Question 1

What is seller financing?

Accepted Answer

Seller financing is a common way to finance small business acquisitions. It involves the seller providing a loan to the buyer to purchase the business, in which the seller will receive the payments in installments following a substantial down payment. Many business owners offer this option to buyers to help bring in more buyers and complete a transaction. However, seller financing agreements should be reviewed by a lawyer and should distinctly outline the corrective actions that would enable the seller to pursue any available legal remedies in the event of a payment default.

Question 2

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 3

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 4

What are the ROC-Verification.pdf and Domain-Verification.pdf documents that I see on my business profile? I haven't uploaded them.

Accepted Answer

These are the documents that are automatically generated by SMERGERS at the time of profile approval, depending on the information available. These documents provide potential investors with further information about the credibility of the business. Profile owners can access these documents via their Edit page and also choose to delete them if required.

ROC-Verification.pdf - This report compiles data from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) regarding public limited, private limited, and limited liability partnership companies that are registered in India.

Domain-Verification.pdf - The document contains the website ranking from SimilarWeb and Domain Authority from Moz which is an approximate indicator of a website's popularity. Note that this document is generated only if the user provides us with their website information and also has a good traffic ranking.

Question 5

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 6

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 7

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 8

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 9

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 10

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 11

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. You may reopen your profile anytime within the subscription validity.

Question 12

How are notifications generated on my dashboard?

Accepted Answer

Dashboard notifications are based on the location and industry preferences set in your account. You can edit the same by visiting your dashboard and clicking on the "Account Details" section on the left side under your profile picture.

Question 13

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 14

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 15

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 16

Can the valuation prepared by SMERGERS be treated as a regulatory valuation report?

Accepted Answer

The valuation model prepared by SMERGERS, while being prepared by experienced valuation professionals, is not a regulated valuation report which can be used for regulatory or tax purposes. It is an excel valuation model built relying on several assumptions provided by the company and independent sources without independent verification or due diligence by SMERGERS team. This model can be used for internal and negotiation purposes only. It is not a registered valuer or merchant banker or a tax valuation.

Question 17

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 18

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 19

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 20

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 21

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 these profiles would not be possible and in case you have already used your credits to connect with such a profile, SMERGERS would recredit you for the same.

Question 22

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 23

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 24

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 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 25

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.

Question 26

I already have a profile on SMERGERS and have a few questions. Can someone call me or can you provide your contact number?

Accepted Answer

We request you to send us your question through the 'Contact Us' page (https://www.smergers.com/contact-us/) so the appropriate team can revert to you with proper resolution or contact you over the phone to clarify your doubts. It would be difficult for us to assign the right person without knowing your queries. If you have subscribed to the professional plan or account manager plan you would have received an email with your account manager's phone number for ad hoc phone support.

You could also check out our FAQs here

Question 27

What is "run rate sales" that I see on SMERGERS’ Business Profile?

Accepted Answer

Run rate sales as a concept is used to arrive at an estimated annual sales based on most recent monthly sales. It helps in forecasting sales for the complete year if the business continues to genarate sales at the same rate.

Calculate Run rate sales based on the below formula:

Run Rate Sales = Average Monthly Sales * 12

Question 28

What is business working capital loan?

Accepted Answer

Business working capital loan is a type of loan which is provided to fund the day to day operations of the business. Most businesses have different cycles of production, sales and payments. This results in a cash flow mismatch. Higher receivables cripple a business of its cash flow and would require continuous working capital funding as the business increases its turnover. Banks and other financial institutions offer working capital loans to such businesses. These loans are typically short term in nature and expected to be repaid as soon as the business gets paid by their customers.

Question 29

Where can I find bankrupt business for sale?

Accepted Answer

Acquiring bankrupt businesses for sale is a commonly followed strategy by turnaround specialists as they tend to be available at subsidized valuations. Such companies could have a healthy operational track record, but facing a tough time because of financial distress and high interest loans. Bankrupt businesses generally mean that the interest to be paid to bank / lender is much higher than the profits that are being generated or because of temporarily stalled production, there by losing sales. If the business owner gets rid of the loan, most of these businesses thrive. Once can visit the following page to view all bankrupt businesses for sale.

Also, you can visit our Q&A on Is it a good idea to buy failing businesses for sale?

Question 30

How to sell my business quickly?

