Business Transitions
Buying, Selling, or Retiring From a Business? Make Sure Its Systems Survive the Handoff.
Small businesses change hands with their software in whatever state it happens to be in: a QuickBooks Desktop file on one PC, a Microsoft Access database only the bookkeeper understands, a domain registered to a web designer nobody can reach.
We review a business's technology before the deal closes, then move it onto systems the next owner can run. Fixed prices, written reports in plain English, and work across Orange County, Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley, and the Inland Empire.
Not ready to talk? Get the free buyer's software checklist.
Who this is for
Every handoff is a point where undocumented systems break. These are the three people who usually find out first.
Buying a business
Find out what you are inheriting before you close: which systems are unsupported, which accounts are in a former employee's name, and what replacing them would actually cost. Better to price it into the deal than discover it in month two.
Selling or retiring
Systems that only you know how to run make a business harder to sell and harder to hand over. We document them, move the accounts into the business's name, and replace what will not survive the handoff, so the business runs without you.
Brokers and CPAs
Give your clients a straight answer on the technology side of a deal. We write reports for buyers and sellers to read, not developers, and the free checklist below is yours to pass along.
What a technology review covers
The things that most often go wrong after a sale, checked before it. You get a written report with what to keep, fix, or replace, and what each would cost.
Who controls the accounts
Domain, website hosting, email, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, payment processor, accounting software. It is common to find the domain registered to a web designer who left years ago, or the admin login tied to someone's personal Gmail.
Software that is unsupported, or about to be
QuickBooks Desktop 2023 and older, Microsoft Access 2016, 2019, and 2021, Windows 10, and line-of-business programs whose vendor has gone quiet. Unsupported software still runs — until a security problem or a broken integration makes it stop.
Whether the data can come out
Customer lists, job history, inventory, and financial records: what format they are in, whether they can be exported cleanly, and whether a backup exists that someone has actually restored.
What only one person knows
The bookkeeper who knows which Access button to press at month-end. The owner who is the only one with the server password. These single points of failure are the most common reason a handoff goes badly.
Custom software and who owns the code
If the business runs on something built for it, find out where the source code lives, who holds the rights, and whether anyone can still change it. A program nobody can modify is a liability on the balance sheet.
Licences and subscriptions that may not transfer
Some licences are tied to the original purchaser and cannot be assigned to a new owner. QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Premier, for example, are no longer sold to new subscribers. Know which renewals the new owner will be able to make.
Support deadlines worth knowing
Software that has passed its end of support keeps running, but stops getting security fixes. If a business you are buying or selling still depends on any of these, it belongs in the conversation.
| Software | Date | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Access 2021 and Office LTSC 2021 | October 13, 2026 | End of support. No further security updates. Read more about Microsoft Access 2021 and Office LTSC 2021 |
| QuickBooks Desktop 2023 and earlier | May 31, 2026 | Discontinued: payroll, online banking, and security updates stopped. Desktop 2024 continues to be supported, per Intuit's August 2026 announcement. Read more about QuickBooks Desktop 2023 and earlier |
| Microsoft Access 2016 and 2019, Windows 10 | October 14, 2025 | End of support. Still common on office PCs. |
| QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus and Premier Plus | September 30, 2024 | No longer sold to new US subscribers, which matters when a business changes hands. |
How it works
- STEP 1
A short call
Tell us about the business, the deal, and the timeline. We will tell you whether a review is worth doing and what it would cover.
- STEP 2
Fixed-price review
We look at the systems, accounts, and data, usually with access the seller grants under the confidentiality terms already in place.
- STEP 3
Written report
What exists, what is at risk, who controls it, and the cost to keep, fix, or replace each piece. Written for owners, buyers, brokers, and CPAs.
- STEP 4
Migration, if you want it
We can carry out the plan: move accounts into the business's name, migrate data off QuickBooks Desktop or Access, and replace what will not last. Each stage is priced before it starts.
The migration work is described in more detail on our Legacy System Rescue & Migration service page. For a buyer's view of what to look for, read What to Check About a Business's Software Before You Buy It.
What to Check About a Business's Software Before You Buy It
A plain-English checklist for buyers, brokers, and CPAs: who controls the accounts, what's unsupported, what only one person knows how to run, and what it would cost to replace. Enter your email and we'll send the PDF.
Who you'll work with
Ed Lara
Founder, Business Coding Professionals
I'm based in La Habra and do the reviews myself. You get the person who looked at the systems on the phone, not an account manager, and a report you can hand to your broker or CPA without translating it first.
Business Transition Questions
What buyers, sellers, brokers, and CPAs ask before bringing us in.
What is a technology review for a business acquisition?
It is a written assessment of the software and accounts a business runs on, done before you close. It covers who controls each account, what is unsupported or at risk, where the data lives and whether it can be exported, what depends on a single person, and a realistic cost to keep, fix, or replace each piece. It is written for a buyer, broker, or CPA to read.
How much does a review cost, and how long does it take?
It is a fixed price agreed before we start, based on how many systems the business runs. For a typical small business it takes one to two weeks from access to written report. We work around your closing timeline and tell you up front if the timeline is too tight to do properly.
We need to migrate off QuickBooks Desktop. Where do we start?
Start by checking which version you are on. QuickBooks Desktop 2023 and earlier were discontinued on May 31, 2026. Intuit announced in August 2026 that Desktop 2024 will continue to be supported, but new Pro and Premier subscriptions are not sold, so a business changing hands should confirm the new owner can keep the subscription. If moving is the right call, we inventory the integrations, custom reports, and add-ons first, because those are what break.
Can you replace our Microsoft Access database?
Yes. We extract the data, document the business rules buried in the queries, macros, and VBA, and rebuild it as a web application with proper user accounts and backups, or move it onto a supported platform if that fits better. The old database stays available read-only until you are satisfied nothing was lost.
Will the seller have to give you access?
For a full review, yes, usually under the confidentiality terms already in place for due diligence. If access is limited before closing, we can do a lighter review from interviews and screenshots and flag what needs confirming after the deal closes.
Do you work outside Orange County and Los Angeles?
Most of this work can be done remotely, so yes. Our focus is Orange County, Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley, and the Inland Empire, where we can also come on site when a business still runs on a server in the back office.
Still deciding? Call (562) 231-6488 or send us the details of your project.
Tell Us About the Deal
Buying, selling, or handing a business down? Tell us the type of business, the rough closing date, and what it runs on.
Get In Touch
We'd love to hear about your project. Send us a message and we'll respond as soon as possible.
Phone
Office
1310 South Beach Blvd #1106
La Habra, CA 90631 (opens in Google Maps in a new tab)