Free tool
Which Exit Option Is Right for My Company
Answer seven questions about where the company is, whether a buyer is realistic, how soon you need a path, and who can sign. You get a reading list of up to three pages: a sale, a wind-down, a situation, or eligibility. The list is not advice to sell, file, or shut down. Nothing you select is stored.
How your answers become a list
Your answers point you to pages. You see at most three. If two pages are equally relevant, you see them in a fixed order. If none of your answers is strong enough on its own, you get how to sell a failed startup and how to wind down a company.
Each answer leads to one or two pages. Those are the only pages the quiz will suggest.
The eligibility page appears only when both your peak headcount and your years of records clear their minimum. One of those answers is not enough. If debts are greater than assets, you also get the bankruptcy page. That result is a page to read, not a reason to file.
You can change an answer and run it again. Nothing you select is stored, and nothing is sent.
You must file a final return for the year you close your business. Whatever your list shows, that return is still due.
If what is left is equipment, receivables, or records, rather than a buyer for the whole business, read how to recover value from a closing company.
The other free tools for closing or selling a company date a deletion or list your systems. This one gives you pages to read next.
Find a reading list
Answer all seven. You can change an answer. Nothing is sent.
Answer all seven questions. Nothing is saved.
Where each answer leads
Each row is one answer and the page it can put on your list. An answer can point to two pages. If your answer is not in the table, it does not add a page.
Some answers point at how to sell a failed startup. That page is the framework for whether a buyer is still realistic. You open it when your list includes it.
| Question | Answer | Page | Weight toward that page | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What is the company's status today? | Still operating | Can an operating company license its data | 3 | None |
| What is the company's status today? | Still operating | How to sell a failed startup | 1 | None |
| What is the company's status today? | Winding down | What to do with company data when closing a business | 3 | None |
| What is the company's status today? | Winding down | How to wind down a company | 2 | None |
| What is the company's status today? | Already acquired | License company data after an acquisition | 4 | None |
| What is the company's status today? | Already closed | Sell data from a closed company | 4 | None |
| Could the company still be sold as a business? | Buyers are in conversation | How to sell a failed startup | 3 | None |
| Could the company still be sold as a business? | Buyers are in conversation | Asset sale vs acqui-hire | 2 | None |
| Could the company still be sold as a business? | We listed it and it did not sell | My business didn't sell | 4 | None |
| Could the company still be sold as a business? | We listed it and it did not sell | Asset sale vs acqui-hire | 1 | None |
| Could the company still be sold as a business? | A sale is not realistic | How to wind down a company | 2 | None |
| Could the company still be sold as a business? | A sale is not realistic | Asset sale vs acqui-hire | 2 | None |
| Could the company still be sold as a business? | We have not tried to sell it | How to sell a failed startup | 2 | None |
| How much time pressure is there? | No fixed deadline | How to sell a failed startup | 1 | None |
| How much time pressure is there? | We need a path this quarter | How to wind down a company | 1 | None |
| How much time pressure is there? | We need a path this month | How to wind down a company | 2 | None |
| How much time pressure is there? | Tools are already being turned off | How to wind down a company | 3 | None |
| How much time pressure is there? | Tools are already being turned off | What to do with company data when closing a business | 1 | None |
| Which is closer to the truth about debts and assets? | Assets cover the debts | How to sell a failed startup | 1 | None |
| Which is closer to the truth about debts and assets? | Roughly even | Asset sale vs acqui-hire | 1 | None |
| Which is closer to the truth about debts and assets? | Debts are greater than assets | Selling company data in bankruptcy | 4 | None |
| How many people did the company have at its peak? | 25 to 29 | Does my company qualify to sell its data | 1 | US staff split |
| How many people did the company have at its peak? | 30 or more | Does my company qualify to sell its data | 2 | None |
| How many years of operational records are still available? | 2 years or more | Does my company qualify to sell its data | 2 | None |
| Who can sign for the company right now? | The founders | How to sell a failed startup | 1 | None |
| Who can sign for the company right now? | The board | How to sell a failed startup | 1 | None |
| Who can sign for the company right now? | A buyer or new owner | License company data after an acquisition | 2 | None |
| Who can sign for the company right now? | A court, trustee, or insolvency officer | Selling company data in bankruptcy | 2 | Not advice to file |
Notes you may see
A note appears only with the answer it belongs to. The quiz will not assume that most of your staff were in the US.
