Accrued PTO

Definition

Vacation and sick time already earned by staff but not yet taken.

Why It Matters

It is a debt the business owes its people, and it changes hands with them: rehired employees expect their balances honored, and several states require unused vacation paid out in cash the day employment ends, which an asset sale technically triggers for everyone at once. Get the accrual report in diligence, decide honor-or-payout before the announcement, and put the balance into the working-capital negotiation rather than discovering it in the first payroll.

In numbers: Twenty employees averaging 60 banked hours at $28 an hour is a $33,600 obligation that appears on no broker teaser.