Stabilise before you optimise.
The first period is for understanding what already works, securing legitimate access and preserving the relationships that keep the operation moving. A buyer who changes every tool, message or process immediately can destroy useful information. Define what must stay stable while you learn.
Sequence access and responsibility.
Prioritise domains, infrastructure, financial operations, customer communication, suppliers and the recurring calendar of work. For each, make clear who owns the action, what evidence confirms continuity and when the seller’s support ends. This is more useful than a vague promise of “training.”
Create a short exception log.
The unexpected questions are often where founder knowledge lives: a customer escalation, a renewal, a refund, an integration failure or a supplier issue. Record them, the decision made and what should happen next time. The log turns transition support into a transferable operating asset.
Do not use the period to prove the deal immediately.
A handover is a process of reducing uncertainty, not a performance test against the most optimistic acquisition thesis. Review the operating reality, escalate specialist issues when needed and make changes when you understand their effect on customers and continuity.
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