Integration Readiness Playbook

A practical, quick-scoring checklist to assess your M&A readiness across 9 critical dimensions before you enter negotiations.

Most founders dream about the exit, but the quality of your deal, integration smoothness, and your ability to preserve what matters most all depend on decisions you make before you sit down at the negotiation table.
This Integration Readiness Checklist helps you honestly assess where your business stands across strategy, financials, customers, operations, people, and culture. With a clear scoring system, you can identify specific gaps that could derail negotiations, prioritize actionable improvements, and enter M&A conversations with confidence instead of hope.

Based on M&A advisory work with 30+ B2B tech and IT service companies ($3M-$20M+ revenue) preparing for acquisition, merger, or investment.

Complimentary PDF with 9-dimension scoring framework, gap analysis, and editable Figma checklist.

What You Get

● 9-Dimension Scoring Checklist - Assess readiness across Strategy, Financials, Customers, Org Structure, Founder Dependency, Operations, Sales/GTM, Technology, and Culture.

● Gap Identification Framework - Pinpoint which areas need work before engaging with buyers, from missing financial forecasts to founder dependency issues.

● Per-Section Readiness Scale - See exactly where integration will hurt most, so you know what to fix first.

● Overall Readiness Score Interpretation - Understand if you're at very high risk, mixed readiness, solid base, or strong readiness.

● Realistic Timeline Guidance - Get clarity on whether you're 6-12 months away from being deal-ready based on your score.

Plus, you get editable Figma templates, so you can complete the assessment with your leadership team and track progress as you close gaps.

Who This Playbook Is For

This playbook is designed for B2B tech and IT services companies ($3M-$10M+ revenue) who are considering M&A as a growth or exit path, including:

● Founders and CEOs of growing service companies considering acquisition, merger, or investment

● COOs and Operations leaders responsible for preparing the business for due diligence

● CFOs and Finance leaders who need to get financials and forecasts in order before buyer conversations

● M&A advisors and consultants helping clients assess readiness and build improvement roadmaps

Use it when you're exploring strategic options, preparing for initial buyer conversations, or trying to understand what gaps might lower your valuation or complicate the deal.

How To Use This Playbook

1. Download and share with your core team
Send the PDF and Figma checklist to leadership, finance, operations, and sales so everyone understands what buyers will evaluate during due diligence.

2. Run a 60–90 minute scoring session
Use the checklist to score your company across all 9 dimensions honestly. Identify your weakest areas and estimate how long it would take to address major gaps.

3. Build a prioritized improvement roadmap
Focus on high-impact, low-effort fixes first—like cleaning up financials or documenting processes—then tackle structural issues like founder dependency or org gaps. Revisit your score in 3-6 months to measure progress.