The First 90 Days After You Close

Days 1–30: Stabilize, do not optimize

The first month after closing is not the time to implement changes. Your goal in Days 1–30 is to maintain continuity of service while you observe, listen, and learn.

Employees: Meet individually with every employee in the first week. Do not announce changes, do not restructure compensation, do not eliminate positions. Ask questions: what works well here, what would you change, who is the most important person to retain. Employees have more information about the business's vulnerabilities than any due diligence process will reveal.

Customers: Contact top 10 customers personally in the first two weeks. The message: there is new ownership, you are personally committed to service continuity, and you want to hear directly if anything changes for them. This call prevents the "new owner = time to shop around" dynamic from developing quietly.

Vendors: Verify that all key vendor accounts are in good standing and that any credit terms you inherited are confirmed in writing. Vendors have no obligation to extend credit to new ownership without re-underwriting.

Cash flow: Build a 13-week rolling cash flow forecast on day one. Know exactly when your largest cash obligations land - rent, payroll, first SBA payment - and confirm you have the working capital to meet them. The seller's transition training should include at minimum: where the money comes from, where it goes, and who to call when something breaks.

Days 31–60: Assess and prioritize

By the end of month two, you should understand the business well enough to identify your top three operational priorities.

Employee assessment: You now know who the key performers are and who is at risk of departure. If an employee has signaled they were loyal to the seller personally, not to the business, address it now - through one-on-ones, retention bonuses if warranted, or proactive succession planning if departure is likely.

Customer health check: Review the accounts receivable aging report. Any customer balance over 60 days that was not flagged in due diligence is a problem to address now. Early collections conversations with slow payers are easier in month two than in month six.

Vendor renegotiation: With 45 days of operating data, you can identify which vendor relationships are favorable and which have terms that should be renegotiated. Do not renegotiate everything at once - prioritize your largest spend categories first.

Seller transition: If you have a seller consulting agreement, this is the critical window. The seller's institutional knowledge is most accessible in month two when they are still engaged. Get everything documented: customer preferences, pricing history, employee quirks, seasonal patterns. By month three, seller availability typically declines.

Days 61–90: Begin operating as the owner

By day 90, you should be making decisions without referring them to the seller, and customers and employees should think of you as the operator, not the new person.

Financial review: Compare your first 60–90 days of actual results to your acquisition model. Identify variances. If revenue is lower than expected, understand why before drawing conclusions - seasonal patterns, seller transition effects, and customer uncertainty are all normal in month one and two.

First operational changes: Start with low-risk, high-visibility improvements - signage, responsiveness, scheduling process, customer communication cadence. Changes that employees can see and customers can experience build confidence in the transition without introducing operational risk.

SBA compliance: If you used SBA financing, verify you are meeting all post-close requirements: owner-occupancy certifications, equity injection documentation, and any post-closing conditions attached to your approval. Missing SBA post-close requirements can trigger loan acceleration.

90-day review with your CPA: Schedule a month-three financial review with your accountant. Confirm tax elections, verify payroll tax is filing correctly under new ownership, and review any working capital true-up obligations from the purchase agreement.

Before close, work through the SMB Due Diligence Checklist so day-one surprises are minimized.

Frequently Asked Questions