🧭 The Ultimate Guide to a Successful Scoping Document

The scoping document is the cornerstone of any SME acquisition project. It serves as a personal compass, a strategic filter, and an essential communication tool with sellers, bankers, and partners.

At Re-New, we too often see buyers rushing in without this preparatory work — and burning out unnecessarily. This guide offers you a simple and practical method to build a solid and credible document.

1) Why Preparing and Framing Your Project Is Essential

Preparing and framing your project drastically reduces the risk of failure — over 50% of abandoned projects fail due to lack of preparation. Scoping helps define your ambitions, constraints, and resources, while securing your trajectory.

✅ Best practices

• Write down your personal and professional goals clearly.
• Discuss your project with your family to validate real constraints.
• Identify skills you need to strengthen and plan to acquire them.
• Limit your key criteria to 4–5 to keep a realistic pool of targets.

❌ To avoid

• Starting without serious introspection.
• Listing too many “essential” criteria that block your search.
• Ignoring financial limits and chasing inaccessible targets.

🔎 Example: Sophie, 45, wants to acquire an SME within 90 minutes of Bordeaux, with middle management and EBITDA > 10%. She formalizes her criteria and drops targets that are too far away: geography comes first.

❓ Key questions to ask yourself

• What minimum income is required for my family balance?
• What skills do I need before managing an SME?
• What geographical area works for me and my family?
• What financial risk am I willing to take?

2) How to Fill Out Your Re-New Scoping Document Step by Step

The Re-New scoping document is based on industry best practices. It is structured into precise sections that must be filled out with clarity and concision.

Personal Information and Education

Present your basic data (name, age, family situation, education, languages). Highlight degrees and unique experiences.

🔎 Example: 40 years old, married, 3 kids, Executive MBA HEC, fluent in English.

❓ Questions to ask

• What elements of my background stand out?
• Is my partner/family ready to support a project involving mobility and risk?
• What languages/certifications strengthen my credibility?

Profile and Skills

Summarize your managerial, sectoral, and financial strengths. Keep it short and results-oriented.

🔎 Example: Managed BU with 50 staff, €5M turnover, expertise in business development.

❓ Questions to ask

• What key skills can I bring right away?
• What areas should I complement with a team or partners?
• Have I managed a business of comparable size?

Experience

Describe your main roles, with financial and managerial responsibilities.

🔎 Example: CEO of a B2B services SME (€3M turnover, 25 people), launched new product lines.

❓ Questions to ask

• What experience will convince a seller?
• What concrete successes prove I can run an SME?

Target Business Activities

Clearly define the type of business sought. List sectors or NAF codes targeted, and exclusions.

🔎 Example: Acquire a B2B services company in growth, €3–10M turnover, based in Centre region.

Characteristics of the Target Company

Define turnover, headcount, location, client base, financial health (healthy or turnaround).

🔎 Example: Profitable SME, €3–5M turnover, 20–50 employees, diversified clients, existing manager.

❓ Questions to ask

• What company size matches my means?
• Am I ready for a turnaround, or only a healthy company?
• What geographical area is realistic?

Financial Data and Target Price

Indicate a realistic valuation range, consistent with your equity and financing capacity.

🔎 Example: Target price €3–4M, maximum €4.5M.

❓ Questions to ask

• What maximum price can I finance with confidence?
• Is my range consistent with available financing?
• Have I included vendor loan or earn-out in my assumptions?

Deal Structure

Specify the type of deal: 100%, majority, association with employees or funds. Mention the seller’s expected involvement.

🔎 Example: Majority acquisition (70%), with seller’s support for 12 months.

❓ Questions to ask

• Am I open to partnering, or only full acquisition?
• Do I want seller involvement?
• What role for the existing management team?

Financing and Equity

Detail your personal contribution and planned financing (banks, Bpifrance, funds).

🔎 Example: €300k personal equity, €2M bank debt, 10% vendor loan.

❓ Questions to ask

• What equity is available immediately?
• What financing sources can I activate?
• Have I contacted Bpifrance or banking partners?

Advisory Team and Support

List your identified advisors (accountant, lawyer, networks).

🔎 Example: CCI advisor, accounting firm X, legal firm Y.

❓ Questions to ask

• Have I identified trusted advisors?
• What experts do I need to add to secure my project?
• How to involve a mentor or peer buyer?

🚀 Conclusion

The scoping document is a structuring and living tool. Properly filled, it increases your chances of finding the right target, convincing a seller, and securing financing. It must evolve over time and reflect the reality of your project.

👉 At Re-New, we support you step by step in building a robust and credible scoping document, validated by our network of experts, bankers, and investors.

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