I want to buy a dental practice - how do I make a winning offer?

If you’ve found the practice of your dreams, then now’s the time to put in an offer.  You may find that as there is high demand for dental practices at the moment others will have also put in offers for the same practice.  So, if this situation arises, you will be invited to place a ‘sealed bid’. This is your best and final offer and is considered to be the fairest and most ethical way to achieve the best price for a practice. Our belief is that this approach is far better than an auction, where each buyer is told the highest bid through to the deadline as this often leads to offers being made from the heart (rather than the head) and at some point through the purchase process the buyer then looks to re-negotiate after they realise that they may have overpaid!

During the sealed bid process you will be invited to make your ‘best and final offer’ so it’s crucial that you consider this carefully as this will be your last chance to secure the practice.  Sadly, we have lost count how many times potential buyers have said things like:

·         ‘If I’d have known another £3,000 would have secured it, I would have paid it.’

·         ‘I could have paid a bit more.’

·         ‘I should have paid an extra £8,000 as this was the practice of my dreams.’

The list is endless, but in all these cases the prospective buyer put in what they thought was their best offer, but not a winning offer.

There is of course a fine balance between paying just enough and missing out – no one wants to pay more than they need to. However, if you have found the practice of your dreams and it requires you to put in a winning offer to secure it then this needs to be done BEFORE the final deadline for offers. After that it will be too late as the practice will be sold to someone else.

Many buyers who have been bold and made winning offers take the view that the additional amount paid factored in over the period they will own the practice is certainly a price worth paying.

There is no right or wrong approach; it’s about what is right for you. However, next time you are in a position where you have the potential to secure the practice of your dreams make sure you do three things.

1.      Stop

2.      Take a breath

3.      Ask yourself – is this the special practice that warrants a winning offer?

Good luck in buying the practice of your dreams.

Workplace Pensions – The Key Facts

If you’re a business owner or employer, you will hopefully by now be well aware of Workplace Pensions. If not then it’s important you find out more information as soon as you can as you could be staring in the face of an immediate £400 fine if your business isn’t compliant in time!

Here’s a quick summary for you.....

As an employer/practice owner you have a legal obligation to provide, manage and contribute to a pension scheme for all eligible staff working within your dental practice.

Workplace Pensions are already well under way for a number of businesses in the UK and with thousands more reaching their staging date imminently, it’s important that you act now and start preparing – there’s a lot that can be put in place earlier. As part of your duty as an employer, taking some initial steps now will certainly help you along the way.

·         ‘Staging Date’ - Make sure you know when yours is.  This is the date on which your workplace pension scheme has to be up and running for your business. Check your date on our website.

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

·         Communicate with your staff and start to tell everyone as much as you can early on.

·         Make sure your systems/processes are in place.

·         Get the right advice and explore your options. Many clients assume NEST is the obvious choice but be aware there is a 1.8% levy on all pension contributions and you will need to set up an in-house system to ensure you remain compliant and communicate with you team any important updates.

·         Benefit from cost savings by putting plans in place early.

If you want to find out more, a FREE Workplace Pensions FAQs report is available on our website.

It is a legal obligation for a Workplace Pension to be set up and the Pensions Regulator is quick to issue £400 wake-up call fines for all though businesses that are non-compliant.  And that’s before big daily fines of £500 or more!

It’s therefore essential that you get good advice.  We’ve already spoken to many practice owners who have ended up short of time to enrol in a workplace pension scheme due to either attempting to do it themselves or assuming that their accountant or payroll provider was dealing with it.

Don't get caught out - ACT NOW!

To speak to a member of the Frank Taylor & Associates team about Workplace Pensions, please call 0330 088 11 56.