Top Tips on Selling Your Dental Practice

If you've decided that it’s the right time to sell your dental practice, have a read of our step by step guide on how to go about it.

1.       PLAN in advance (preferably before you make any plans or book your round the world cruise!).  Succession planning is vital and ideally you should be considering your options at least three years in advance.

2.       Keep motivated in running your practice.  It is vital to keep the turnover up as any potential buyer will be looking at your figures all the way through the sale process, and could demand a reduction in the sale price to reflect a drop in turnover.

3.       Get a valuation.  This is important so you know exactly what your practice would be worth on the open market.  And even if you are approached privately make sure you still get an independent valuation and do not accept any offers until you’ve done this.  You might just be amazed at the true value!

4.       Make time to sell - if you have agreed to sell to an associate, private individual or corporate don’t underestimate the time and skill it takes manage the deal through to completion. It will require your attention for several months. A reputable agent acting on your behalf could make all the difference to the deal.

5.       Make sure you understand current market dynamics in your area.  There are currently over 4,300 dentists registered with us who are looking to buy dental practices in England or Wales, and with 14 banks actively lending to dentists we know they are not just looking, but have a genuine interest to actually purchase as well as sufficient access to funds.  For more details on funding contact FT&A Finance.

6.       Freehold or leasehold premises? If leasehold, make sure there are at least 10 years left to run. If not, then establish if a shorter lease will impact on the goodwill value. If you want to sell the freehold, arrange for a commercial valuation.

7.       Due diligence – make sure you have all the essential paperwork required to sell your practice. This routinely takes 3-8 weeks to complete so the sooner you can start the better – ideally before you've found a buyer for your practice!

8.       Engage a specialist dental lawyer - it will certainly make all the difference in the long run.

9.       Think about what you want to do in the future?  For example, do you want to stay on at the practice? If so, how many days will you want to work? What associate fee would you work for?

10.   Select the right agent - some agents work for both the buyer and seller which clearly creates a conflict of interest.  It’s worth also checking that they have access to a good supply of potential purchases and that they always use the open market when the time comes to the actual sale.  

For more information on selling your dental practice visit our website - ft-associates.com 

Your Essential Guide to Workplace Pensions

If you’re an employer you should hopefully by now have heard all about workplace pensions (auto enrolment) particularly as you have a legal requirement to provide, manage and contribute to a pension scheme for all eligible staff working within your business.

But don’t panic, it’s not as daunting as it seems as long as you act now and start preparing. 

A few tips:

·         Make sure you know your ‘Staging Date’ – this is the date on which auto enrolment goes live for your business.

·         Determine which employees in your practice are eligible to join the scheme.

·         Communicate early with your staff and start to tell them as much as you can about auto enrolment beforehand.

·         Put in place systems/processes ready for when auto enrolment takes place.

·         Get the right advice – a crucial factor in getting it right!

·         Put in place your plans as early as possible and benefit from cost savings.

If you want to find out more you can have a read of our FREE Workplace Pensions FAQs click here.

And it’s worth noting - auto enrolment is a legal requirement and the Pension Regulator is quick to issue £400 wake-up call fines for non-compliance – this is before big daily fines kick in for any employer who hasn’t got their scheme up and running by the required deadline (staging date).

Finally, getting good advice from the outset is critical.  We’ve already spoken to many business owners who have ended up short of time to enrol due to either attempting the DIY route or being under the impression their accountant or payroll provider was dealing with it.  Don’t make that mistake!

For a limited time you can reserve your enrolment place for FREE.  To be eligible for this limited time offer your Staging Date must be after October 2015. Space for 100 businesses only. Registration deadline is 30 June 2015 - register today

Where There’s a Will, There’s …. Peace of Mind

Before our time is up we have a moral obligation to ensure our affairs are in order.  This can very easily be achieved by putting in place a Will that provides clarity, formality and a legal structure. Without one, loved ones can potentially be left with chaos to sort through, family arguments to deal with, a dramatically extended legal process and payment of unnecessary inheritance tax.

It is estimated that 70% of the UK population don’t have a Will - with this number rising to 84% for the 18-34 age range.  It is quite concerning that there is such a low take-up rate for getting a Will sorted and that the majority haven’t got one!

There are many high profile people who have died without writing a Will, from the musical legend Jimi Hendrix (the battle for his estate raged on for more than 30 years) to more recently the comic genius Rik Mayall.

Then there is the tragic case of Jade Goody – reality TV star who passed away at the age of 27 from cervical cancer.  Her estate was completely wiped out as she did not have a Will.  The money Jade Goody earned should of been enough to ensure her two sons had a good education and a degree of financial security, but sadly this was not the case.

Don’t let this happen to you.  A situation like this is completely preventable through the creation of a Will in conjunction with the use of Trusts.

You can start the process very quickly now by visiting our website – www.ft-associates.com