When most people dream about building their dream home, they envision all aspects of the home building process- the architecture, location, square footage, furnishing, etc. One of the first steps taken to convert the dream into a reality is outsourcing the job to a team of experienced professionals to build the home. The same process applies to buying or selling your dental practice. You need a team of knowledgeable individuals to facilitate in the course of achieving your goals. Below are three professionals you should enlist to build your dental transitions dream team:
1. Dental Transition Advisor and Practice Broker
Think of your transition broker as your team captain. Your transition broker will initiate the plan and guide you every step of the way. He or she should be a competent business advisor who is experienced and educated in the financial and legal matters associated with dental practice sales and purchases. Your dental practice broker’s role is to market your practice to a broad range of potential buyers, provide you with expert advice on how to maximize the value of your dental practice and support you throughout the entire transition’s process. The dental transition broker will also conduct an on-site dental practice assessment and create your dental practice profile which will allow you to market your practice
You should seek a brokerage professional who specializes in dental practice transitions, not someone who sells dental supplies for living and brokerage dental practice sales on the side or as a hobby. Enlist the help of a dental practice broker who has spent years in the dental industry, so know everyone and have an extensive list of buyers and sellers to help you purchase or sell your dental practice to just the right person. Someone who is capable of properly integrating input from each party’s lawyer and CPA. Most importantly, work with a transition broker that has a genuine interest in saving you money in legal and accounting fees while working hard to achieve the maximum values for your dental practice sale.
2. Dental CPA
You will also need to enlist the services of a CPA who specializes in helping dentists. Your Dental CPA should be aware of the current marketplace for practice sales and assist you in structuring the deal. They will help with eliminating the surprises many dentists encounter when trying to buy or sell a dental practice. As a seller, they can save you thousands of dollars in taxes by using the proper ratios for purchase price allocations. As a buyer, a dental CPA can also save you thousands of dollars in taxes by using the appropriate ratios for purchase price allocations because of the heavy use of equipment within dental practices and changes within the tax code of which many general CPA’s are unfamiliar. Out of all your advisors, your dental CPA will be the one who may remain on board the longest, helping you on a yearly basis with taxes and other business issues. An excellent Dental CPA will educate you on the transition process and assist you in making informed decisions. The dental CPA’s advice and wisdom should extend beyond just numbers.
3. Dental Attorney
As the dental profession is based on specialties, it is important to consult with an attorney who if knowledgeable and experience about the dental industry. Your attorney would be responsible for reviewing all legal documentation associated with the dental practice sales; including reviewing the Letter of Intent (LOI). Though your dental transition advisor supports you in the negotiating your LOI, it is always beneficial to have your attorney take a look as well. As a seller, enlisting an attorney to review your purchase agreement is a way to protect you in your retirement. The dental attorney will try to protect your goodwill and your leasehold interests (your lease) as much as possible since these are the most valuable assets you have in your dental practice.
The most important thing to understand when thinking of buying or selling a dental practice is that you are not alone. Using advisors to help you in this stage of your professional life will be worth the extra cost to you, especially if you use professionals who are specialists in the dental community.