Net Proceeds
Written by Christopher Krassnig - Founder - Kairos Exchange and ZenoX Media.
Published
- Checks in every memo8
- Automatic on day one3 of 8
- Read by handad spend and processor payouts
- Tracked ecom salesEUR 200M+ZenoX ad-management figures, not Kairos deal volume - Kairos hasn't closed a deal yet.
Net Proceeds is what a seller actually keeps from a sale. It is the sale price minus every deduction: the success fee or commission, the seller's share of the escrow fee, any holdback set aside, and outstanding debts tied to the business. It belongs in a seller's own financial plan, not the headline price everyone else quotes.
What It Leaves Out
The sale price is the number in the listing. Net proceeds is the number that lands in the seller's account, and the gap between them is rarely small. A success fee comes off the top first, then the seller's half of the escrow fee, then anything held back in escrow past closing to cover a condition, then whatever the business still owes elsewhere. Two stores priced the same can hand their sellers very different amounts, depending on debt, deal structure, and which lane the sale ran through. Sellers who model the fee stack before listing negotiate from a clearer number than sellers who find out at close.