By now, you’ve had the awkward coffee with the seller, eyeballed the financials, counted coins, and hopefully dodged a few landmines in Phase 2.
If you’re still in the game, good.
But now it’s time to stop playing amateur detective and bring in the professionals.
This is Phase 3: Hired Guns.
Because buying a business without expert backup is like walking into a courtroom without a lawyer and hoping charm gets you off.
YOU'RE NOT MEANT TO DO THIS ALONE
This is the biggest cheque most people will ever write outside of buying a house.
So why would you go it alone?
You're not expected to be the accountant, lawyer, or operational specialist. You're the buyer.
Your job is to make smart decisions, not guess your way through legal jargon or interpret BAS statements like some half-trained forensic analyst.
What you need now is a deal team. Real experts.
People who look at these documents and systems every week and know exactly where the problems hide.
If you're about to invest hundreds of thousands into a small business, don’t be stingy where it counts. Getting the right people involved could save your skin.
YOUR CORE TRIO: WHO YOU NEED AND WHAT THEY DO
1. The Accountant – Your Financial Sniper
Your accountant's job isn't to nod along and say the profit looks decent.
Their job is to find cracks in the story before you fall through them.
What they’ll check:
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Three years of tax returns, BAS and financial statements
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Payroll records, superannuation compliance, GST accuracy
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Any signs of cashflow manipulation or irregular expenses
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Inventory valuation methods and stock control
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Owner add-backs that smell more like fantasy than fact
You want them to say, “Here’s what’s real, here’s what’s fluff, and here’s what you need to fix.”
If they shrug and say, “Looks fine,” find a better accountant.
2. The Lawyer – Your Legal Shield
This person reads the fine print so you don’t get ambushed six months after the deal closes.
One dodgy clause in a lease or supplier agreement could turn your dream business into a legal money pit.
What they’ll check:
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Lease terms, options, hidden rent escalations and demolition clauses
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Employee contracts, entitlements, and compliance with awards
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Any history of legal disputes, outstanding liabilities, or unpaid penalties
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Intellectual property ownership and transfer details
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Customer and supplier contracts that could fall over with new ownership
You want a lawyer who works in commercial and business sales.
Not your cousin who “does some property law on the side.” This is no time for favours.
3. The Industry Expert – Your Inside Man
This one’s the wildcard, and most people skip it. That’s a mistake.
Find someone who knows this type of business inside-out.
Someone who’s run a café, managed a warehouse, owned a tyre shop, whatever industry you’re buying into.
They will see things you can’t. And more importantly, they’ll know what actually matters versus what just looks shiny in a pitch.
What they’ll tell you:
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What breaks down most often (and how much it costs to fix)
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What customers really care about and complain about
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How long the equipment should last before it needs replacement
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Which staff roles are essential and which are dead weight
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Whether the seller’s story actually makes operational sense
Can’t find one? Pay for it. Shout lunch. Offer a $100 consult.
This single conversation could save you from a deal that looks great on paper but bleeds money in real life.
WHO ELSE BELONGS ON YOUR BENCH?
Every deal is different. These roles are optional but powerful depending on the business type.
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Real Estate Agent or Broker: For deals with property, ask them to pull comps and assess the lease against market rates.
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Insurance Broker: Can estimate realistic premium costs post-acquisition and flag underinsured risks.
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IT or Systems Consultant: Useful in businesses with outdated POS, clunky booking systems or digital blind spots.
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Industry Association Contact: Some are goldmines for compliance guidance, benchmarks and operational norms.
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Former Employee or Competitor Contact: Tread carefully, but if you can get insight from someone who used to work there, it can be priceless.
WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE IN THE REAL WORLD
You’re buying a wholesale bakery.
You get the numbers checked. Great.
The lease looks stable. Excellent.
But the industry expert tells you those Italian ovens are past their prime and will cost thirty grand to replace.
The insurance broker tells you flour dust raises your premium.
The lawyer flags that if one key customer walks, the contract lets them take the custom packaging IP with them.
The accountant discovers the “staff bonus” column is really just the owner's car loan being disguised.
All true stories. All real pain avoided by bringing in the right people before it was too late.
THIS IS WHERE YOU STOP GUESSING AND START PROTECTING YOUR MONEY
You can absolutely build wealth through business acquisition.
But wealth is not built on wishful thinking and crossed fingers.
This is where the emotion stops and the professionals step in.
If the numbers don’t hold up, the contracts are a mess, or your gut starts twisting: listen.
Your hired guns are there to save you from the stuff that ruins first-time buyers.
And if everything checks out?
Congratulations. You’ve done what most never do. You’ve bought like a professional.
You are not paying these people to tell you what you want to hear.
You’re paying them to tell you the truth.
Listen to it. Or learn the hard way.
Your Next Step
Ready to find businesses that checks all you boxes?
Explore our current listings of Australian businesses for sale at BusinessForSale.com.au