for a specific business and all introductions and recommendations on the platform are based on that business' industry and location. Once a profile is activated, users can update their profile with new information, but changing the profile materially in such a way that it represents a different business is not allowed. If the deal is no longer valid, the user will need to close the existing profile and create a new profile if they wish to list a new business.

Question 40

How is the pie chart on a member profile generated?

Accepted Answer

This is a constantly evolving pie chart which reflects the members prefered industries and locations based on their profile details and businesses they choose to connect with.

Question 41

Why haven't I heard from SMERGERS after submitting my profile?

Accepted Answer

SMERGERS follows a priority based queue to review profiles due to the high volume of profiles we receive each day. Paid profiles are actioned within 1 business day as per our service guarantee. Ensure complete and relevant information is updated on your profile along with your official email address, verification documents and images as applicable. Such profiles are prioritised higher in the queue.

Question 42

Who should register on SMERGERS?

Accepted Answer

Business owners, Entrepreneurs, Franchise owners, Investors, Business Buyers, Lenders and Financial Advisors who would like to be in the know of latest deals in their industry register on SMERGERS.

Question 43

A profile which was previously available now says “Transaction has concluded”. What does this mean?

Accepted Answer

This means that the profile owner is now no longer interested in pursuing the transaction. This could be because of a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, successful deal closure with another party, change of plans of the business owner, unavailability of the profile owner, etc.

SMERGERS periodically reviews profiles listed on the platform to ensure they remain current and active. Business owners and members may as well close their profiles when they aren’t keen on pursuing the transaction. Connecting with such profiles would not be possible.

Question 44

A profile on SMERGERS seems to be of my company, but I haven't created one. How do I report such an issue?

Accepted Answer

While we take appropriate measures to ensure only authorized personnel upload profiles on SMERGERS, it is important to understand that the content written on profiles is mostly user-generated and sometimes may infringe on others' copyrights. Before you reach out to us, please talk to all stakeholders in your company including other directors, investors, authorized employees, advisors engaged, etc, to check if they have listed the profile on your behalf on SMERGERS, as many a times such miscommunication leads to unnecessary emails with SMERGERS.

After confirming with all stakeholders, if you still have a reason to believe that your company's details have been listed on SMERGERS by unauthorized personnel, you can report the same at help@inbox.smergers.com from your official email address with the following details:

1. Link to the profile on SMERGERS which you believe represents your company

2. Specific details (photos, text, etc) which match your company

3. Proof of such matching details on your company's website or documents

4. Your name, designation and company's name

Once submitted, our analysts will verify the same and take necessary action. If there is reason for us to believe that such a profile indeed violates your copyright, we put the profile on hold and request the user to send us proof of authorization to reopen the profile. It is in our best interest to ensure only authorized personnel use SMERGERS, but if our analysts believe that the user's profile does not represent your company, we may allow the profile to continue on our website, with or without modifications. Please note that, unless there is a legal requirement, we will be unable to share details of who listed the profile in the first place because of privacy reasons.

Question 45

How to check the 'Promotions by SMERGERS' as part of the paid plan?

Accepted Answer

Promotion by SMERGERS for paid business profiles happens through emails. Such profiles are included in our regular industry mailers as premium listings. While there is no direct way of tracking the number of such emails sent and their status, you can view the number of visitors to your profile from such emails.

Login to your dashboard and click on the Introductions page. On the left hand side you’ll see a graph with Profile Insights. The number displayed as "Alerts" indicates the number of visitors to your profile through such emails. In case you do not see any number it would mean members haven’t reacted to your profile listing yet. Refer to the picture below:

Question 46

Do my credits get used if I accept a proposal?

Accepted Answer

No, it does not. The system is designed in such a way that no credits are utilised when a member accepts a proposal.

To check the same, you can visit your Dashboard > Introductions and click on "Reply" to check if that introduction was through a proposal.

If the business has sent you a proposal you would see "Sent a proposal" message indicating that no credits have been utilised for such an introduction.

If you do not find "Sent a proposal" message it indicates a direct connect which has utilized your credits

Question 47

How can I deduct Advance Tax/TDS for payment towards SMERGERS' services?