Accepted Answer

Typically a business would take anywhere between 2 – 24 months to execute the sale transaction. But businesses selling out within 2 weeks itself is not unheard of. To hasten the process of selling the business, consider below points:

1. Valuation can make or break the deal. Positioning the sale price of the business at an attractive level can reduce the time taken to sell the business drastically. You can view typical business valuation here and price it at the lower level to make it attractive.

2. Businesses which have offers from other buyers are the ones which get sold quickly as there is a sense of urgency. Ensure you have several interested buyers rather than talking to just one buyer. You can get started by creating a profile for your business here and receive buyer introductions within days.

3. Keep all your documents, audited statements, tax returns, guides, contracts, etc readily available as these are required for the due diligence process which typically lasts a few weeks.

4. Even post selling, business owners will be asked to continue for a period of 6-12 months for handholding and graceful takeover. If you want to move on quickly, ensure the business is not overly dependent on you, the business owner.

Question 31

How should a real estate be valued when performing a valuation exercise?

Accepted Answer

If the real estate facility is being used to generate the existing topline of the company, then it does not get valued separately. The value of the real estate is already accounted in the business valuation. Only if the real estate facility is an excess property not being utilized to run the existing business, it can be valued separately and added back to the business valuation.

Question 32

Do you have a business valuation calculator on SMERGERS website?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we have a simple yet effective business valuation tool on SMERGERS website, which is based on average multiple derived from comparable firms, to guide business owners to quickly estimate a valuation range for their company.

Question 33

Should I even bother getting my business valuation done?

Accepted Answer

One of the first steps during a strategic business transaction is projecting future growth and understanding the valuation of the business. The valuation exercise brings out a lot of insights and helps the business owner understand levers which could improve his business’ valuation. We observe that the chances of a successful deal closure at a fair valuation is higher when a business owner clearly understands his business’ valuation.

Question 34

What do you mean by multiples in business valuation?

Accepted Answer

Multiple is usually the factor applied on various financial metrics to arrive at fair valuation for the business. Multiples move in a band and differs from industry to industry. An industry enjoying consistent growth in good economic conditions tend to command multiples which are at the top end of the band. Multiples are generally used with Sales, EBITDA, Free Cash Flow to arrive at a valuation. For example, “1.5x Sales” means multiplying the annual sales by 1.5 gives you an estimate of the valuation of the business.

Question 35

What is the process of creating a business valuation?

Accepted Answer

1. Team SMERGERS would send business owner a checklist required to prepare the valuation model.
2. The information / documents received from the business owner would be reviewed by SMERGERS Team.
3. A combination of three business valuation models namely DCF (Discounted Cash Flow, Trading Comparables and Transaction Comparables) will be used to estimate a fair valuation range for the business.
4. SMERGERS Team will share a draft version of the model and review the assumptions with the business owner.
5. Final valuation model is updated and the final model is delivered to the business owner.

Question 36

What is the cost of preparing a business valuation?

Accepted Answer

Please visit Business Valuation page to check the latest price for the same.

Question 37

How long would it take to prepare a business valuation by Team SMERGERS?

Accepted Answer

It takes 20 business days to prepare a valuation model from the date of receipt of all the necessary documents / information & requisite fees.

Question 38

What are the common mistakes while preparing a CIM?

Accepted Answer

A CIM can be an extremely effective document if one can avoid the most common mistakes listed below
1. Unrealistic projections by the business.
2. Underestimating or claiming no competition.
3. Overestimating market potential.
4. Mismatch between cash flow and investment needs.
5. No relation between Revenue and Expense projections.

Question 39

What is the cost of preparing a CIM?

Accepted Answer

Please visit Information Memorandum page to check the latest price for the same.

Question 40

How long would it take to prepare a CIM by Team SMERGERS?

Accepted Answer

It takes 20 business days to deliver a CIM from the date of receipt of all the necessary documents / information.

Question 41

What is a franchise profile?

Accepted Answer

Franchise profile is a profile of a business which is offering rights to distribute its products and services.

Question 42

What is stake? How do I calculate it?

Accepted Answer

Stake is the percentage share/ownership of your company you are willing to transfer to the investor. For example if you wish to give half ownership to the investor, then stake has to be 50 percent.

Question 43

How can I avail your services?

Accepted Answer

You can easily subscribe to any of our services online as we have a transparent and modular pricing plan. If you need to try our service and talk to us before you pay, we also have the option of a Free Trial for most plans. Based on your requirements you may create a free profile to experience our service and speak to our analyst.

Question 44

How can SMERGERS help me?

