Food, Retail & Hospitality · Seller readiness
Selling a Convenience Store business
Published · Reviewed by The Diligence Standard Team · Updated
Owners should reconcile POS, bank deposits, inventory and category margins and clean up owner-related expenses before marketing the store.
How the business works
Inside sales, gross margin, lottery/tobacco/food mix, shrink, labor and lease/site quality drive cash flow. Inventory and cash controls deserve special attention.
Issues to resolve
- POS, deposits and tax returns do not reconcile
- Inventory count is stale
- Owner expenses are mixed into operations
- Licenses are not prepared for transfer
- Lease options are weak
Evidence to request and reconcile
- POS sales by category
- Bank deposits
- Inventory counts
- Vendor purchases
- Payroll
- Lease and licenses
Decision questions
- Can sales and deposits reconcile by category?
- What inventory is actually saleable at closing?
- What is earnings after replacing owner labor?
- Which licenses must transfer?
- How exposed is profit to declining tobacco or lottery economics?