How to take over a gas station from the previous owner: a 60-day plan.

The closing-day walkthrough

You and the seller walked the store the night before closing to count inventory. That count is the baseline you will defend for 6 months. On closing day, you need a different walkthrough, the one that hands over control.

Bring a notebook and a phone with a camera. Plan 4 to 6 hours. Walk every area with the seller and write down everything that needs an answer:

• Keys. Front door, back door, office, safe, cooler, lottery cabinet, cigarette case, ATM, dumpster, fuel dispensers, propane cage. Take every key and count them. Most stations have 30 to 50 keys.
• Alarm codes. Front door panel, back door panel, safe, fuel monitor (Veeder-Root or equivalent), and any silent panic codes. Change them within 7 days.
• POS admin. Manager password, the ability to add and remove cashier accounts, void authority, refund authority, price book access.
• Back office computer. Windows login, email login, accounting software login, fuel monitoring software, lottery terminal admin, ATM admin, camera DVR.
• Safe. Combination, who else knows it, last drop log, current cash count.
• Vendor contact sheet. Should already be in the closing package. Confirm it on the walkthrough and add anything that was missed.

Week 1: take over the money

Bank and signatory

Before closing you should already have your business entity formed, your EIN, and your business bank account opened. The day of closing, deposit operating capital (typically 30 to 60 days of expenses) and a separate deposit for the first fuel load if your supplier requires a prepay.

Update every autodraft. Fuel supplier, utility companies, rent if leased, payroll service, insurance, credit card processor fees, lottery commissions, ATM service, dumpster, propane, alarm monitoring. Each one needs a call or a portal login change. Plan a full day for it.

Merchant processing

The credit card processor is the single most expensive item to migrate, and you cannot wait. Most processors will start a new merchant ID in 5 to 10 business days. In the meantime, the seller's MID is still depositing cash into the seller's account, which is a problem.

Two options. Option one: have the seller agree to forward all card deposits to your account daily during the transition (get this in writing in the asset purchase agreement). Option two: take ownership of the existing merchant account by ownership change, which most processors will do in 1 to 3 days and avoids any deposit transfer issue.

Lottery and money services

State lottery accounts do not transfer automatically. You need to apply for a new lottery license under your ownership, and most states require an in-person visit to a lottery district office plus a background check. Plan 30 to 45 days. During the gap, your terminal will still print tickets, but settlement will be confused. Reconcile lottery daily during this period.

Same situation for Western Union, MoneyGram, and any bill-pay services. New owner means new contract.

Week 2: meet every vendor

The previous owner had relationships with 15 to 25 vendors. Some of those relationships were paying off, some were not, and you do not know which is which until you sit down with each rep face to face.

Call every vendor in week one and schedule a meeting in week two. For each one, ask:

• What payment terms am I on (COD, net 7, net 14)?
• What is my delivery day and time?
• What promotions, rebates, or scan programs am I enrolled in?
• Who is my backup rep if you are out?
• Is there a minimum order or a category exclusivity I need to know about?

Pay particular attention to your fuel supplier and your cigarette and beer distributors. These three vendors typically represent 60 to 75 percent of your cost of goods. Anything in those contracts that you do not understand will cost you within 30 days.

Week 3: baseline inventory and fuel

Fuel

The morning after closing, dip every tank and write down the level. Pull the last 30 days of fuel deliveries from the seller. Pull the last 30 days of dispenser sales from the POS or fuel monitor. Reconcile.

If the reconciliation shows a loss greater than 1 percent of throughput, you have a problem: a leak, a calibration issue, a dispenser meter drift, or employee theft at the pump. Order a tank tightness test in the first 30 days either way. It is good documentation for your records.

Inside merchandise

The walkthrough count from the night before closing is your inventory at cost. Enter every line into your back office or POS price book. Anything the seller did not scan goes in by hand. Plan a week for this. Cigarettes and lottery scratch-offs first, then beer and wine, then snacks and drinks, then non-foods and oil.

Once the price book is loaded, you can start tracking shrink. A new owner who waits 60 days to enter the price book will never know what walked out the door in the first 60 days.

Week 4 to 8: the operating rhythm

Daily close

Build a daily close routine and stick to it. End of every shift: count the drawer, drop the deposit, record fuel dip, record lottery online and instant settlement, record ATM withdrawal totals. End of every day: reconcile all of the above against the POS report.

See how to do month-end without losing your weekend for the close process that scales as you add stores.

Weekly P&L

Most owners do a P&L monthly. New owners should do one weekly for the first 90 days. You will not know what normal looks like until you have seen 8 to 12 weeks of numbers. Weekly P&Ls catch problems before they compound into a quarter.

Employee meetings

Schedule a sit-down with every employee in week one. Not a group meeting, a one-on-one. Ask three things: what works here, what would you change, and what do I need to know about the previous owner that you have not told me yet. You will learn more in five 15-minute meetings than in two months of observation.

Decide who is staying and who is not within the first 60 days. Long delays create more turnover than fast, respectful decisions.

The 5 biggest surprises new owners run into

1. An employee was running the store

The previous owner was rarely there. One employee was the de facto manager and the day you take over, they either quit or hold you hostage on pay. Avoid this by identifying this person during diligence and offering them a written role and pay increase the week you close.

2. The lottery commission gap

Lottery commissions for the seller's last 30 days get paid 30 days after they shut down their license. Meanwhile, your new license takes 30 to 45 days to activate. You will have a 60-day window where lottery cash is moving but you are not collecting commission. Plan working capital for it.

3. A vendor with a minimum or exclusivity clause

The seller had a fuel supply contract requiring a minimum monthly volume. Or an ice cream cooler that came with a category exclusivity. These transfer to you. Read every contract in week one.

4. UST compliance gaps

The seller said the tanks were in compliance. The state inspector shows up 90 days after closing and finds a missing tank tightness test from 18 months ago. The fine is yours, not the seller's. Pull the full UST file in week one and verify.

5. The deposit is short

In week three you notice the deposit is $400 less than the POS says. It happens at the same shift on the same day every week. This is the moment you find out which employee was supplementing their income. Daily reconciliation catches this in the first week. Monthly reconciliation catches it 3 months in, after $5,000 is gone.

What to keep from the previous owner

Pay the previous owner for 30 days as a consultant if you can negotiate it in the purchase agreement. Even at $100 to $200 per hour, having them available by phone for the first month is worth thousands. Specific things to ask them:

• Which vendors will work with you on pricing if you push back
• Which employees have been there longest and what they each handle
• Where the deposit goes and what bank knows you
• Which contractor fixes what equipment (cooler, freezer, dispenser, ATM)
• Local relationships (city inspector, fire marshal, police, school district)
• Anything they would have done differently in the last 12 months