A diligence timeline depends on the records available, third-party work, negotiated rights and the tasks that must finish before another can begin. Plan those dependencies explicitly. A generic number of weeks cannot establish when a transaction is ready to close or whether a deposit can be recovered.
Open the dependency planner · Read the delay case · Download the planning files
Separate the agreement from the planning forecast
Ask counsel to identify the operative documents, parties, conditions, decision rights, notice recipients and delivery requirements. An LOI, confidentiality agreement and signed purchase agreement have different purposes; their labels alone do not establish enforceability or a right to terminate. There is no universal rule that a purchase agreement must be signed only after all diligence is finished. The actual negotiated sequence controls.
Record adviser-confirmed dates separately from estimated task finishes. A notice cutoff may precede the desired closing, and paying for or taking possession of assets may create a separate event. New York’s bulk-sales guidance describes notification and withholding considerations for covered transactions. The planner does not calculate those statutory dates, decide applicability or assume that entering a date satisfies a requirement.
Define outstanding deliverables and dependencies
| Workstream | Deliverable to define | Possible dependency to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Financial records | Period-matched earnings and exceptions | Receipt of POS, bank, payroll and accounting exports |
| Equipment | Qualified inspection and scoped findings | Authorized site access and current asset records |
| Environmental/site | Professional review with reliance and scope | Site history, access, reports and authority responses |
| Legal/occupancy | Conditions and consent questions resolved | Actual agreement, lease and title/authority evidence |
| Lender/provider | Written acceptance of the relevant package | Required reviews and outstanding conditions |
| Closing preparation | Agreed funding, documents and handoff plan | Required approvals, instructions and acceptance evidence |
These are planning prompts, not a prescribed legal sequence. Each task needs an owner, a defined deliverable and a remaining-duration assumption. Confirm whether work can truly run concurrently. Two tasks assigned to the same person may compete for time even when the dependency graph permits overlap. This simple planner does not allocate people, holidays or vendor calendars.
How the dependency calculation works
Begin with an as-of date and evidence for prerequisites already completed. Enter only outstanding work. A task’s earliest start is the latest of that as-of date, its optional not-before date and all predecessor finish dates. Finish equals start plus remaining whole calendar days. The calculation includes weekends: a one-day task starting November 2 finishes at the November 3 boundary. Zero days can represent a milestone.
Blank duration or unresolved prerequisite evidence makes the task and its descendants unknown. The overall required-work completion is unknown if any included task remains unknown, even when a selected milestone can be dated. Every included task counts toward overall completion; do not leave required work outside the scope just to produce an earlier date.
The selected milestone is compared with an adviser-entered decision date. Positive difference means later; negative means earlier. The controlling task set is followed backward from the milestone, with ties and availability constraints visible in the task table. This is a simplified dependency forecast, not a complete critical-path scheduling system. The GAO Schedule Assessment Guide provides broader scheduling methodology; it does not supply car-wash transaction durations.
Fictional case: seven days of delay create six days of slippage
| ID / task | Remaining days | After | Baseline finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| A · Financial records | 5 | As-of November 2, 2026 | November 7 |
| B · Equipment review | 3 | As-of | November 5 |
| C · Environmental review | 10 | As-of | November 12 |
| D · Legal review | 4 | A and B | November 11 |
| E · Lender review | 6 | C and D | November 18 |
| F · Closing preparation | 2 | E | November 20 |
The baseline selected milestone finishes one day after an invented November 19 decision date. Initially C → E → F controls completion. Adding seven days to A moves A to November 14, D to November 18, E to November 24 and F to November 26. The controlling sequence changes to A → D → E → F; completion slips six days. These durations are fictional teaching assumptions, not expected turnaround times.
November 20
November 26
Decide what to do with an exception
A late forecast calls for an accountable conversation: request missing evidence, revise the work scope, ask for a documented extension, or evaluate the actual contractual options with counsel. The tool does not generate a notice, waive a condition, authorize closing or determine deposit rights. Verify deadlines against the agreement’s triggers, time of day, business-day definition, holiday provisions and delivery requirements.
Use the diligence checklist to identify what needs review, the data-room register to control disclosure and versions, and the operating handoff for effective times and post-close acceptance. Equipment and billing continuity have their own technical/provider evidence. Keep required approvals distinct from completed arithmetic.
Save the plan with its assumptions
Download the fictional case v1
Reforecast after receiving material records or changing a duration, dependency or availability date. Preserve the prior version and explain the change. A downloaded plan is a local snapshot; this site does not monitor dates or send reminders.
Sources and scope
Official and original sources checked October 17, 2026. These sources support the identified rules and methods; they do not verify a particular business or property.
- GAO — GAO · Schedule Assessment GuideLinked activities and schedule logic support assessment of changes and slippage. Full report inspected for sequencing and critical-path sections. Methodology from project scheduling, adapted here as a simplified planning model. It is not a NY transaction calendar or a complete resource-loaded schedule.
- NY Tax Department — NY Tax Department · Bulk salesQualifying purchases have separate notification/withholding considerations; payment or possession can trigger timing before a planned closing. Application and receipt timing belong with the adviser. Do not turn the tool into an automatic statutory deadline calculator or a claim that all asset-sale liabilities disappear.
- SBA — SBA · Plan your businessFixed and variable cost definitions; contribution and break-even principles; adviser review of acquisition documents. General small-business guidance, not a car-wash benchmark or legal opinion. Its quarterly-cost example contains an apparent arithmetic error: use quarterly cost / 3 for a monthly amount, not / 4. Do not import its suggested contingency percentage.
Continue your review
Verify the revenue · Normalize earnings · Model the cash flow