Does my company qualify to sell its data? Use that page when you want the full test.
You need at least 30 people at peak, or 25 if most staff were in the US. This quiz does not know where your staff sat.
A peak of 25 to 29 qualifies only if most staff were in the US. This quiz will not assume that.
Under 2 years of records is short of the minimum we review.
Without a known history of at least 2 years, your list will not include the eligibility page.
If a court, trustee, or insolvency officer is in charge, the founders may not be the people who can sell or license anything. Read about selling company data in bankruptcy before you act. This is not advice to file.
What one company would see
Take a company that is winding down. The listing did not sell. A decision is needed this month. Debts are greater than assets. Peak staff was 30 or more. At least 2 years of records are still available. The founders can still sign.
Those answers give you three pages, in this order:
- Selling company data in bankruptcy
Who can license the records when a court or an assignee is in charge.
- How to wind down a company
The closing steps when a sale is not the path in front of you.
- My business didn't sell
What remains after you listed the company and no buyer appeared.
You would open the bankruptcy page first, then the wind-down, then the page for a listing that did not sell. Eligibility also clears its bar for this company, and it would be fourth, so the list of three stops before it.
The bankruptcy page is there to read. It is not a suggestion to file. The list does not tell you to sell, to sign, or to shut down. Read them before you decide what to do next.
What the quiz will not do
The quiz will not tell you to file, to sign, or to cancel a tool. It will not estimate a payout. It will not store the answers. It will not ask for your name or your email. The home form is a separate step, and it does not receive these answers.
If you need a person to tell you what to do, ask your lawyer before you file, sign, or cancel anything. The quiz will not choose for you.
This quiz does not compute a deletion date. Closing the tab clears the answers. There is no account and no saved result.
When will my software data be deleted after canceling? That tool dates deletion. This quiz does not.
It also does not replace a company records inventory template. Use that sheet for the systems you still have.
General information only. This is not legal, tax or financial advice.
Related
- Selling a company
How to sell a failed startup, and the options when a company cannot be sold as a whole.
- Winding down
Order of operations to wind down a company, from approval through taxes and dissolution.
- Asset sale, acqui-hire, or license
Asset sale, acqui-hire, and a data license compared for a company that is winding down.
- Your situation
What changes for your records in eight company situations.
- How to recover value from a closing company
Separate ways value still leaves a closing company, from receivables and equipment to a license of records.
Questions about the exit options quiz
Does the exit options quiz tell us to file for bankruptcy?
No. If you answer that debts are greater than assets, the bankruptcy page is one of the pages you may be shown, so you can read who may have authority when a court or an assignee is involved. That page is for reading. It is not a suggestion to file, and the quiz will not tell you to file, to sign, or to shut the company down. Ask your lawyer before you file anything.
Are my quiz answers stored or sent to Vetrix?
No. The answers stay in the open tab while you use the quiz. They are not saved in the browser, not written to a cookie, and not sent to us. They are not attached to the eligibility form. The button only updates the list on the screen. Closing the tab clears the answers. The form on the home page is a separate step, and it opens without them.
What if the quiz suggests a sale and a wind-down at the same time?
It can. You may see both, because a buyer can still be realistic and you may still need the closing steps if that buyer does not appear. The sale page compares ways out. The wind-down page is the closing sequence. Read both before you choose. The quiz will not pick the sale over the close, or the close over the sale, for you.
Can a company under 30 people still use the reading list?
Yes. The list can still include a sale page, a wind-down page, or a situation page. The eligibility page is added only when peak staff is at least 30 and the records cover at least 2 years. A peak of 25 to 29 does not add the eligibility page, because the quiz does not know whether most staff were in the US.
How is the result different from the page on how to sell a failed startup?
The sale page is the framework for whether a buyer is still realistic, including the routes and the people who run them. The quiz gives you a short list of up to three pages and does not replace that framework. It does not tell you to sell. Open the framework when you want the comparison. Answer the seven questions when you want the short list first.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Service. Closing a business.
- Vetrix Labs. Vetrix Data Licensing.