Know an owner thinking about selling?
Sign up as a Referrer and give them your code. If their business sells with us, you receive a tenth of the fee we collect, with no cap, paid within 30 days of us being paid.
- One code for each owner. Make a fresh one in one tap. Each code works once.
- We tell you when your code is used, when the owner signs with us, when the sale closes, and what we paid you.
- The owner always knows. You tell them you are paid a referral fee, and their listing agreement says so in writing before they sign.
- No cost to the owner. We pay you from our own fee.
How you make money, step by step.
- Sign up and sign once.
Three short steps here, then a one page agreement online. Your first code is ready the moment you sign.
- Make a code for one owner.
Each code is for one owner you know, and it works once. Make a fresh one in your tracker whenever you need it.
- Send it yourself.
We write a short message for you to send from your own phone or email. It tells the owner you are paid a tenth of our fee if their business sells.
- The owner uses it.
They open your link, or type your code at the top of our form, or read it to us on the phone. Our form shows Introduced by and your name. We email you that your code was used.
- They sign, and the business sells.
We email you when the owner signs a listing agreement with us, and again when the sale closes.
- You get paid.
You receive a tenth of the fee we collect, within 30 days of us being paid, with a written statement for your records. Nothing is paid before the business sells, and there is no payment for signing up.
What a tenth looks like.
| When the fee we collect is | You receive |
|---|---|
| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $30,000 | $3,000 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $10,000 |
| $250,000 | $25,000 |
| $600,000 | $60,000 |
Where the fee comes from. Our fee is agreed with each owner as a share of the sale price, and it is paid at closing. BDC puts broker commissions at around 12% for sales under $1 million, falling to 4% to 6% on a $10 million sale. So a 6% fee on a $10 million sale would be $600,000, and a tenth of it, $60,000, would be yours.
Source: BDC, How to find a business to buy with the help of a broker. More in our guide, what a business broker costs.
Fees in parts. If our fee comes in parts, for example when part of the price is paid later, you receive a tenth of each part within 30 days of it reaching us.
How a sale works with us.
Every sale follows the same five steps. You hear from us at the ones that matter to you.
- Your number.
An estimated range from the owner's own statements.
- Your package.
The presentation buyers see, built once and approved by the owner.
- The Buyers Market Club.
Members who signed our confidentiality agreement see it first, for seven days before any public marketing.
- Offer.
Offers come together on a letter of intent, and every yes and every no is the owner's.
- Close.
The owner's lawyer papers the deal, funds flow through a lawyer's trust account, and our fee comes out at closing, only if it closes.
A sale can take many months, and some do not go ahead. We tell you when the owner signs with us and when the sale closes, and never anything about the owner's price, terms, buyer or figures.
What you receive, in plain words.
- A tenth of the fee we collect, with no cap. Worked out on the fee we actually receive on that sale, before tax. If you are registered for GST or HST, add it to your invoice.
- Paid within 30 days of us being paid. Our fee is paid at closing. If part of it arrives later, your tenth of that part follows within 30 days of it reaching us.
- Nothing before the sale. No sale, no fee. There is no payment for signing up, or when the owner signs with us.
- Twelve months to sign. The owner signs a listing agreement with us within 12 months of using your code. If they do, it counts however long a sale then takes.
- A written statement with every payment. Keep it for your records. You report the referral fee on your own tax return.
What you do. What you never do.
You do:
- Refer owners you know, personally or through your work, with their OK.
- Tell the owner we pay you a referral fee if their business sells. The message we write for you says it.
- If you are their accountant, planner or adviser, give any written disclosure and get any consent your own rules require. Accountants never refer an audit or review client.
- Keep private anything you learn about an owner or a sale, including that a business is for sale.
You never:
- Contact owners you do not know, advertise, or post a code anywhere.
- Buy, sell or use lists, or send bulk or automated messages.
- Say you act for us.
- Quote a price, a value or a fee, or promise an outcome.
Nothing hidden.
When an owner types your code, our form shows Introduced by and your name. Their listing agreement names you and your referral fee in writing before they sign. They give us their own details. We never ask you for theirs.
Referral code
Introduced by Pat Morrison.
Who is paid, and who is not.
Paid: anyone living in Canada who signs the agreement, where their employer and professional rules allow it. Friends and family of owners, other owners, suppliers and customers, bookkeepers, coaches, consultants and exit planners.
Accountants (CPAs): only with your client's written consent, and never for an audit or review client.
Realtors and business brokers: your brokerage signs the agreement and is paid.
Financial planners and investment advisers: written disclosure to your client first. If you are registered under securities law, your firm signs the agreement before you refer anyone.
Not paid: lawyers; anyone who works for the business or owns part of it; the buyer, or anyone buying with them; our own staff and contractors; anyone who advertises codes or sells leads; banks, credit unions, BDC, Community Futures and their staff. And no referral fee on a real estate commission, on introducing an investor, or on arranging financing.