So you want to buy a business and you’re not sure how to pay for it. There are a lot of ways to pay for a new business, but the most common are cash at closing, seller financing in the form of deferred cash payments or promissory notes, securities issued by the purchaser, and contingent payments. Contingent payments aren’t so much a form of payment as much as a means of determining the final price of the business assets, but I’ll throw it into the mix because if you’re wondering how to pay for a business, you might want to consider negotiating contingent payments.
