Closing a store requires considerable effort and attention, and the items listed below, in no particular order, are minimal considerations when Autoblog terminating a franchise and closing a dealership operation. Basic Preparation.
Be certain to hold both director’s and shareholders’ Autoblog meetings and obtain resolutions from each entity, authorizing the dealer to liquidate the dealership or a substantial portion of the dealership’s assets. Determine whether or not the board and shareholders Autoblog may authorize you a termination bonus and prepay for your services in “winding down the business.” Consult with your accountant and attorney to determine what would be a reasonable amount of compensation if a company creditor challenges the transaction.
Determine if it is reasonable for officers to buy themselves and Autoblog their spouse vehicles. Pay “Net” “Net,” which would be the sales price if the vehicle were returned to the factory or sold to a purchaser of the business. The officers should open a new bank account at a different bank, and: (a) use a PO Box or Private Mail Service as a mailing address, and (b) use a different check color to determine pre easily and post-closing checks written.
Authorize payment to and pre-pay the company’s attorney and accountant with a retainer. Their services will be needed to close the business properly, and the company might not pay them later. Authorize pre-payment of whatever services or supplies the company will need to be serviced during the wind-down period. For example, property and personal insurance, real property taxes (if a third party does not own the property), rent, utilities, and such.
2. The Facility and Insurance
A one-sheet summary of the lease should be attached to the original to facilitate matters. The summary should include such items as the dates of the base term; the base rent; the current rent; the dates of any option periods, together with notations regarding rent increases; the facility ownership; the lessee and lessor; a notation as to whether or not the factory has a point or site protection; the rent as an equivalent to the dollar value per new unit sold; and, a notation as to WHETHER OR NOT THE LEASE IS ASSIGNABLE and under what conditions.
Other considerations regarding the facility lease include violations of the ADA, hazardous materials (underground gas tanks or underground oil disposal tanks) located on the property.
Owned Facilities
Concerning receiving “factory termination assistance,” some Sales and Service Agreements, General Motors, for example, make a distinction between “owner-occupied” and “leased” dealership facilities. Be sure to read your Sales and Service Agreement to understand and capitalize on the distinctions.
Leased Facilities
If the selling dealer’s rent factor before the sale of the dealership is within factory guidelines, the factory should make the dealer’s lease payments for the period specified in the Service and Sales Agreement. (See, however, the EPA section.).
Check with your insurance agent to determine the requirements for ensuring an empty building.
Other Insurance
In addition to facility insurance, the dealer will need a “tail” or rider on his or her garage keepers insurance. Most insurance today is “claims made” versus “occurrence”. In actual practice, most settled cases are settled within the insurance policy limits, and the insurance company will have paid for both the defense and the settlement. Concerning Medical Insurance, arrange for COBRA all employees of the company. Again, officers and directors may include medical insurance payments as part of their wind-down compensation.
3. UCC, Mechanic’s Lien, and Title Searches
Most dealers are not cognizant of all existing liens on the dealership’s assets. To accurately estimate the selling dealer’s anticipated net proceeds, all of these liens will have to be discovered, preferably, before negotiations. Possession of title reports and UCC-1 reports will give the dealer adequate time to address the issues and to have readily available answers if and when a prospective purchaser raises the issue.
4. Taxes Due and Anticipated
The dealership’s comptroller or accountant should prepare a sheet of all taxes currently owed by the dealership and all anticipated taxes. The list should identify the amount, who owed, and the reason. In certain states, unpaid taxes have a “super lien” status, and if unpaid, the selling dealer’s assets can and will be attached to recover unpaid taxes due by the selling dealership. This attachment can occur months after the dealership has closed.
As a general rule, anyone authorized to sign on the checking account can be held personally liable for at least ½ of the payroll withholding tax, as well as 100% of all of the sales taxes due. Besides, in some instances, dealers have been held personally liable for monies collected from customers that should have been treated as “trusts” monies, such as customer trade payoffs, customer credit, and life insurance premiums, and customer warranty and service contract premiums.
5. Notes and Accounts Receivable From Others
The “Notes and Accounts Receivable – Other” account is usually a “catch-all” account on the dealership statement. For purposes of a dealership sale, this account should be purified (1) to appraise the dealer of any extra funds, which may be available for final sales and property taxes and (2) to make both the dealer and accountant aware of any “in-house” loans to officers, directors, and employees, which may have to be repaid.
6. Prepaid Expenses
The prepaid expense account is another “catch-all” account that must be purified. When scheduling the prepaid expense account, the comptroller should do a thorough search for all lease and contract deposits. In many instances, service equipment on lease, vehicles on lease, computers on a lease, and other leases made to the dealership carry security deposits, last month’s payment, or both.
7. Dealership Employees
Along with the normal employer-employee relations, two critical legal areas may affect automobile dealers: (a) pension fund liability; and (b) state and federal laws regarding closings.
In some states, the selling dealer could be personally liable for funding employee pension funds, while in others, the dealer must give employees advance notice of any closing. Also, the United States Congress passed legislation regarding “closings.” In the instances of “closings,” both state and federal laws put a minimum on the number of persons employed, usually 50 or 100 before the law applies to the dealer’s company. Check the Hart Scott Rodino Act (HSR) and the WARN Act.
Regarding wages, some jurisdictions have enacted statutes making certain shareholders personally liable for corporate debts due to laborers and other employees. Welfare and pension funds also qualify as wages under New York’s statute.
The comptroller or accountant should prepare a
list of these liabilities, to include any amounts due to the employees, concerning accrued vacations, withholding taxes, pension, and profit-sharing plans and wages, as of the date of close. Insofar as the actual terminations are concerned, if the dealership is “union,” the dealer should talk to the union’s representative to be sure that all of the union contract conditions are met.
8. Long Term Debt
All long-term debt should be itemized and a method of repayment determined. Interest should be computed. When past-due interest and past due payments are added to the loan balance, the loan pay-offs are generally higher than anticipated. The comptroller should prepare a list of these debts, including the amount owed, including interest, who owed, the purpose of debt, maturity, terms, and security are given. After the list is completed, the comptroller should keep a running total, daily, through the close of escrow.
9. Other Notes Payable
As with long-term debt, other notes payable should be listed by amount, including interest to the date of close, who owed, the purpose of note, maturity, terms, and security is given; arrangements should be made to retire the debt.
10. The Financial Statements
The retail automobile business is one of the few businesses requiring a complete closing of all books and records promptly, at the end of every month. Factories and finance companies require reporting on factory originated or approved forms. In preparing the store for closing, a reconciliation statement may be used, explaining categories such as “other income & expense,” warranty, finance, and insurance income not shown on the statement, along with extraordinary items.