How can I tell if a picture framing shop for sale is profitable?

A framing shop’s results depend on a few things that a one-page summary rarely shows. The owner is often the best framer in the building. The stock is cut-to-order material. And some of what is on the premises belongs to customers. Before you form a view, ask for the statements and work through the questions below with your accountant beside you.

Where the sales come from

Ask the seller to split revenue into custom framing, ready-made frames, art and prints, and commercial or corporate work. Each behaves differently. Custom work depends on skill and turnaround. Ready-made frames depend on foot traffic and the shelf. Commercial work depends on relationships. Ask for the split between streams of income, since it shows what you would be taking over.

Stock, waste and the bench

Moulding comes in lengths, and glazing comes in sheets, so offcuts and breakage are a real cost. Ask how stock is counted, how old it is, and whether slow-moving lengths are carried at their full cost. BDC’s plain-language definition of inventory is a useful reference, and your accountant can explain how stock should be shown. Then ask how many hours the owner works at the bench and whether that time is paid in the books. If you are still looking for the shop itself, see how to find a picture framing shop for sale.

Seasons and pieces on hand

Framing swings with gift seasons, graduations and weddings, so a few months of statements can mislead. Ask for a full year or more, month by month. Also ask what customer artwork, deposits and unfinished jobs are in the shop at closing. Those jobs are promises to customers, and who finishes them and who is responsible should be set out in the agreement your lawyer prepares.