Buying a business is an effective way to skip the start-up stage and hit the ground running right away. The number of entrepreneurs who would instead buy a business in Singapore seems to be increasing almost every other day. And this doesn't come as a surprise if the numerous benefits they’re set to enjoy are anything to go by.

But just as is the case with starting your business from scratch, there are a couple of things you ought to keep in mind. First, you want to push the business to exponential levels, and this will forever remain a dream if you fail to implement the correct measures. In this post, we’ve compiled a checklist of things to do before buying a business.

Once you find, add value, and scale dormant businesses in Singapore to choose from, it is in your best interest that you discern the company’s cash flow status. By this, we are simply implying reviewing the balance sheets, profit and loss statements, annual reports, and any other cash-flow statements. Be sure to do this for financial statements running for at least the past three years. That way, you can be on the know-how regarding its financial statements.

Once you are satisfied with the financial statements, it is essential to ensure that the assets listed in the books match what exists within the business. Furthermore, ensure the value isn't overestimated as it could end up leading to problems later on. Ask the business seller for an asset list and check off physical items against it.

Your search doesn’t stop there since you need to do a stocktake to assess the inventory on hand and its value. If you find out that inventory has been sitting in the business for a long time, it pays off to ask why it could prove challenging to shift down the line if customers lack interest.

Buying a business is a significant investment in itself, and you can't risk rushing over it—a good number of aspiring entrepreneurs who do that end up losing their investment. So, request the intellectual property rights, check the assets, and go through its financial statements. You can read more about buying a business in Singapore here and ensure your purchase decision is well-informed from the word go.