Accepted Answer

Advance Taxes / TDS might be applicable to your business, depending on its location. Once the complete payment has been made towards SMERGERS, depending on your country and applicable tax rules you will need to submit the Advance Tax / TDS certificate to SMERGERS so we can process and provide a corresponding reimbursement.

Question 48

Why can't I browse SMERGERS website without registering?

Accepted Answer

SMERGERS is a private network of members and hence all users are required to register and login before they can view a profile on the website. It is quick and easy to register on SMERGERS. Click here to get started.

Question 49

I see some proposals sent from my free business profile. Who sent this?

Accepted Answer

If you started your business/franchise profile creation on a specific investor/buyer page, then the free proposal is triggered to that member after activation of your profile. This would show up as a proposal on your introductions page.

For a select few profiles, SMERGERS also sends out proposals on a complimentary basis to improve the chances of a deal closure.

Question 50

Do you provide any analytics on my profile?

Accepted Answer

The analytics which we currently provide are accessible from your dashboard as shown in the picture below. Click on the numbers to view further details:

You can also access Profile Insights from Introductions page as shown in the picture below:

Question 51

How do I cancel an introduction?

Accepted Answer

An introduction cannot be canceled once it has been initiated because the other party would have already been alerted of this introduction. In case you are not interested in connecting with this party, send them a note regarding the same. However, there won't be any re-credits provided for this.

Question 52

Does SMERGERS offer a discount on subscription plans?

Accepted Answer

SMERGERS offers loyalty discount on subscription renewals only. If you renew before your current plan expires, the discount will be automatically applied at checkout. The standard discount rate is 15% on resubscriptions, except when the previously purchased plan is lower-priced than the plan you are currently purchasing.

We may also email you about your discount eligibility before your plan expires and any such offers will be available only for a limited time as specified in the email.

Follow our social media channels for regular updates:

Instagram

Facebook

X (Twitter)

Youtube

Question 53

What are the roles & responsibilities of an Account Manager?

Accepted Answer

Account managers will be your single point of contact for all queries related to your profile and subscription. They will be available to you over email and phone during business hours. They could also help you with curation and updation of your profile if required.

Below are some of the areas where account managers will NOT be able to assist you:

X Negotiate on your behalf with introduced members
X Providing you with valuation recommendations
X Filtering out or following up on your introductions
X Creating or sharing collateral documents with your introductions
X Participate in meetings/calls with prospective investors/acquirers
X Conducting or managing due diligence exercise

Question 54

What is the traffic on www.smergers.com?

Accepted Answer

SMERGERS is one of the fastest growing website in our industry and we rank amongst the very top. SMERGERS has a global footprint with users from many different countries. Depending on the level of engagement at the time, some countries may exhibit high activity. One can load the live map on the home page or use the location filters on the Business for Sale and Investors & Buyers pages to discover the total number of registered businesses and investors. SMERGERS’ web traffic rank can be checked by clicking on the link below and comparing it with other websites:

https://www.similarweb.com/website/smergers.com

Question 55

How to update company name, tax number and other details in the invoice?

Accepted Answer

Changing a specific invoice is possible only if you have not already saved it and only in the same month the payment was made.

To edit your invoice, log in to your dashboard and click on the top right picture of yours and select "Invoices". Find the invoice which you would like to update and click on "Print Invoice" next to it as shown below. This should open up a page with default billing details from your account. You can edit and save this information, provided it was not saved earlier and the payment was made in the same month. If the invoice is already finalized then it will directly download the invoice without allowing you to edit the same.

To update your default billing details visit your dashboard and click on "Update Details" below your profile card and enter the details as shown below. These values will be used as default details for your future invoices.

Please note that GST number can be updated only on Indian payments and not on Export invoices. If valid GST is updated in the same month of payment and the filing does not reflect on your GST portal even after 3 months of payment you can reach out to us at help@inbox.smergers.com. If you wish to display a VAT/Tax number on your Export invoice, you can add the same next to your company name, for example, "TransTech Restaurants LLC (VAT: 987654321)"

Question 56

How do I close my profile?

Accepted Answer

Log in to your dashboard and click on the "Close" button on the profile which you would like to close. Refer to the image below:

Kindly note, closing a profile does not mean that we will be deleting your information permanently from our database. We retain confidential information from closed accounts to derive industry knowledge, comply with law, prevent fraud, collect any fees owed, resolve disputes and take other actions otherwise permitted by law.

