Owner Exit Studio · For owners of operating businesses

What would selling your business make possible?

Estimate what you could receive after tax and when it may arrive. Compare it with your spending plans and other commitments.

See how it works Explore the tool

Plan for the sale before it begins.

Owner Exit Studio compares estimated sale proceeds with the money you would need afterward.

Use the time before a sale to review the business, the terms you would accept and what the proceeds need to fund.

Few owners have a formal succession plan.

9%

of surveyed Canadian owners had a formal written succession plan.

  • 9% formal
  • 45% informal
  • 46% no plan
CFIB · 2022 survey, 2023 report
24%

reported a formal plan among Canadian businesses likely to exit within five years.

BDC · September 2025 survey
46%

had no succession plan, written or unwritten.

CFIB · 2022 survey

Different survey populations and years; these figures are not a measure of change over time.

A full transition can take years.

3–5 years

for a full business transition, including planning, the transaction and integration.

  1. Prepare
  2. Complete the sale
  3. Integrate
BDC · 2026 transition guidance
81%

of recent U.S. sellers wished they had spent more time preparing.

UBS · 2023 survey

The timeline is general guidance, not a universal deadline. The UBS finding concerns preparation for a sale, not regret about selling.

Owner Exit Studio · Developed in house

Would the sale fund the life you want?

A sale price is a business number. What matters to you is how much you keep, when you can use it and whether it will cover your plans.

We built Owner Exit Studio to work through those questions with you. Compare estimated after-tax proceeds with your spending needs, other assets and income. Then test what changes if the price, payment terms or your plans change.

Within BMO, available exclusively through Bongard Wealth Advisory Group.

From company to owner

What reaches you personally?

See how ownership, costs, tax and payment terms affect your proceeds.

Modeled owner outcome

Headline value$16.45M
Fees & adjustments
−$1.61M
Other shareholder’s 18%
−$2.67M
Tax, timing & payment-risk adjustments
−$4.82M
Expected after-tax planning value$7.35M
Target$8.88M
Gap identified$1.53M shortfall

The model discounts deferred payments for timing and risk when estimating after-tax proceeds.

Payment availability

How much can you use at closing?

See what is available at closing and what depends on future payments or conditions.

After-tax planning values$7.35M
Cash at closing
$5.08M
Available at closing
Escrow
$1.15M
12 months · subject to release conditions
Earnout
$1.12M
Conditional · timing depends on agreed terms
Seller financing
Not in this example
Repaid over agreed terms · subject to buyer repayment
Rollover equity
Not in this example
Retained equity · a future liquidity event is needed

Escrow and earnout values allow for tax, payment timing and risk. This example includes no seller financing or rollover equity.

Your personal target

What would you need after the sale?

Estimate your spending and larger expenses over time. Account for other assets and income when working out what the sale needs to fund.

Annual cash flow needs

Age · future dollars

  • One-time costs
  • Bequests
  • Venture
  • Education
  • Lifestyle funding
Personal funding target$8.88M

Required valuation

What sale value would fund your plans?

Estimate the sale price needed to meet your funding target under these deal terms.

Illustrative headline value$16.45M
Required sale value$19.00M

Selected after-tax proceeds · Canadian dollars

Headline sale price

  • Selected after-tax proceeds
  • Illustrated sale value
  • Required valuation
  • $8.88M funding target

$1.53M below the funding target

Expected proceeds include escrow and earnout. Only the sale price changes in this animation; the other cards show the starting example.

Your next moves

What could you change?

Consider changes to the business, deal terms or your spending plans.

01

Improve the business

  • Reduce owner dependency.
  • Strengthen financial reporting and earnings quality.
  • Address growth opportunities and operating risks a buyer will assess.

02

Keep more of the proceeds

  • Review the tax assumptions and ownership arrangements with your accountant and lawyer.
  • Review how much is paid at closing and the conditions on later payments.
  • Address legal and contract issues that could affect what you receive.

03

Adjust your post-sale goals

  • Decide which purchases could wait, such as a cottage.
  • Balance lifestyle spending, family commitments and other priorities.
  • If proceeds exceed your needs, consider how to use the surplus.

Identify what to work on with your accountant, lawyer and our team. Update the model as the business, deal terms or your plans change.

The Owner Outcome Brief + worksheet

Eight questions
before you sell.

Use the Brief and worksheet to record what you know, what needs checking and the questions to take to your advisers.

Get the Brief and worksheet

10-page PDF and optional online worksheet.No name or email required.

Inside Exit Studio

See what we work through together.

Follow a possible sale from the transaction terms to the money your household could use.

We operate the model with you, review the assumptions and discuss what the results mean for your plans. Your accountant and lawyer confirm the relevant tax treatment and legal terms.

Questions we can explore

Could the proceeds fund my plans?What comes out of the sale price?When could the money reach me?What would my plans require?What if the proceeds fall short?How does ownership affect my proceeds?

Owner example

Could the proceeds fund my plans?

Compare estimated personal proceeds with the capital your plans could require. We can then compare changes to the price, payment terms or your personal plans.

