Organizational chart
An organizational chart maps who does what in the business and who reports to whom — roles, not just names, since the same person often holds several. In a small business acquisition it is one of the fastest documents to reveal where the operation actually depends on one or two individuals, and where it does not.
Large companies have org charts because they have to coordinate hundreds of people. A ten-employee business rarely bothers, because everyone already knows who does what — until a buyer shows up and needs that knowledge made explicit rather than assumed. Drawing the chart, even informally, is often the fastest way to see the business’s actual structure rather than its owner’s description of it.
What a real chart for a small business should show
- Every function that has to happen weekly — sales, production, bookkeeping, ordering, service — and who currently does it
- Where one person holds two or three roles that would need to be split after a sale
- Which roles are filled by family, and on what actual terms
- Gaps — functions the owner performs that appear nowhere else on the chart
Why buyers ask for one early
A chart that shows real depth at every function is a stronger signal than any statement in the listing description. A chart where nearly every line leads back to one box is the clearest, fastest version of a key-person problem a buyer will find in the whole diligence process.
Sources
This definition is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Treadstone LawLegal commentaryEmployment Due Diligence Red Flags Before Buying an Ontario Business
- 02Treadstone LawLegal commentaryKey-Person Dependency
- 03Treadstone LawLegal commentaryHow Long Does Due Diligence Take When Buying a Business in Ontario?
Deavo is an advertising and listings platform, not a brokerage, law firm or valuation firm. This page is general information, not legal, tax, accounting or valuation advice, and rules differ by province. Confirm anything you rely on with a qualified professional before you act on it.