Your first customer shouldn’t be the person who discovers that your checkout doesn’t work or that your prices don’t cover your costs

There are many things to consider when preparing your small business to sell. Making sure you have your offer, payment method and address set up are just some of them.

It’s not as difficult as it seems.

What this covers:

• Offer you are providing
• Address, paperwork and bookkeeping
• Customer purchase flow

Have a Simple Offer

What are you selling and for how much?

If you sell a product, know what sizes, colors, etc. your customer has to select from. Are you selling a service? Make sure they know what they are receiving, when you consider a job done and what may be added to their cost.

How many orders can you fulfill? Know how much inventory you have, lead time from your suppliers and how long it takes you to complete each order. There may be a difference between your first customer and if you get 5 that day.

Ask others to review your offer, if they are in your target demographic. If multiple people ask the same question about your offer, maybe change your wording.

Address to Use for Your Business

Many small businesses start from home. So what address should you use for normal day to day business mail?

While using your home address may work, you may not want everyone to have that information. A virtual mailbox may be an interesting option. It gives you a physical mailing address and lets you manage received mail online. You can choose what type of mail handling you want as well.

Make sure you know what you will be using your address for before selecting one. A mailing address is not automatically an approved registered-agent address, and it may not meet requirements for registering a company, opening a bank account, or applying for licenses. Check the rules for each use before choosing a provider.

Know what types of mail they can accept and how you can receive them.

Business Paperwork and Bookkeeping

Depending on your location and what you’re selling, there are many requirements you’ll need to know about. Food businesses, home-repair services and online sellers can face different licensing or permit requirements, depending on what they do and where they operate.

If your small business is in the United States, you can use the Small Business Administration’s launch guide as a guideline for your startup. It will help you with what type of business, registering, getting an EIN, permits, bank account, etc. From there you can research the appropriate agencies for your area and business.

Keep all of these documents in a file, along with any licenses you may need to operate, vendors you use and any insurance you may carry. Remember to update your file with new deadlines and changes.

Start your bookkeeping before your first sale. The IRS explains which records to keep. This will include your invoices, receipts and documentation for any income/expenses you have for your business. You can start as simple as having income, expense and where your documents are located.

Pricing Your Product/Service

As mentioned above, you want to price your product/service to allow you to turn a profit.

If your product costs you $18 and you sell it for $30, you think you are making a profit of $12, right? Well, you still have to factor in supplies, processing fees, shipping (if you are covering it) and returns. As well as time you spend creating your product.

Find out the average cost of an order. Once you know that, factor in monthly costs that continue even when sales stop. Software, hosting, warehouse, insurance, etc. If your business provides a service, know how much you need to drive, prep and time you will spend helping the customer. Don’t only base your pricing on the amount of time you will be with a customer.

Cash flow can also play a role in your business. You may need to purchase supplies now, but won’t receive payment from your customer until days later depending on your payment method. Remember to hold back money for taxes as well. This will vary based on your state and type of business. But if you’re holding back money to pay taxes, you can’t use that for your next order.

In the Federal Reserve’s 2025 survey of US employer firms, 56% cited operating expenses as a reason for applying for financing. That figure covers financing applicants, not all new businesses, but it shows why everyday running costs deserve attention. 

Create a cash flow sheet that will allow you to see what is coming in and going out.

How Do Your Customers Purchase?

Make it simple for your customer to buy from you.

Have them buy from your website, allow them to schedule a time, send a quote, etc. Make sure your prices are listed and the customer knows what they are purchasing before paying. Test your purchase flow on your mobile device.

What methods of payment will you accept? Know what fees you’ll be paying, when you’ll receive money and how you can refund a customer. Don’t have customers email you credit card info, use a safe checkout system. Find out what will happen if a payment fails or a chargeback occurs. Have your business expenses separated from your personal ones if you can.

Make sure every order is logged with customer information, what they bought, how much they paid and what your next step is. Let your customer know what is happening and update your order with a status. It can be as simple as a spreadsheet at first.

Shipping Times, Returns, etc.

Know what you are promising to your customer.

If you’re selling a product, how will you be shipping your items, how far can you ship and when can you fulfill your order? If you provide a service, let your customer know what day they are scheduled, how to change their appointment and what will happen if they need more work done.

The FTC’s shipping rule states that for most US merchandise orders, made through the internet, telephone, or mail, you must have a reasonable basis for your promised ship date. If no ship time is stated, you should have a reasonable basis to believe you will be able to ship your order within 30 days of receiving a complete order. If a covered order can’t ship by the applicable deadline, the seller must seek the buyer’s consent to a delay. If consent is not obtained, the seller must promptly refund the unshipped merchandise.

Have your return, cancellation, and refund policies in place that fit your business and local laws.

Have a way to reach your customer that you will be able to monitor. It’s better to have one form of communication you can answer promptly and helpfully, than multiple forms you can’t.

Do a Practice Order

Practice what you just learned by placing an order with your new setup.

Ask someone unfamiliar with your setup to place a practice order without your help. Watch where they get stuck and note any questions they ask.

Make sure you charge the correct amount, receive a confirmation and that the order is logged somewhere. If you sell a product, pack up an order and make sure you are weighing and labeling correctly. If you provide a service, schedule a practice order and make sure everything is up to date when it’s complete.

Note any failings and start working on them before accepting your first payment.

Open Your Business Slowly

After learning all these tips, you can now open your business to the world. Maybe not to the whole world, but enough to start receiving sales.

Allow yourself to learn from your customers and fulfill your orders as you grow.