Question 57

How should I proceed in case of a payment failure?

Accepted Answer

You may try alternate payment methods highlighted in the links below in case of a payment failure. You can also check if your card is enabled for international transactions or use an alternate card.

https://www.smergers.com/faq/how-do-i-pay-using-stripe/251/

https://www.smergers.com/faq/i-need-smergers-bank-account-details/250/

Question 58

Why am I being asked to upgrade?

Accepted Answer

The free plan is available only for your first profile on SMERGERS so you can understand how it works and experience the capabilities of the platform. Kindly note that we allow only one free profile per user or per company and it is possible that someone else from your company could have utilized this free profile. For consecutive profiles you will have to upgrade your profile to enjoy uninterrupted services.

If you are being asked to upgrade on your first profile, it could be because of a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, a similar profile on a different account, expiration of the profile term of your previous profile, default of fee payments towards SMERGERS, inactivity / bad experience for users etc. Please note that we will be unable to provide specific details regarding why your profile was marked as "Needs Upgrade" and any details of the previous profiles due to privacy reasons. You can still continue using our platform, but only on a paid plan as we are unable to provide any free plan services.

Question 59

What should one do if a member or a business owner doesn’t respond post the introduction?

Accepted Answer

Post the introduction if you’re unable to establish initial connect, then kindly report the issue on your dashboard. Ensure you've tried every means to reach out to the party after fetching the contact details available on your dashboard.

However, if the initial connect has already been established and the party is now not responding, then it would simply mean that they may not be interested to pursue the transaction with you. You may follow up after a few weeks if you wish to and then move on and explore the possiblility of connecting with other parties on the platform.

Question 60

What formalities need to be completed post successful deal closure?

Accepted Answer

Once a deal is successfully closed, as per T&C, both the investor/acquire/advisor and the business should promptly disclose in absolute good faith the correct transaction value and transaction closure date to SMERGERS by sending an email to info@smergers.com within 2 business days of transaction closure.

The business/franchisor is also liable to pay the finder’s fee, except in the case of advisor listed profiles as per the contractual agreement. In case of non-compliance, the onus falls on both investor and business to clear the finder’s fee along with penalty interest of 4% per month. Failure to do so would attract legal action from SMERGERS.

Question 61

When would SMERGERS re-credit an introduction?

Accepted Answer

Users need to report the issue with complete details on the specific introduction on their dashboard within 30 days from the date of introduction. Post reporting the issue, we reach out to the concerned business owner to understand the problem. Kindly note this process may take upto a week. Under the following circumstances, SMERGERS re-credits the introduction:

- No initial contact can be established between the business and the interested member

- Inital contact has been made, but it was learnt that the business is already sold or not available for transaction

- There is material difference between what is mentioned in the profile and the actuals of the business

Please note, SMERGERS may ask you for related documentary proof/email exchanges before accepting your request and recrediting your account.

Question 62

Can I send attachments through SMERGERS messaging system?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can. SMERGERS messaging system offers a convenient and easy platform to exchange attachments post the introduction.

Question 63

Why wasn’t an investor/buyer’s introduction approved who wanted to connect with me?

Accepted Answer

All valid connects gets approved on the platform. When a connect does not get approved, it could be due to a variety of reasons. Every users on SMERGERS is screened after going through an internal process. Users, even after clearing the verification process, need to have required credits to connect with a business. When you receive a successful introduction, you'll be notified via email and text message immediately.

Question 64

I have received several introductions but still unable to successfully close a deal. What should I do?

Accepted Answer

SMERGERS is a marketplace that provides businesses and franchises visibility amongst interested investors/buyers/advisors so interested prospects can find your business/franchise and connect with you. Once the introduction has been made on the platform, the onus of taking the discussion forward & successfully closing the deal rests with the business owner and the buyer/investor. Key factors affecting deal closure include business and valuation attractiveness, management discussions post the introduction, and mutual interest. SMERGERS does not have any control over these aspects. There has to be a meeting of minds between the buyer and seller for successful deal closure.

Typically, we have seen a few common mistakes that business owners make. You could go through the link here and understand how to avoid these mistakes.

Click here to read testimonials from some of our members who have recently closed deals on SMERGERS.