Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for mergers and acquisitions firms.
A checklist built from how mergers and acquisitions firms work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Mandates and engagement terms
- Buyer, target and contact database
- Deal pipeline and outreach log
- Diligence requests and data room index
- Team time and staffing
- Fees, retainers and expenses
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For partners
- For associates and analysts
- For compliance
- For finance and operations
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Live mandates by stage and lead
- Counterparties by stage for each mandate
- Confidentiality agreements outstanding
- Diligence requests open and overdue
- Time booked by mandate and person
- Fees invoiced and expected by mandate
- Mandates won, closed and lapsed by sector
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Calendar
- Document storage
- Data room provider links
- Accounting software export
- E-signature service
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does it work for sell-side and buy-side mandates?
- Is the data room itself held here?
- How are confidential mandates kept apart from other staff?
- Is a buyer list reusable across mandates?
- Does it track confidentiality agreements?
- Can time and expenses feed fee invoices?
- Are our current mandates and contacts loaded for us?
- What leaves with us if we stop using it?
- How is it priced?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Deal status lives with one person
- Buyer lists are rebuilt for each mandate
- Confidentiality steps are hard to prove
- Diligence requests are tracked in long sheets
- Fees and time are reconciled late
Prefer to talk it through? See the mergers and acquisitions firms page.