When the company itself is changing hands
Selling a business checklist: the books before the buyer
Updated
Whether the company is sold, wound down or put into insolvency, its years of books are an asset, and the accounting system's exit window decides how long they stay reachable.
1. Export everything before the subscription ends
Sage's UK financials agreement makes data available for export only on request within 28 days of termination and MYOB allows 30 days, while Intuit's help page gives a cancelled QuickBooks Online subscriber up to a year of read-only access.
Source: Accounting software terms on company data
2. Decide who signs
In a UK liquidation the liquidator holds a statutory power to sell any of the company's property, and the court can order anyone holding its books, papers or records to hand them over; in a US bankruptcy the debtor surrenders recorded information, including books and records, to the trustee.
Source: Accounting records law, UK and US
3. Check the privacy promise
Under 11 U.S.C. 363(b)(1), a trustee may not sell customers' personally identifiable information against the debtor's own privacy policy unless a consumer privacy ombudsman is appointed and the court approves after a hearing.
Source: Accounting records law, UK and US
4. Tell us where things stand
Say in the form whether the company is trading, closing or being sold, and whether a buyer has already made an offer.