# Value Baseline data checklist · Horizon

Canonical: https://withhorizon.co/value-baseline/data-request

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For Value Baseline clients

# Your Value Baseline data checklist.

Everything we’ll ask for before your Value Day, in one place. Bookmark this page, work through it over a few days, and mark each item as you go. Your progress saves on this device.

![](/images/hz-mark-gold.png)

The five-minute rule

If it takes more than five minutes to find, a buyer will notice.

A buyer will ask for all of this, and time kills deals. So treat the list as a pre-test: how quickly you can pull each item tells you how ready the business really is, before anyone else finds out.

-   Send what you haveDon’t create new documents or custom reports. Easily available is the point.
-   Have it before Value DayYour Partner reviews it ahead of time, so the day goes deeper.
-   Secure and temporaryShared through a secure data room, access limited to approved emails, deleted 90 days after the work ends.

**0** of 30 found in five minutes

30 to go

## 01Financials

-   Annual financial statements, ideally the last 3 to 5 years
    
    Income statements and balance sheets show the trend a buyer prices.
    
-   Trailing 12 months income statement
    
    The most recent year is the one a buyer values on.
    
-   Monthly financials for the current year
    
    Seasonality and momentum show up month by month.
    
-   Full general ledger, trailing 12 months (or year to date)
    
    Where restated earnings are built and checked.
    
-   Tax returns, last 3 years
    
    They confirm what the statements say.
    
-   One-time or non-recurring expenses, last 2 to 3 years
    
    Every one you can prove is an add-back you keep.
    
-   Discretionary expenses, last 2 to 3 years
    
    Personal vehicles, travel and the like come out of a buyer’s view of profit.
    
-   Owner salaries and benefits
    
    A buyer replaces your pay with a market salary for your role.
    
-   Major capital investments planned for the next 3 years
    
    Future spending reduces what the business is worth today.
    

## 02Ownership and structure

-   Ownership summary: shareholders and percentages
    
    Who has to agree to a sale, and who gets paid.
    
-   Options, warrants and share classes, if any
    
    They change how the price is split.
    
-   Current org chart
    
    Shows who runs what, and how much runs through you.
    

## 03Customers and revenue

-   Revenue by customer, top 20
    
    Concentration is one of the first things a buyer checks.
    
-   Revenue by service line or segment
    
    Some revenue is worth more than other revenue.
    
-   CRM reports: acquisition by channel, retention or churn, top referral sources
    
    Proof that growth is repeatable, not luck. A read-only login works too.
    
-   Key customer contracts and renewal dates
    
    Contracts that transfer to a new owner protect value.
    

## 04Sales and marketing

-   Current sales deck and marketing materials
    
    How you win work, in your own words.
    
-   Client onboarding materials
    
    A sign the experience doesn’t depend on you.
    
-   Advertising spend and return, and a website analytics summary
    
    What it costs to win a customer, and whether it’s working.
    

## 05People

-   Compensation model: roles, employee or contractor, rates and tenure
    
    Your biggest cost, and the team a buyer is really buying.
    
-   Utilization, if you sell people’s time
    
    How much of the capacity you pay for is actually billed.
    
-   Benefits summary and cost
    
    Part of the true cost of the team.
    

## 06Operations and technology

-   Standard operating procedures, whatever exists
    
    Documented know-how is what lets a business run without you.
    
-   Tech stack overview: platforms, hosting, integrations, key tools
    
    What a buyer inherits, and what it costs to run.
    
-   Software subscriptions with costs and renewal dates
    
    Small costs add up, and some are easy savings.
    
-   Top vendor contracts by annual spend
    
    Terms a buyer will rely on, or renegotiate.
    
-   Leases, debt and equipment list
    
    Obligations that come off the price.
    

## 07Strategy

-   Strategic plans, board or partner presentations, roadmaps
    
    Where you’re taking the business, and why.
    
-   Pipeline summary and growth initiatives
    
    The future a buyer is being asked to pay for.
    
-   Material changes in the last 12 months
    
    New contracts, partnerships, platforms or ownership changes, so nothing surprises anyone.
    

Your read

Mark every item to see your read.

So far, **0** of 30 found in five minutes.

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**Questions about any item?** Ask your Partner, or reply to your onboarding email.