I was at a local business luncheon recently, and someone cracked a joke about buying a business using credit cards.
It reminded me of a real story from my time owning a Sunbelt Business Brokers office. https://youtu.be/LE_Lyx9eOI0
The Deal
There was a small retail store for sale with an asking price of about $150,000.
After some back-and-forth, the buyer and seller agreed on $130,000.
The terms were simple:
$100,000 due on closing day
$30,000 to be paid over time through vendor financing (a seller note)
The Buyer’s Clever Move
A week before closing, the buyer asked the seller about her accounts payable.
She had about $55,000 in unpaid supplier bills.
The buyer made an interesting request:
“Don’t pay your suppliers this week — bring the payables to closing.”
On closing day, before signing the papers, they sat down together.
The seller had a big stack of bills. The buyer pulled out his credit card and called each supplier, paying off all $55,000 directly.
Then, when it came time to close the deal, he only needed to pay the remaining $45,000 in cash.
Why It Worked
From the seller’s point of view, this was an asset sale.
She kept the bank account, cash, and receivables — and she was supposed to pay her suppliers out of that cash anyway.
So, the buyer covering those payables had zero impact on her proceeds.
But for the buyer? He effectively put $55,000 of the purchase on his credit card — and earned enough airline points for a business-class trip to California.
Pretty sharp move.
The Takeaway
Creative deal-making isn’t about trickery — it’s about understanding the flow of money in a transaction and finding win-win solutions.
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