How it works
Everything Inherit does, explained simply
When you buy a small business, most of what makes it work lives in the seller’s head. Inherit gets it written down before they leave, then helps you use it. Here’s every part, in the order you’ll meet it.
The short version
In a hurry? Read these five lines, or just the purple “In short” line under each feature below.
- 1It learns how the business runs
- 2It asks the seller what only they know
- 3You use it every day
- 4You take over the relationships
- 5You’re ready for the day the seller leaves
New to the terms? See the words we use, explained in one line each.
The first month
How the first month goes
From signing to a manual you can run the business from. The parts below explain each step in detail.
Day 1
Sign consent, connect the business
You and the seller each sign a plain-English capture consent. Then you connect the business’s email, calendar, accounting, job software, files and phone, all read-only. Any email label, contact or person can be left out.
- Read-only connections
- Exclusions by label, contact or person
- About an afternoon of setup
Days 2 to 10
Inherit maps the business
It reads years of records and drafts the processes, decision rules, relationships, deadlines and systems. Every line cites its records. Anything the records can’t explain is marked Unconfirmed and becomes a question for the seller.
- Processes and who does them
- Pricing, credit and routing rules
- Customers, suppliers, staff and officials
- Renewals, licenses and seasonal work
Every weekday
Fifteen minutes with the seller
The seller gets a short list of questions built from the gaps, highest stakes first. They answer by voice or text from a private link. Each answer goes into the manual in their words and is marked Seller confirmed.
- Highest-stakes gaps first
- Voice or text, from a phone
- The seller’s words kept verbatim
Day 30 onward
A manual you can run the business from
Chapters by function, every line linked to its source. Ask it what the seller would do. Share a readiness report with your lender. When the seller’s agreement ends, the manual stays.
- Ask the manual, anytime
- Risks ranked by what’s at stake
- A readiness report for your lender
Part 1
It learns how the business runs
Before you can keep what the seller knows, someone has to write it down. Inherit does that by reading the business’s own records.
Connect the business
It reads the records the business already has
In shortInherit looks through the business’s email, books and job history, the way you’d read old files, but it can’t change anything.
Connect Gmail and Google Calendar with one sign-in, along with the business’s accounting, job software, files and phone system. Every connection is read-only: Inherit can look, but it never sends, edits or deletes anything. You and the seller each sign a short, plain-English consent first, so everyone knows what’s being read.
How it helps you
- Years of know-how found in days, not months
- Nothing in the business’s systems is touched
- The seller knows exactly what’s shared
Gmail
14,212 emails
Google Calendar
2,980 events
QuickBooks Online
6 years of books
Jobber
8,431 jobs
Google Drive
Syncing…
OpenPhone
Waiting for seller
Upload anything else
Paper and old files count too
In shortIf it isn’t in software, upload it or take a photo of it.
Add spreadsheets, PDFs and Word files, or take photos of notebooks, ledgers and paperwork with your phone. And if the seller would rather not connect their email account, upload a copy of the mailbox instead, from Gmail (through Google Takeout) or Apple Mail. Inherit reads it all the same way as everything else.
How it helps you
- The notebook by the register gets read too
- Email works either way: connect Gmail, or upload a copy
- Everything gets the same checks and source links
Upload files
Spreadsheets, PDFs, Word files, photos and mailbox copies
- Price book 2026.xlsxSpreadsheet Read
- Ferguson terms.pdfPDF Read
- Photo of the parts notebookTaken with a phone Read
- alvarez-mail-takeout.zipMailbox copy, instead of connecting Gmail Read
The operating manual
Everything it learns becomes a how-to guide for this business
In shortThink of it as the instruction book the seller never wrote: how jobs are priced, who handles what, and which customers need special care.
Inherit turns what it reads into an operating manual, organized in chapters like Sales, Suppliers, Customers, People and Finance. Every line shows where it came from, and carries a label telling you how far to trust it. When the records show a pattern but not the reason behind it, that becomes a question for the seller.