Exit Studio v3: proceeds beside your plansEnlarge this view

Fictional examples. Each funding target reflects the plans entered for that household. All amounts are Canadian dollars. Estimated future receipts are not cash available today.

Screenshot

Open full-size image

Compare offers and plan the work ahead.

Test a proposed offer, work back to an earnings target and assign the preparation work.

A bigger offer can mean less cash at closing.

Compare how much each offer pays at closing and how much depends on later payments.

Offer A · headline price$18M
Cash at closing$14.40M$3.60M deferred or conditional
Offer B · headline price$20M
Cash at closing$12.00M$8.00M deferred or conditional
CashEscrowEarnout

Fictional deal terms. Gross amounts before fees, tax and ownership allocation. Deferred amounts depend on the agreed payment conditions.

What would the business need to earn?

Choose an assumed earnings multiple to estimate the annual EBITDA needed for a $19 million enterprise value.

Illustrative enterprise value$19.00M
Implied annual EBITDA$3.80M
Assumed multiple

5× assumed EBITDA multiple

This estimate divides enterprise value by an assumed multiple. Exit Studio can also calculate the value required to meet your personal funding target. A specialist should assess the multiple appropriate for your business.

Decide what needs attention first.

Assign the checks needed before updating the model.

  1. First
    Confirm the information behind the model.Accountant · Review financial statements and tax assumptions.
  2. Next
    Review conditions on future payments.Lawyer · Confirm the proposed escrow and earnout terms.
  3. Then
    Update the proceeds and spending comparison.Our team and you · Update the scenario after those reviews.

These are example tasks. Your priorities will depend on your circumstances and your advisers’ findings.

We use these tools with clients as part of our investment-management service.

Prepare your business for a future sale.

See how owner dependence, reporting and customer relationships affect sale preparation.

Explore more owner insights

What working together looks like.

Start with a 60-minute Owner Exit Studio review. There is no cost, and you do not need to be a client.

Meet our team
01

Discuss your plans.

Tell us about the business, a possible sale or succession, and what you want life after ownership to look like. You do not need an offer to start.

02

Compare proceeds with what you need.

Review the sale assumptions, when payments could arrive, and how the estimated proceeds fit with your spending plans, other assets and income.

03

Decide what to work on next.

Identify assumptions to confirm with your accountant or lawyer and the planning work to do next. We will explain our ongoing advice and investment-management services.

Before you get in touch

A few practical
questions.

Have a question about your own situation?

Contact our team
I’m several years away from selling. Is this useful now?

Yes. You do not need an offer to start. We can compare an estimated sale outcome with your spending plans and other commitments, then identify assumptions and preparation work to discuss with your advisers.

What if I’m not paid everything at closing?

Owner Exit Studio separates cash at closing from escrow, earnouts, seller financing and rollover equity. We can compare when money may become available with when you expect to need it. Deferred or conditional proceeds are not treated as cash you can spend today.

What if the proceeds would not fund my plans?

We can test changes to the sale price, payment terms and post-sale spending. That helps you assess what would need to change: the business, the deal or your plans. Keeping the business or delaying a sale may also be worth considering.

I already have an accountant and lawyer. How does this fit?

They continue to provide tax and legal advice. We use their advice when estimating proceeds and assessing what those proceeds could fund.

Does the model tell me what a buyer will pay?

No. The required sale value is the price the model estimates you would need to fund your plans. A business valuation and negotiations with buyers are separate work.

Do I need to be a client, and does the review cost anything?

No. The initial Owner Exit Studio review takes 60 minutes, costs nothing and is available before you become a client. You work through the tool with our team; it is not a self-service account. If you want ongoing advice, we will explain our investment-management relationship and fees.

Talk it through with our team.

Start with a 60-minute Owner Exit Studio review. There is no cost, and you do not need to be a client.

Contact our team
Illustration assumptions and calculations

All figures are Canadian dollars and rounded for display. The film example starts with a $16,450,000 company sale, $1,610,000 of fees and adjustments, and 82% ownership. ($16,450,000 − $1,610,000) × 82% = $12,168,800 before tax.

The model shows $5,084,030 after tax at closing, $1,150,973 as the escrow’s expected after-tax present value, and $1,115,298 as the earnout’s expected after-tax present value. The $7,350,301 total is an expected planning value. Deferred amounts reflect timing and risk; they are not guaranteed full payouts. This example assumes a 95% escrow-release probability over 12 months and a 40% earnout probability over 24 months. The figures are model estimates, not a calculation of your tax liability.

The required-valuation chart uses the same fictional owner example, with expected proceeds selected: cash, escrow, earnout and seller financing included; rollover excluded. Seller financing and rollover are zero in this example. The exact model funding target is $8,881,927.85; selected after-tax proceeds at the $16.45M sale are $7,350,300.92. The model solves a required headline sale value of $19,001,007. Values elsewhere are rounded for display. The curve includes modeled changes in the waterfall, tax and payment allocation; it is not a straight proportional estimate.

The funding target is the film’s rounded $8.88M personal capital requirement, allowing for other assets. The valuation chart includes expected deferred proceeds as well as closing cash. A funding threshold depends on the entered assumptions; it is not a valuation conclusion, a guaranteed selling price or a recommendation to sell.