Partnership
When should we call IT about an acquisition?
Before the letter of intent, if you can. Later is fine; earlier is cheaper.
Answered by Ryan Sanders, Partnership Director
Before the letter of intent
The best time is while you are still deciding. A look at the other company's systems tells you what you are actually buying: software that is current or on its last legs, data that can be merged or has to be rebuilt, licences that transfer or do not, a server that is fine or a liability. That shapes the price, and it is much easier to ask before both sides have agreed on a number.
Between signing and closing
This is when the plan gets written: which systems survive, what merges into what, how email and domains are handled, what happens on day one so the acquired staff can work. Phone numbers, websites and customer-facing email are the things that embarrass you if they are missed.
After closing
Still fine. We have merged three companies with nineteen years of accounting history between them, and consolidated agencies that had already closed the deal. It just costs more and takes longer than it would have with a plan, and there is usually a month or two of everything being done twice.
What we look at
Domains and email. Accounting and line-of-business systems. Licences and contracts that need to be assigned. Hardware age. Backups, and whether they exist. Security, especially anything a customer or insurer will ask about. Staff, and what they need on day one. It is a short list, and every item on it is cheaper to know early.
Where we did this
Buying a business? Ask the IT questions before the letter of intent. Every unlicensed seat and untested backup is a cost you inherit.
IT due diligence From the shopThree companies, three accounting systems, nineteen years of records. The plan that worked was the one written for the client, not for a vendor.
The three-company mergerPeople also ask
How do you decide what hardware and software to recommend?
By what fits the problem and the budget, not by what we happen to know best. We have changed vendors more often than most firms do, always for a stated technical reason, and we will show you the reasoning.
The full answerWhat happens when you get something wrong?
We tell you, quickly and plainly, and then we run an after-action: what happened, how it happened, and what changes so it does not repeat. Hiding a small problem is how it becomes a large one.
The full answerWhat does a technology roadmap actually contain?
What changes, in what order, over what years, and what each year costs. It is reviewed with the owner and adjusted as the business changes.
The full answer
"Ryan was a fantastic help with my several issues and even identified other issues I was unaware of and resolved them as well."
Ethan, law firmMeet Ryan- A technician who knows your setup takes every request. Not a dispatcher, not a queue.
- Every closed ticket is surveyed and a partner reads every response.
- 99.5% of surveys come back positive.
- Family-owned since 2005. 21 years in the same corner of Wisconsin, not going anywhere.
"Another great job by Midwest IT. Our company just loves your fast response to our issues."
Client, 2024 surveyBuying, or being bought?
Call before the letter of intent. It is a short conversation.
Talk to a partnerTalk to a partner, not a sales script.
Tell us what is going on. A partner will call you back the same business day, look at what you have, and tell you honestly whether we are the right fit. No pricing pressure, no pitch deck.