Recommended Tools

The Tools I Used to Build and Sell My Business

These are tools, software, services, and resources I recommend for small-business owners who want to build a stronger business, reduce owner dependency, create better systems, improve their financial records, and prepare for an eventual sale.

Affiliate Disclosure: Some links on this page may be affiliate links. If you purchase through one of these links, Built It, Sold It may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and services that I believe can genuinely help business owners.

Recommendations Based on Real Business Experience

I started working in the battery business in 1997 and founded BatteryPlex in 2006. Over the years, I used many different tools to operate, market, systemize, and grow the business. Built It, Sold It is about sharing those lessons with other small-business owners. When I have personally used a product, I say so clearly.

My Recommended Small Business Tools

What Software Does a Small Business Really Need?

These are the categories that matter most for small-business owners who want to build a stronger, more transferable business. I've organized them by priority — starting with the tools that have the most direct impact on business value.

Accounting & Finance

QuickBooks Online

Keep your books clean — buyers will scrutinize every number.

What it is: QuickBooks Online is cloud-based accounting software that helps small-business owners track income, expenses, and profitability in one place.

What problem it solves: Messy or incomplete financial records are one of the most common reasons small-business sales fall apart in due diligence. QuickBooks helps you maintain the clean, organized financials that buyers and their advisors expect to see.

Why I recommend it: Clean financials are not optional when you're preparing to sell. Buyers want three years of organized profit and loss statements, tax returns that match the books, and clearly documented add-backs. QuickBooks is the most widely used accounting platform for small businesses, which also makes it easier for a buyer's accountant to review your records.

Best for: Any small-business owner who wants to maintain clean financial records, prepare for a business valuation, or get ready for a future sale.

Try QuickBooks Online

Accounting & Finance

FreshBooks

Invoicing and bookkeeping built for small-business owners.

What it is: FreshBooks is accounting and invoicing software designed for small businesses and self-employed professionals.

What problem it solves: Disorganized invoicing and bookkeeping make it harder to understand your true profitability — and harder to prove it to a buyer. FreshBooks simplifies the financial side of running a business.

Why I recommend it: Organized financial records are one of the most important things you can have when preparing a business for sale. FreshBooks is a strong option for service-based businesses and solo operators who want clean books without a steep learning curve.

Best for: Service businesses, consultants, and small-business owners who want straightforward invoicing and bookkeeping.

Try FreshBooks

Website

WordPress

Own your website — don't rent it.

What it is: WordPress is the world's most widely used content management system, powering more than 40% of all websites.

What problem it solves: A business website is a real asset. WordPress gives you full ownership and control of your site, your content, and your audience — which matters when a buyer is evaluating what they're acquiring.

Why I recommend it: When you sell a business, the website comes with it. A well-built WordPress site with documented content, SEO history, and an established audience is a transferable asset. A site you don't control is a liability.

Best for: Small-business owners who want full control of their web presence and a platform that can grow with the business.

Get WordPress

E-Commerce

WooCommerce

Build an online store you actually own.

What it is: WooCommerce is a free, open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress that powers millions of online stores worldwide.

What problem it solves: Building your e-commerce business on a platform you own — rather than renting space on a marketplace — creates a more transferable asset. Your customer data, your brand, your systems.

Why I recommend it: An e-commerce business built on WooCommerce gives you full ownership of your store, your customer relationships, and your sales data. That ownership matters when a buyer is evaluating what they're getting.

Best for: Small-business owners who sell products online and want to build a transferable e-commerce asset.

Get WooCommerce

Website Hosting

SiteGround

Reliable hosting for small-business websites.

What it is: SiteGround is a web hosting provider known for performance, reliability, and strong WordPress support.

What problem it solves: A slow or unreliable website hurts your business and your SEO. SiteGround provides the infrastructure that keeps your site fast and available.

Why I recommend it: Your website is a business asset. Hosting it on a reliable platform with good uptime and support is a basic requirement for any business that takes its online presence seriously.

Best for: Small-business owners who want reliable, managed WordPress hosting without enterprise-level complexity.

Learn More

Marketing & SEO

Yoast SEO

Make your content easier for Google to find and understand.

What it is: Yoast SEO is a WordPress plugin that helps you optimize your website content for search engines.

What problem it solves: Organic search traffic is one of the most valuable and transferable assets a business can have. Yoast helps you build that asset systematically.

Why I recommend it: A business with established organic search traffic is more valuable than one that depends entirely on paid advertising or the owner's personal network. Yoast makes it easier to build and maintain that SEO foundation.

Best for: Small-business owners who use WordPress and want to improve their search visibility without hiring an SEO agency.

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Marketing & Content Creation

Adobe Creative Cloud

Professional tools for business content and marketing.

What it is: Adobe Creative Cloud is a suite of professional software for design, video, PDF management, and content creation.

What problem it solves: Professional-looking marketing materials, consistent branding, and organized documentation all contribute to how buyers perceive a business. Adobe tools help you create and maintain that standard.

Why I recommend it: From creating marketing materials to managing PDF documents during due diligence, Adobe tools are useful throughout the business lifecycle — including the sale process.

Best for: Business owners who create their own marketing content, manage documents, or produce video content.

Learn More

Business Systems & SOPs

Tools to Help Your Business Run Without You

What Tools Help a Business Run Without the Owner?

The most effective tools for reducing owner dependency are process documentation software, project management platforms, knowledge bases, and team communication tools — combined with the discipline to actually use them.

Reducing owner dependency is not primarily a software problem. It is a systems problem. The right tools make it easier to document what you do, delegate what you've documented, and verify that the business can operate without you. The specific software matters less than the habit of documenting and delegating.

One of the biggest obstacles to selling a small business is owner dependency. If important knowledge, customer relationships, processes, and decisions exist only in the owner's head, the business can be difficult to transfer to someone else.

SOP & Process Documentation

Tools for writing, organizing, and sharing step-by-step procedures for every key function in your business.

Specific tool recommendations coming soon.

Project Management

Platforms that help your team track tasks, deadlines, and responsibilities without you managing every detail.

Specific tool recommendations coming soon.

Knowledge Bases

Centralized places to store company knowledge, policies, and procedures so the information lives in the business — not in your head.

Specific tool recommendations coming soon.

Workflow Automation

Tools that automate repetitive tasks so your business runs consistently without manual intervention.

Specific tool recommendations coming soon.

Team Communication

Platforms that keep your team aligned and reduce the number of decisions that need to flow through you.

Specific tool recommendations coming soon.

Read: Owner Dependency — How to Remove Yourself From Your Business Before You Sell Read: Standard Operating Procedures for Small Business

Exit Planning & Business Sale

Tools for Preparing a Business for Sale

What Tools Can Help Make a Business More Sellable?

The most important tools for preparing a business for sale are accounting software for clean financials, process documentation tools for reducing owner dependency, and professional advisors — including a business broker or M&A advisor — who can guide you through the valuation and sale process.

Preparing to sell a business involves more than finding a buyer. It requires clean financial records, documented processes, reduced owner dependency, organized records, a realistic valuation, and preparation for due diligence.

Personal Experience

FINDING THE RIGHT BROKER? MY MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS EXPERIENCE (M&A)

Before I found the firm that guided my sale from valuation to closing, I didn't know my business was worth anything to anyone but me. I can help you choose — a "free" broker is not free. If you've never had your business valued, let's talk first before you pick anyone.

Book a Call

Business Valuation Services

Professional services that can provide a defensible estimate of what your business is worth.