EOFY is when assumptions get tested. Performance is reconciled, “one-offs” are interrogated, and the true drivers of cash flow become easier to verify. At the same time, many owners take stock and decide what they want the next financial year to look like or whether they’d like to exit. This mix of financial clarity and sharper intent creates a clear window of opportunity for buyers to act with confidence, backed by a complete and up-to-date picture of performance and risk.
Full-year performance removes guesswork
A full trading year makes patterns harder to hide. Revenue trends are visible across a complete cycle. Margins can be assessed in context. Seasonal swings make sense when you can see them end to end. And when accountants are finalising accounts, add-backs are harder to present loosely.
For buyers, this reduces reliance on assumption. You are not just reviewing potential. You are reviewing a finished year.
The difference between a confident decision and an expensive mistake often comes down to interpretation. A good broker helps you pressure-test the earnings story early, what’s sustainable, what’s genuinely one-off, and what would need to change under new ownership for performance to hold.
Working capital becomes more transparent
Working capital is one of the most common blind spots for first-time buyers. A business can look profitable and still place pressure on cash flow through stock levels, debtor timing, or creditor terms.
EOFY forces reconciliation. Inventory is counted. Debtors are reviewed. Liabilities are clearer. That gives you a stronger basis for understanding the true capital required to operate post-settlement.
This is also where transactions often get messy if the conversation happens late. A broker’s value here is structural: making sure working capital, timing, and settlement mechanics are clarified early, so negotiations stay clean and due diligence becomes confirmation rather than correction.
Vendor intent sharpens
EOFY is not just financial. It is behavioural.
As the year closes, many owners make a practical decision: commit to another full year, or exit on the back of current performance. That decision tends to bring focus. Conversations become more direct. Timelines tighten. Expectations are better defined.
For buyers, this can create momentum, but only if you can engage properly. A broker helps you read intent, set the right pace, and keep discussions moving without tipping into urgency or losing negotiating position.
Certainty carries weight
When year-end pressure builds, vendors and their advisors look for clean execution. The strongest buyer is not always the one offering the highest headline price. It is often the one who reduces uncertainty.
EOFY amplifies that dynamic. A buyer with funding clarity, a clear due diligence plan, and realistic timelines stands out because they look executable. A broker helps translate that readiness into an offer that’s clean, credible, and easier for a vendor to say yes to.
Use the window well
EOFY should not trigger rushed decisions. It should encourage disciplined ones.
Use this period to test the sustainability of earnings, assess transferability beyond the current owner, clarify working capital requirements, and confirm your funding pathway. The goal is simple: to reduce unknowns early so you do not pay for them later.
The market does not pause after 31 March. Activity often increases. New listings enter the market, and more buyers re-engage. Preparation before that lift can make a meaningful difference.
EOFY does not create opportunities on its own. It reveals them more clearly. For buyers ready to act with structure and confidence, that clarity is an advantage.
If you are looking to make the most of this window of opportunity, get in touch with a LINK Business broker today to help you qualify opportunities faster, pressure-test risk earlier, and move through the process with a clearer view of what’s sustainable, and what isn’t.
