Exit Readiness Scorecard
The Exit Readiness Scorecard is a structured diagnostic that scores your business across six dimensions buyers actually scrutinize — and tells you exactly what’s holding your valuation back.
Most owners go to market unprepared.
Request Your Score
A professional assessment. Not a checklist.
The Exit Readiness Scorecard is a professionally conducted assessment that scores your business across six categories on a 100-point scale.
The output is a one-page scored report, a written findings narrative, and a prioritized gap list — delivered in a findings presentation that connects your score directly to your valuation.
This is not a self-assessment. The score reflects a Northbound assessment — calibrated, independent, and honest. Owners receive a professional view of their business, not a reflection of what they told us about themselves.
A professional assessment. Not a checklist.
The Exit Readiness Scorecard is a professionally conducted assessment that scores your business across six categories on a 100-point scale.
The output is a one-page scored report, a written findings narrative, and a prioritized gap list — delivered in a findings presentation that connects your score directly to your valuation.
This is not a self-assessment. The score reflects a Northbound assessment — calibrated, independent, and honest. Owners receive a professional view of their business, not a reflection of what they told us about themselves.
Four steps. One clear picture.
Step 01 — Pre-Work Questionnaire
A structured 45-question document covering financials, revenue, strategy, operations, people, and governance. Completed by the owner and returned to Northbound 48 hours before the discovery session.
Step 02 — Discovery Session
A 90-minute session with a Northbound senior advisor. We review your responses, probe key areas, and build a direct picture of your business across all six assessment categories.
Step 03 — Scoring & Report Production
Northbound scores the assessment, produces your one-page Exit Readiness Scorecard, and prepares the written findings narrative and priority gap list. Delivered within 5–7 business days.
Step 04 — Findings Presentation
A 60-minute session to present your scorecard and findings. Your scores are connected directly to valuation impact — and the path forward is clearly defined.
Six dimensions. One honest score.
The scorecard assesses your business on a 100-point scale across six categories that reflect how buyers and their advisors actually evaluate a business in diligence.
Category Name | Point Value | Category Description |
|---|---|---|
Financial Quality | 15 pts | Revenue trajectory, EBITDA quality, and whether your financials can survive a buyer’s QoE review. |
Revenue Quality | 20 pts | Customer concentration, contract structure, recurring revenue mix, and the durability of your top-line. |
Strategic Position | 15 pts | Market clarity, competitive differentiation, and whether your growth thesis is one a buyer can underwrite. |
Operational Independence | 20 pts | Owner dependency, management depth, and whether the business performs without you in the room. |
People & Organization | 15 pts | Leadership bench strength, cultural clarity, and key-person retention risk at close. |
Governance, Risk, Legal | 15 pts | Board structure, entity cleanliness, IP ownership, and legal exposure that surfaces in diligence. |
Revenue Quality and Operational Independence carry the highest weighting — because they are where mid-market businesses most consistently leave value on the table.
Your Score
What your score means.
Score Range | Rating - What it means |
|---|---|
100 - 85 | Exit Ready — Process-ready now. Focus shifts to timing, buyer targeting, and maximizing competitive tension. |
84-70 | Near Ready — 6–12 months of focused work closes the gap. Addressable with a defined engagement. |
69-50 | In Progress — Material gaps identified. 12–24 month runway recommended before launching a process. |
Below 50 | Early Stage — Foundational work needed across multiple dimensions before a transaction is advisable. |
The Deliverables
Four deliverables. One clear path forward.
The Exit Readiness Scorecard — scored by category, overall rating, visual output
Written findings narrative — key observations per category in plain language
Priority gap list — top 3–5 gaps ranked by valuation impact, with clear action framing
Findings presentation — 60-minute session connecting your score to your next steps
What Comes Next
The scorecard is the starting line
Every gap the scorecard identifies maps directly to a True North pillar — Northbound’s proven framework for building the governance, strategy, and people systems that move your score from where it is to where it needs to be.
The True North framework is designed to move all three pillars simultaneously, over a structured engagement, so that when you go to market your business commands the valuation it deserves.
Ideal For
Built for owners at the inflection point.
Business owners planning a sale or recapitalization in the next 1–5 years
Founders considering PE investment or a partial liquidity event
Family-owned businesses preparing for succession or leadership transition
Any owner who wants an honest, professional view of what their business is worth — and what’s holding it back
Whether you are 18 months from a process or 5 years out, the gap between where your business is today and where it needs to be to command a premium is almost always larger than you expect. The earlier you understand it, the more you can do about it.