Guiding Dentists From Opportunity to Ownership
Know What You're Buying
Your accountant reads the financials. Your attorney writes the contract. Neither of them can tell you whether the practice will still produce once the seller has gone. That is the question we answer.
Your side of the table
Everyone else in the room is paid by the deal
Southwest Management Group is engaged by you and paid for the work, whether you buy this practice or walk away from it. That is the whole point.
Not a broker
A broker is paid when the deal closes, and usually by the seller. We are paid by you, whether you buy this practice or walk away from it.
Not a CPA
Your accountant reads the financials. We read the operation that produced them, which is where the risk actually sits.
Not a lender
The bank needs the loan to make sense on paper. That is a different question to whether the practice will make sense to run.
Not an attorney
Your attorney protects you in the contract. We tell you what belongs in it, because we have seen how these practices behave after closing.
What we are
A dental practice operator. Jessica Jacobs has spent over 25 years inside dental practices working out why they do and do not perform. When she looks at a practice you are considering, she is reading the same things she would read if she had been hired to fix it, because that is the job she has done for hundreds of them.
Dream to ownership
The six stages of buying a practice
Most of the leverage sits in the first three. By the time a purchase agreement is being marked up, the important decisions have already been made.
- 01
Dream
Before any listing, we get clear on the practice that fits the life you want. Size, location, procedure mix, how much you want to be chairside, and what you can realistically carry in debt.
- 02
Evaluate
We look at production, collections, hygiene, the recare system and the schedule, and work out whether the price reflects a healthy business or a tired one with good marketing.
- 03
Due Diligence
This is the operational deep dive. Where the production actually comes from, whether it leaves with the seller, what the team situation really is, and which problems become yours on day one.
- 04
Transition
Patient communication, team retention, how the seller is introduced and then stepped back, and what has to be in place before the practice changes hands.
- 05
Acquire
We work alongside your attorney, lender and CPA so the operational realities we found are reflected in the terms, not discovered afterwards.
- 06
Stabilize
The first ninety days decide how the next five years go. We stay on to steady the team, hold the schedule and act on the opportunities we flagged during diligence.
Go deeper
The three questions buyers ask first
Evaluate
What a Dental Practice Is Actually Worth
How dental practices are valued, which multiples and formulas get used, and why an asking price often reflects the seller's hopes more than the business you inherit.
Read moreDue Diligence
Operational Due Diligence for Dental Practice Buyers
A practical guide to dental practice due diligence: the production, hygiene, team, systems and patient data to examine before you sign, and the red flags to watch for.
Read moreAcquire
The Dental Practice Acquisition Process
What happens at each stage of a dental practice acquisition, who is involved, what it costs and where first-time buyers most often get caught out.
Read more
Who you are working with
Twenty-five years of reading dental practices from the inside
Jessica Jacobs owns and runs Southwest Management Group. Her background is dental practice operations, which means she has spent her career answering the question a buyer needs answered: why does this practice produce what it produces, and what happens if you change the person at the top of it.
She is not a broker, a CPA, a lender or an attorney. She works with all of them, and she works for you.
More about JessicaCommon questions
What buyers ask us
What does a dental practice buyer representative do?
A buyer representative works only for the person buying. We independently assess the practice you are considering, examine how it actually operates rather than only how it looks on paper, identify the risks and the opportunities, and stay with you through closing and the first months of ownership.
How is this different from using a broker?
A broker is usually engaged and paid by the seller, and paid only when a sale completes. Southwest Management Group is engaged by you and paid for the work regardless of whether you buy. If a practice is wrong for you, we will tell you, and telling you costs us nothing.
Do I still need a CPA and an attorney?
Yes, and we work alongside both. Your CPA reads the financial statements and your attorney protects you in the purchase agreement. Our work is the operational layer between them: whether the production is durable, whether the team will stay, and what the practice is really like to run.
What is operational due diligence?
It is examining how the practice functions day to day rather than only reviewing its financial history. Where production comes from and whether it walks out with the seller, how the schedule and recare systems perform, the state of the team, how much of the software is actually used, and which fixable problems represent upside after you take over.
When should I bring you in?
Earlier is better. Ideally before you are emotionally committed to a specific practice, because that is when an independent read is most useful. We can also come in once you have a practice under consideration, or after a letter of intent, though your options narrow as you go.
Do you only work in Texas?
Practice management consulting is delivered on site across Central Texas, including Austin, San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country. Buyer representation and due diligence work is not limited by geography, as most of it is done through records, data and conversations rather than in the operatory.
No obligation
Have a practice in front of you?
Send us what you have. We will tell you honestly whether it is worth a closer look, and what we would want to see next. If it is obviously wrong for you, we will say so, and that conversation costs you nothing.
- An independent read, not a sales call
- We are paid by you, never by the seller
- Earlier is better, but it is rarely too late
Hear what our clients say
I have been working with Southwest Management Group for several years now, and my practice has thrived. They are very professional with a vast knowledge of practice management from years of experience. I would highly recommend them for anyone wanting to improve their practice or take it the next level.
Free consultation
Guiding dentists from opportunity to ownership
Whether you are still looking or you have a letter of intent on the table, a conversation costs nothing and usually saves something.