Jared A. Bergquist, CCIM

For Buyers

Buyer — Transition Checklist

On day one the practice keeps running. Your job is to make continuity feel seamless outside while you take the reins inside. Here is how to lead through the handoff.

Bergquist Group Insights • Practice Transitions

The day you take ownership, the practice keeps running — patients arrive, staff clock in, the schedule fills. Your job is to make that continuity feel seamless from the outside while you take the reins on the inside. The transition period, those first weeks and months, is where a good acquisition becomes a successful one.

This checklist covers what to lock down before close and how to lead through the handoff.

Before Closing

  • Finish due diligence completely. Verify financials, confirm the active patient base, review every contract, and validate compliance and licensing.
  • Negotiate seller transition support. A defined period of overlap — where the seller introduces you to patients and staff — protects retention. Put the length and terms in writing.
  • Secure financing and the lease. Convert financing to a firm commitment, and make sure your right to occupy the space is solid, with terms you can live with.
  • Plan credentialing early. Insurance credentialing under your ownership can take time. Start before close so you can bill without interruption.

Protect What You Bought

You paid for an active patient base and a functioning team. Both can erode quickly if the transition feels abrupt or uncertain. The goodwill you purchased is fragile in the first 90 days — lead with reassurance and consistency.

Patients and team

  • Communicate with patients thoughtfully. A warm, reassuring introduction — ideally with the departing owner's endorsement — keeps patients comfortable and loyal.
  • Win over the staff first. The team holds the institutional knowledge and the patient relationships. Listen before you change things, and protect continuity wherever you can.
  • Hold changes for later. Resist the urge to overhaul systems, fees, or workflows on day one. Stabilize first; optimize once you understand how the practice actually runs.

Operations

  • Transfer banking, billing, and vendor accounts. Map out the operational handoffs so nothing falls through the cracks at the switchover.
  • Maintain the recall and hygiene engine. Recurring hygiene is the backbone of stable cash flow. Keep it running without disruption.
  • Set your first 90-day plan. Stabilize patients and staff first, then turn to the improvements that drew you to the practice in the first place.

A successful buyer transition is invisible to patients and reassuring to staff. Do the unglamorous work of continuity well, and you preserve the value you paid for — and earn the credibility to grow from there.

This checklist is general educational information for dental practice buyers and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Consult qualified advisors for guidance specific to your situation.

Closing on a practice soon?

We help buyers structure the transition so the patient base and team you paid for stay right where they belong.

(702) 521-9953

jared@bergquistgroup.com

bergquistgroup.com