It should accurately reflect the genuine current transaction and explain material revisions. An obsolete price can obscure the actual investment and resources.
Reconcile the transaction documents
Connect the executed terms, payment records, financing and operating plan. Mark proposals as proposals and explain why figures changed. Do not combine the earlier price with later financing terms as though they describe one completed purchase.
Request the tax returns and year-end statements for the last three years, the current accounts receivable and payable, payroll registers with employee names and roles, the customer list with contract copies and the equipment list with titles, serial numbers and financing statements. Every instrument the business depends on: bottom or water-column leases, aquaculture and harvest permits, any shellfish sanitation certification, the shore lease or dock agreement, and any licence tied to the seller personally. A signed commercial lease with payments made, purchase invoices for trucks, trailers and equipment matched to bank debits, deposits with suppliers, business insurance in force, payroll registrations and initial wages paid all qualify. The business stack shows what the money is buying and that it is a genuine going concern: three years of financial statements if available, tax returns, the payroll register, customer contracts, supplier agreements, the premises lease, licences and permits.