How it helps you
- One place to look instead of a thousand emails
- You can always check where a line came from
- The gaps turn into questions, so nothing is left as a guess
Decision rule · Sales
Found in dataOlder two-story homes are quoted 18–22% higher
Seen in 41 of 46 estimates for pre-1970 two-story homes since 2021. The reason isn't written anywhere.
Gap → interview question
“When you quote an older two-story home, what do you add, and why?”
Checked and up to date
Every number is checked, and the newest information wins
In shortIf a price or date in the manual can’t be found in the records, it’s flagged. If something changes, the manual changes too.
Before anything goes into the manual, Inherit checks that its prices, dates and quotes really appear in the records it points to. Anything that doesn’t match is marked Unconfirmed, with a note saying what to check, so nobody relies on it until the seller confirms it. When records disagree, the newest one wins and the old version is kept as history. If something the seller confirmed has since changed, Inherit asks them which is right.
How it helps you
- No made-up numbers in your manual
- Always the current prices, terms and contacts
- You can see what changed, and when
Brightview maintenance contract
Found in dataRenews each spring for 38 units. The rate has been held flat two years running.
- 38 units found in QuickBooks
- Renews each spring found in QuickBooks
Ferguson condenser pricing
Found in dataPrice per 3-ton condenser, from the latest Ferguson invoice.
Before: the spring price list, replaced when the newer invoice arrived.
Fuel card limit
UnconfirmedA figure here wasn’t in the email it points to. Nobody relies on it until Bob confirms it.
Part 2
It asks the seller what only they know
Records show what happened. Only the seller knows why. So Inherit asks them, a little each day.
Daily questions for the seller
About 15 minutes a day, from the seller’s phone
In shortEach weekday the seller answers a few short questions by typing or talking. No meetings, no app, no password.
Inherit picks the questions the records can’t answer, with the most money or risk at stake first. The seller gets them on a private web link and answers by typing or just talking. Each answer goes into the manual in the seller’s own words, marked Seller confirmed. The seller can see how their answer was written up and correct it.
How it helps you
- Get the seller’s know-how without long meetings
- The most important things get answered first, even if the seller leaves early
- Their exact words, so nothing is lost in translation
For Bob · 6 questions today · about 15 minutes
Customers · why it matters: $46,200 a year, renews in March
Why do Brightview visits always happen on Tuesday mornings?
Part 3
You use it every day
The manual isn’t something you read once. It answers your questions, warns you before mistakes, and tells you what to do next.
Ask the manual
Ask what the seller would do
In shortType a question like you’d ask the seller. You get an answer and see exactly where it came from.
Inherit answers from the manual and shows you the entries it used. If the answer isn’t there yet, it says so plainly instead of guessing, and offers to add your question to the seller’s next set of questions.
How it helps you
- Answers in seconds, even at 7 am on a job site
- Every answer shows its source
- Gaps become questions for the seller, not guesses
No. Bob agreed years ago that Dunmore pays quarterly, on the 15th after the quarter ends. They’ve never missed. Check for the payment after the 15th.
Based on 1 entry in the manual
Not in the manual yet
Bob hasn’t covered this, so I won’t guess.
Add to Bob’s interviewHeads-ups
A warning before you break one of the seller’s unwritten rules
In shortIf something is about to go against how the seller did things, you hear about it right away, with the fix.
Inherit keeps an eye on new jobs, emails, invoices and calendar changes. When one goes against something in the manual, you get a heads-up explaining what’s wrong and what to do instead. Urgent ones come to you by email, and by text if you turn texts on.
How it helps you
- Catch a mistake before a customer ever sees it
- Get the fix, not just the problem
- You don’t have to remember every rule in the manual
Send Dave, not Marco
Bob only ever sent Dave to restaurant kitchens. Dave is the only one certified on commercial gas equipment, and Rosa’s insurer asks for his certificate.
Your home page
Open the app and see what needs you today
In shortFour numbers tell you where you stand, and a short list tells you what to do next.
Each business has a home page showing how far into the seller’s consulting time you are, how much of the business is written down, how many things only the seller still knows, and how much of the revenue has been handed over to you. Below that is a short to-do list, most pressing first.
