Resolve Dental Consultancy
Practice Sale Preparation Guide 2026
Practice Sale Preparation Guide 2026
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A Practical Guide for Australian Dental Practice Owners Preparing to Sell
- 3 Years Out — Foundation: Financial foundations (accountant, clean statements, fee review, cost structure), team stability (employment contracts, job descriptions, underperformer management), and systems documentation (SOP library, software data, lease, equipment)
- 12–18 Months Out — Polish: EBITDA review with accountant, normalised EBITDA calculation, compliance sweep across all regulatory areas, reducing owner dependence, and assembling your advisory team (solicitor, accountant, broker, financial adviser)
- 3–6 Months Out — Market: Preparing the information memorandum, the buyer qualification process, practice visits, heads of agreement, due diligence, and settlement
- Financial documents (P&L, balance sheets, BAS, tax returns, normalised EBITDA, accounts receivable)
- Practice performance data (active patient count, new patient numbers, recall rate, FTA rate, production per dentist, treatment acceptance rate)
- Legal and contractual documents (lease, employment contracts, associate agreements, supplier agreements, software licences)
- Compliance and regulatory documents (AHPRA registrations, X-ray certificates, radiation procedure, drug register, WHS, infection control, privacy, equipment service records)
- Practice Owners who are considering selling their practice in the next 1–5 years and want to understand what preparation is required
- Practice Owners who want to maximise their sale price by building a practice that is genuinely attractive to buyers
- Practice Managers whose owner is preparing for an exit and who want to understand their role in the preparation process
- Any practice owner who has never had a formal conversation about practice valuation and wants to understand how the numbers work
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I'm not planning to sell for at least five years but this guide has completely changed how I'm thinking about running the practice in the meantime. The section on what buyers look for has given me a clear framework for building a practice that will be attractive when the time comes — clean financials, documented systems, stable team, strong patient base. Invaluable.
I'm two years out from wanting to sell my practice and this guide has completely changed how I'm thinking about preparation. The section on what buyers look for — clean financials, documented systems, stable team, strong patient base — has given me a clear roadmap for the next two years. Worth every cent for any owner thinking about an eventual exit.
This guide covers practice sale preparation in real depth — the financial documentation, the operational systems, the team stability, and the patient metrics. It's written by someone who clearly understands dental practice sales, not just business sales generally. Good value for any practice owner planning their exit strategy.
The list of what buyers examine during due diligence is the most valuable part of this guide. Several items on the list were things we hadn't documented or hadn't thought about from a buyer's perspective. Working through the checklist has given us a clear improvement plan for the next two years. Highly recommend for any practice owner thinking about an eventual exit.
This guide covers every aspect of practice sale preparation — the financial documentation, the operational systems, the team stability, the patient retention metrics, and the due diligence process. It's written from the perspective of someone who understands dental practices, not just business sales generally. Highly recommend for any practice owner planning an exit.