If you’re a founder of a tech or media business with revenue between £500k and £5m, you’ve likely considered your business exit strategy, even if only briefly.

Whether you want to sell your business in the next two years or just want the option to step away on your own terms one day, the time to start planning is now.

And while there are many moving parts to consider, legal, operational, people, tech, etc, some of the biggest barriers to a successful exit are financial.

Here are the three critical financial issues you’ll need to address before you put your business on the market.

1. Get Your Financials in Order

The first thing any serious buyer will do is ask for your financial records.

Buyers want to see a clear, accurate picture of how the business is performing. If your accounts are messy, inconsistent, or have gaps, it raises red flags and can lower the valuation or jeopardise the deal altogether.

What to focus on:

• Get at least 3 years of clean, fully reconciled accounts.

• Ensure management reports align with statutory accounts.

• Strip out personal or non-business expenses.

• Fix any anomalies or inconsistent accounting treatments across years.

This is your chance to present your business as a well-run, financially disciplined operation. Don’t leave questions unanswered.  

2. Understand and Demonstrate Profitability

The sales process it’s not just about revenue: buyers want evidence of sustainable, repeatable profits.

In the tech sector, the focus is often on recurring revenue, scalability, and margin control. Your profitability story matters more than headcount or asset base, so it needs to be crystal clear. Buyers will dig into your margins, cash flow, and underlying cost structure.

Questions to ask yourself:

• Do I understand which revenue streams are the most profitable?

• Have I stripped out non-business or one-off costs to show true earnings (adjusted EBITDA)?

• Can I confidently forecast future performance?

• Is there a solid base of recurring or contracted income?

This is where many founders get caught out: the top-line revenue might look impressive, but when you dig into margin erosion, inconsistent pricing, or bloated overheads, the story can start to unravel, and the cracks will show during due diligence.

Now is the time to get clarity on your numbers and begin profit optimisation.

3. Fix Cash Flow Weaknesses

Cash flow challenges are common in growing tech businesses, especially those working with enterprise clients, long payment terms, or project-based income.

But make no mistake: persistent cash flow issues are a major red flag for buyers. Even if you're profitable on paper, a business that struggles to generate and manage cash will raise concerns.

Potential buyers will consider synergies between your business and their other businesses, how all businesses might integrate and what your business is worth to them when considering the acquisition.

However, they will still want to see:

• A business that generates cash, not just invoices

• A well-managed working capital cycle with clients that pay on time and carefully negotiated contracts

• Systems in place to forecast and manage cash reliably

Take a close look at your debtor days, payment terms, and billing processes. If your business is profitable on paper but constantly tight on cash, that’s something you need to address before going to market.

Final Thought

Preparing for exit isn’t something you do in the six months before a sale. The best exits are planned years in advance, and the businesses that command the strongest valuations are the ones that can show:

• Financial clarity

• Operational consistency

• Strategic foresight

If you’re starting to think about what the next few years might look like, now is the time to get your financial house in order.

We work with tech businesses in exactly this space: helping founders move from reactive financials to strategic, exit-ready positioning.

If that sounds like something worth talking about, let’s have a conversation.