Accepted Answer

SMERGERS plays the role of a matchmaker between interested investors/buyers, business owners and M&A advisors, allowing them to interact directly with each other, and then helping close deals by providing full-range ancillary services, including valuation, collateral preparation, due diligence, legal documentation and so on.

Are you a Business Owner? If you are a business owner trying to connect with investors or acquirers, please register your business on SMERGERS so that investors and acquirers can start evaluating your business and connect with you if they are interested.

Are you an Investor/Buyer? On the other hand, if you want to invest or acquire businesses, please register as an investor, shortlist businesses using the filters on this page and connect with them.

Are you a Financial Advisor/Business Broker? If you are a financial advisor/business broker and want to explore buy and sell side opportunities for your clients, please register as an advisor here.

Are you looking for Franchise Partners? If you are looking for franchisee partners for growing your business you can register your franchise here.

Once you register, our analyst will get in touch with you over phone to curate, verify and activate your profile so you can get started. You can also view the video here to see how easy it is to buy/sell/franchise your business on SMERGERS.

Please refer to this link to know more about how other members used SMERGERS: How successful has SMERGERS been in helping its users successfully close a deal?

Question 45

What happens after profile creation?

Accepted Answer

Once your profile is live, members from across the world can view it on a "no name" basis. Interested members will contact you and you can contact members who are of interest to you. After an introduction happens you could disclose your identity. Please ensure that your expectations are not unrealistic as this is the major reason why deals don't close.

Question 46

Why should I disclose my business' name?

Accepted Answer

All profiles on SMERGERS are verified and hence we need to make sure that the business exists. Business' name is not publicly disclosed on SMERGERS. Registered Advisors need not enter their client's name and instead, use their company's name along with a project name.

Question 47

How does SMERGERS match my criteria with investors/acquirers/lenders/acquirers?

Accepted Answer

We consider different parameters to rank and sort members matching your criteria. In case you feel we can do better please write to us through the Contact Us page.

Question 48

How does SMERGERS match my criteria with businesses?

Accepted Answer

We consider different parameters to rank and sort businesses matching your criteria. In case you feel we can do better please write to us through the Contact Us page.

Question 49

After I connect with a business, what next?

Accepted Answer

SMERGERS approves the connection which will alert the business. Additionally, if the business has shared their contact details, it will become visible to you so you can contact them directly.

Question 50

Where can I see how many businesses are viewing my profile?

Accepted Answer

You can click on “View Introductions” on top of your profile page to access details of all activity on your profile.

Question 51

Why should I provide an investment range? It depends on the business.

Accepted Answer

We require the range of investments you are interested in so that we can alert you about relevant business opportunities. Please enter the minimum and maximum amount you are willing to invest in a single transaction.

Question 52

What are the professional services you provide for businesses?

Accepted Answer

SMERGERS believes in direct communication between businesses and prospective investors/acquirers as most deals which close successfully are based on the relationship which the parties develop during such interactions. Nevertheless, there are several ancillary services which would provide a professional approach to such transactions. Under the professional plan, SMERGERS assists you with the below services:

1. SMERGERS works with you to build a business valuation model with financial projections. To know more about the process please refer to: Process of creating a business valuation.

2. SMERGERS helps you create a Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM) document highlighting your business. To know more about the same, please refer to: What is a CIM.

3. SMERGERS conducts promotional marketing of your business through targeted emails. To know more about the same, please refer to: How to check promotions by SMERGERS?

4. SMERGERS assigns an Account Manager who acts as your single point of contact for any discussions and clarifications. To know more about the roles and responsibilities of the account manager, please refer to: Roles & Responsibilities of an Account Manager.

5. Your profile is showcased as Premium Profile on SMERGERS with unlimited proposal credits and a validity of one year. To know more about proposal credits, please refer to: What is a proposal credit?

Kindly note, even under the professional plan, once an introduction has been made it is up to the business to take the discussions forward with prospective investors/acquirers and these documents are only meant to be assistive in the course of such interactions.

Question 53

What is EBITDA margin? How do I calculate it?

Accepted Answer

EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) margin provides an investor with a clean view of the core operating profitability of a business. It is a financial metric used to compare valuations in most industries. EBITDA varies from industry to industry and business to business. It is calculated as follows:

EBITDA = Profit + Depreciation & Amortization + Taxes + Interest Expense – Non-Operating income + Non-operating expenses

EBITDA Margin = EBITDA / Operating Revenue

Question 54

What is Business Valuation?

Accepted Answer

Business valuation is process whereby a fair value of a company is arrived at using one or more of the valuation methodologies.