Questions

The things people ask before they trust us with a business.

General

What is MicroM&A?: An online auction for small Ontario businesses, with the paperwork built in. Each business has a diligence period, which lasts until the seller opens bidding with at least three days' notice, then ten days of public bidding by verified buyers with proven funds. The highest bid at or above the reserve wins, and the agreement and closing checklist are generated for both sides.
What counts as a small business here?: Any independently owned, operating business, typically under $10 million in annual revenue: service businesses, e-commerce, restaurants, professional practices, SaaS, franchises and trades. The value has to come from operations. If the business owns the land and buildings it runs from, they can be sold with it.
What does it cost?: Browsing is free, an account is free, and listing a business is free with no time limit. MicroM&A charges 2% of the purchase price when a sale completes, and nothing before that. The fee is a direction the seller signs with MicroM&A. It is not part of the agreement between the buyer and the seller.

For buyers

How do I know the figures on a listing are real?: Sellers upload the statements their figures come from, and those documents are checked before the listing goes live. The listing says which figures are supported by them. That is a check on the documents, not an audit of the business, so do your own diligence before you sign anything.
How do I contact a seller?: Get verified first: upload proof of funds or a lender's commitment, and a person at MicroM&A confirms it. That makes you a verified buyer. After that you can message any listing directly, and the whole conversation stays attached to the deal.
What do I have to sign before I see the details?: A confidentiality agreement. It is a real contract and binds you from the moment you sign it. Signing opens the confidential package: who the business is, what it actually earns, the lease, the staff and the customer concentration.
Can I make an offer instead of bidding?: No. Every business is sold by auction, and MicroM&A does not take offers or negotiate for anybody. Do your diligence before bidding opens (you get at least three days' notice of the date), join before then, and bid.
Is my bid binding?: Yes. Every bid is a binding offer to buy on the auction's conditions of sale, and it cannot be withdrawn. You sign the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, complete except for the price, when you register; the seller signed it before bidding opened. If yours is the highest bid at or above the reserve when bidding closes, your bid is written in and the agreement binds you both at that moment. Bids are not subject to financing or inspection, so finish your diligence first.
Can the seller keep me out of the auction?: You are admitted as soon as you are verified and sign the agreement. Until bidding opens the seller can decline you, for a reason from a short list that MicroM&A records, such as being a competitor or the way you have dealt with them. Never on a ground in the Ontario Human Rights Code. Join before bidding opens: registration closes then.
Why can't I message the seller during bidding?: So that nobody bids on information the others do not have, and nothing is arranged on the side. Private messages close when bidding opens; the forum stays open to every bidder. After the sale, the winner and the seller can message each other again.
Where do I ask the seller questions?: In the questions and answers on the listing, once you have signed the confidentiality agreement. Every buyer sees every question and answer, under an alias, so nobody bids on information the others were not given.
Why did the closing time move?: Somebody bid in the last 24 hours. A late bid moves the close to 24 hours after it, so every bidder always has a full day to answer and nobody wins by bidding in the final second.
What happens to my deposit if the deal dies?: It sits in trust with the lawyer or brokerage holding it, and it does not move until both parties sign a direction. The platform produces that mutual release, so a collapsed deal does not leave you thousands of dollars down with nobody to ask.

For sellers

Can I list without anybody knowing my business is for sale?: Yes, and it is the default. The listing carries the region, the industry and the figures, not your name, address or trading name. A buyer sees who you are after they have signed your confidentiality agreement. Every verified buyer may sign it, and all of them get the same package, because an auction where the seller picks the bidders is not a public one.
How do I list?: Start from “Sell a business”. You describe the business and its figures, and a person reads the listing before it goes live. Documents are not needed for that. Before you send a buyer the confidential package, you upload the documents your figures come from; they are checked against your figures as they arrive, and you are told exactly what is missing and what failed.
How do I choose the bid step and the reserve?: On the auction step of the listing form. The bid step is a fixed dollar amount between 0.25% and 5% of your starting bid; leave it empty for about 1%. A reserve is optional and never shown. Buyers see only whether it has been met. If bidding closes below it, you have 48 hours to sell at the highest bid if you choose.
Can I change the terms or withdraw?: You can change anything until the listing goes live. After that the terms are fixed, because buyers are relying on them. You can withdraw during diligence, before anybody has bid. Once bidding opens, the business stays up until the auction is resolved.
What happens if a sale falls through?: You can put the business back on the market, and it keeps its history rather than starting again. The deposit does not move until the mutual release is signed by both sides.

Legal and limits

Can I sell the building too?: Yes. Choose “A business with its building” when you start the listing, and give the address and legal description on the auction step; bidders see the address once they have signed your confidentiality agreement. The agreement then covers the business assets and the real property together, with a title search for the buyer and land transfer tax paid by the buyer. MicroM&A never sells shares.
What should I check before bidding on a business that includes its building?: Everything you would check on the business, and the building as well, because there is no condition afterwards. Read the tax bill and any survey or reports in the package, have the building inspected, ask your questions in the forum, and have your financing approved for the amount you intend to bid, for the land and buildings as well as the business. Have your solicitor read the conditions of sale and the agreement.
Is MicroM&A a broker?: No. MicroM&A acts as an auctioneer: it receives, records and publishes bids and declares the highest. It is not a business broker, a real estate brokerage, a law firm or an accountancy. It does not represent either side, does not negotiate, is not a party to any agreement between a buyer and a seller, and gives no legal, tax or valuation advice.
Are the generated documents good enough to sign?: They are templates built to Ontario convention, and each says so on its face. They are a long way ahead of a handshake and no substitute for your own solicitor reading the one in front of you. On a transaction this size that is the cheapest money you will spend.
Who is responsible for what a listing says?: The seller. MicroM&A checks that the figures are supported by the documents submitted; it does not independently verify every claim, and buyers should conduct their own due diligence.

Platform and safety

How is my data handled?: Financial documents live in private storage that is not publicly reachable, and every request for one is checked against who is asking. The privacy policy sets out what is kept, why, and for how long.
What happens to a listing that breaks the rules?: Every listing is approved by an administrator before it goes live, and before a seller can send any buyer the confidential package, they are verified from documents proving they own the business, and the building where it is included. Fraudulent listings, property sold without an operating business, share sales and anything else prohibited by the acceptable use policy are removed, and the account may be suspended.
How do I report something?: Use the report control on the listing or the conversation. Every report is read.

Still deciding? How it works walks through the whole sequence, and pricing is one page.