In the operating forecast, from the first month, alongside rent, payroll and supplies. Businesses that appear comfortably profitable in the seller's figures can be thin once the note is repaid on schedule. Keep that projection separate from the capital treated as invested, and separate again from professional fees and government charges, which should be confirmed officially when the step arises.
Price the transition, not only the purchase
Acquisitions carry costs the price tag hides: legal and accounting work, licence transfers, deposits retaken by suppliers, staff retention, rebranding, and revenue that dips while customers meet a new owner. Add a working capital cushion for those months. Ask which deposits are refundable if the transaction does not complete, and keep the family's living reserve outside the deal entirely so a slow first quarter does not force a distressed decision.
Put debt service in the operating forecast from the first month, alongside rent, payroll, and supplies, and keep that projection separate from the capital treated as invested. Acquisitions also carry costs the price tag hides: legal and accounting work, licence transfers, deposits retaken by suppliers, staff retention, rebranding, and revenue that dips while customers meet a new owner. Add a working capital cushion for those months.
Ask which deposits are refundable if the transaction does not complete, and keep the family's living reserve outside the deal entirely so a slow first quarter does not force a distressed decision. Model a poor first quarter deliberately and write down what the household would do in it.