Ask for three years of tax returns, payroll registers, bank statements, the lease and any assignment terms, supplier and customer contracts, licences, and an equipment list. Request the draft purchase agreement with its price allocation. These records let a reviewer test whether the reported business exists as described, and they show early which figures the seller cannot substantiate.
Reconcile the seller's paperwork with the buyer's money
Two record sets must line up: what the business has been, and where the purchase funds came from. Match entity names, dates, and amounts across the agreement, the escrow instructions, and the transfer confirmations. Flag missing originals, documents needing translation, and any payment routed through a third party.
If financing is involved, keep the loan documents with the file so the security arrangement can be reviewed rather than guessed at. Add one document set most buyers assemble late: the lawful path of the funds themselves. Tax filings, sale agreements, dividend records or loan documents explaining how the money was earned matter as much as the transfer confirmations showing where it went.
Bear in mind that capital sitting in an account is not yet committed; the arrangement must place it irrevocably at risk in the enterprise, so escrow terms and release conditions belong in the same folder. Hypothetical example: the buyer of a pet grooming and boarding facility funds the purchase partly from the sale of an earlier business, and that older closing statement becomes as important as the current one.