How it helps you
- Know where you stand in five seconds
- Never wonder what to do next
- Spot what’s at risk while the seller is still around
Bob’s window
Day 142of 365
Documented
71%
Only Bob knows
9open
Handed over
38%of revenue
Needs you
- Hold the Dunmore collections reminderHeads-up · sends tomorrow at 8 am
- Get introduced to Ferguson HVACSupplier · $412,300 a year in purchases
- 3 questions waiting for BobInterview · today
On your phone
Made for the truck, not just the desk
In shortEverything works on your phone, with the main pages one tap away.
The places you go most sit in a bar at the bottom of the screen, and pages respond the moment you tap. Ask a question from the job site and get the seller’s answer before you walk in the door.
How it helps you
- Everything on your phone, nothing held back
- One tap to Ask, the manual, customers and heads-ups
- Snap a photo of paperwork and upload it right there
Part 4
You take over the relationships
Customers and suppliers who only know the seller are the easiest to lose. Inherit makes sure each one meets you before the seller goes.
Customer handover
Keep the customers who only know the seller
In shortInherit finds who only deals with the seller, ranks them by money, and has the seller introduce you.
It reads the email, books and call records to find which customers and suppliers only ever deal with the seller. It ranks them by how much money is at stake and drafts an introduction for each one in the seller’s own words. The seller checks it from their private link and sends it, or tells you why to wait. You can see where every handover stands.
How it helps you
- Start with the relationships worth the most
- Intros sound like the seller, because they come from the seller
- See who’s been introduced, who you’ve met and who’s still waiting
Who only deals with Bob
Most money first- Ferguson HVACSupplier · $412,300 a year in purchasesBob is reviewing the intro
- Brightview Property ManagementCustomer · $46,200 a year · renews in MarchNot introduced
- Dunmore DentalCustomer · $21,600 a yearIntro sent
- Rosa’s CantinaCustomer · $14,800 a yearYou’ve met
Draft intro to Karen at Brightview, in Bob’s words
“I’ve walked Sarah through your buildings: Tuesday mornings only, Luis and Marco on every visit, and a call to you before anything moves.”
Part 5
You’re ready for the day the seller leaves
Five things that make sure nothing is forgotten when the seller goes, and that you and your lender can see where things stand.
Risks
What would break if the seller left today.
A list of the things that depend on the seller, with the most at stake first, including everything only they know that isn’t confirmed yet.
Key dates
Renewals, deadlines and seasonal work, month by month.
Pulled from the records and the seller’s answers, so a contract renewal or license deadline never sneaks up on you.
Handover pack
Your first day without the seller, in one short printout.
What’s coming up in the next 90 days, what could go wrong and who to call. Print it or save it as a PDF.
Readiness report for your lender
Proof the business can run without the seller.
A summary of how much is written down and what’s still at risk. It shows numbers only, never the business’s emails or files, so it’s safe to share with your lender or board.
After the seller leaves
The manual stays yours.
When the seller’s time is up, everything captured stays. On the Knowledge base plan it stays searchable and keeps learning from new email and jobs.
Words we use
The few terms you’ll see, in plain English
- Operating manual
- A written guide to how this particular business runs: who does what, how jobs are priced, and which customers need special care.
- Seller confirmed
- The seller told us this themselves, in their own words.
- Found in data
- Inherit found this in the business’s records, and the line shows exactly where.
- Unconfirmed
- Something to double-check with the seller before you rely on it.
- Read-only
- Inherit can look at a system, but it can’t send, change or delete anything in it.
- Seller’s window
- The months the seller agreed to stay on and help after the sale (the consulting period), anywhere from 3 to 24. In the app it shows with their name, like “Bob’s window”.
- Private link
- A personal web link the seller opens on their phone to answer questions. No account or password needed.
- Heads-up
- A warning that something happening right now goes against how the seller did things.
- Handover
- Moving a customer or supplier relationship from the seller to you, starting with an introduction.
See it on a real business before you buy one
Explore the live demo on your own, no sign-up needed. Or book a 20-minute call and we’ll walk you through it for your deal.