How do I write a hundred-day plan for a newly acquired business?

A hundred-day plan is a written list of what you will do in your first months of ownership, who is responsible for each item and the order you will do them in. It is not a forecast or a valuation. It is a work plan, and you can start it while the seller is still available to answer questions. BDC advises that you identify a core team of leaders to run the integration, maybe even before the deal closes, and that the team build the plan and carry it out.

Start with a function-by-function review

BDC describes a function-by-function assessment of what needs to be integrated, and how, as a key step, and says it helps you focus on the most critical elements for the first 100 days. Take your diligence file and sort the findings by function: sales, operations, accounting, staffing. BDC’s diligence article lists things to look for such as equipment repairs or investments, slow-paying customers and high employee turnover. Each one that is real belongs in the plan with an owner and a date.

Plan the conversations before the changes

BDC says a change of ownership is a nervous time for employees, and recommends designing your organizational structure quickly and explaining your vision to everyone at once, so the message is not misread. It adds that you should not promise more than you can deliver. For customers and suppliers, BDC advises protecting your relationship with key clients and, if you plan changes, calling and meeting them as soon as possible. Put each of these meetings in the plan by name.

Cover people, processes and systems, and allow for overrun

BDC says operational integration generally focuses on three areas: people, processes and systems. It also says some tasks may in reality take more than 100 days, and sets out a longer outer timeline for operational integration. So treat the hundred days as the first block of a longer plan. If you are buying a stand-alone business rather than merging it into one you already own, your integration team may be you, the seller during the handover, and the key employees who are staying.

The plan should also carry the loose ends diligence left open. Use what a diligence finding does to a deal to decide which findings need action now and which can wait.