Prepare Yourself for Integration
Featured Products Promotional FeaturesPosted by: Dental Design 30th January 2022
Buying or selling a practice can be a long process and finalising a transaction can be a welcomed relief – finally, it’s all over. However, the completion of a sale isn’t the end of the entire process as the next part is integration. Similarly to selling or buying a practice, integration can be stressful unless both parties are well prepared. There are a few things that you need to get in order for integration to run as efficiently as possible.
The Key Supplier
The vendor will provide a list of all active commercial contracts, informing any ongoing monthly suppliers that the business has changed hands. This is important because the suppliers need to know that a) the previous billpayer is no longer the one responsible for payment and b) the new owner is authorised to make any changes to the account. There will also be suppliers whom the vendor does not hold a contract with and the buyer needs to know about these too.
For the least stressful integration, the buyer can benefit from not immediately making significant changes. For instance, taking over a business and trying to set up an account with a supplier when the practice already has one can create issue or inefficiencies. This can also be the case for the lab. As long as the buyer has ensured that there are no major problems or discrepancies with existing suppliers, it can be highly beneficial to maintain existing contracts and relationships in the short term.
PAYE Protocol
HMRC needs to be informed about the business’ payroll and PAYE must be performed every month with the buyer sending relevant information to HMRC when payroll is processed. In order to do this, they will need a Government Gateway login and an employer PAYE reference number. When it comes to buying a limited company, the PAYE reference number won’t change and access to Government Gateway can be set up long before everything is finalised.
Using an outside agency to manage the payroll is an option but there are products such as Xero and Sage that can help to simplify the process for ease and convenience.
Pensions in the Workplace and Auto-enrolment
Each employer must, by law, automatically enrol their employees into a pension scheme and send all the data to the practice’s pension administrator each month. The buyer must be prepared and able to carry this out.
Access to the Building
Nobody wants to start their new venture being locked out. That’s why it’s sensible to have an extra set of keys cut and labelled – leave them in a safe space or with someone you trust. As well as this, key cards and alarm codes need to be kept in a secure location.
Access to the Electronics
The increasing amount of software within dental practices makes it crucial to ensure that buyers have access to all electronic systems on the premises or linked with the business. Making a list prior to completion will allow this to run more smoothly and this will include things such as:
- Website backend (everything behind the scenes)
- Website domain registrar
- Sign in for Google Ads, Microsoft Ads or similar
- Sign in for Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn or any other relevant logins
- Telephone portal (if using voIP, or similar)
- Practice management software
- Xero, QuickBooks, or similar
- Document storage such as Dropbox, or similar
- Server login details
- Waiting room screen, if applicable
- Pension provider access.
Access to the Bank Accounts
Making payments from the company bank account is common practice, at least in the short term, if you are buying a limited company. To ensure prompt access to the business’ finances, all relevant mandates need to be pre-prepared and submitted to the bank straight away upon completion of the sale.
Don’t Put the Pressure on Yourself
In summary, the integration process can be just as stressful as the buying or selling process as there is a lot to get through. Many things can go wrong throughout the transaction process but being prepared and having the right kind of support can make the journey a whole lot easier. However, you don’t have to go through the process by yourself.
There is support available! Dental Elite supports clients throughout their entire journey. The team are not just here to help your transaction but their aim is to also ensure that integration is stress-free. The team possess an abundance of skills and experience which ensures that they pay indisputable attention to detail and you can also go to their website and download the full integration guide – why not get a head start?
Luke Moore is one of the Founders and Directors of Dental Elite and has overseen well in excess of 750 practice sales and valuations. With over 11 years working in the dental industry, Luke has extensive knowledge in both dental practice transfers and recruitment and understands the complexities of NHS and Private practices.
For more information contact Dental Elite. Visit www.dentalelite.co.uk, email info@dentalelite.co.uk or call 01788 545 900
