What does it cost to sell a business?

The cost of selling a business is not one number; it is a handful of categories that add up differently depending on how the sale is run and how complicated the business is.

Broker commission, if you use one

A broker is typically paid on closing, calculated against the sale price under a listing agreement, and covers marketing, buyer screening and negotiation. Selling without a broker avoids this cost but shifts that work, and the time it takes, onto you.

Legal fees for the agreement and closing

A lawyer drafts and negotiates the purchase agreement, reviews or drafts disclosure schedules, handles the closing mechanics, and deals with anything specific to your situation, such as a lease assignment or a shareholder issue. Fees generally track how complex and how contested the negotiation turns out to be.

Accounting and tax advice

An accountant helps structure the sale, whether as a share sale or an asset sale, and advises on the tax consequences of each, including whether any part of the proceeds may qualify for preferential treatment. This advice is worth engaging early, since it shapes decisions made long before a lawyer gets involved.

Getting the business ready costs something too

Cleaning up financial statements, sometimes with the help of a bookkeeping or accounting professional, and getting a professional valuation or opinion of value before you list, both cost money and time before the sale process even formally starts.

Costs that show up at closing

Adjustments for inventory, working capital or prepaid expenses, along with any escrow or holdback fees, are settled as part of closing rather than paid upfront, and they can meaningfully change what actually lands in your account after the deal completes.