Gather payroll registers, employee rosters with roles and hire dates, any written employment or retention agreements, and the sections of the purchase agreement that address personnel. Add the seller's transition plan if one exists. Where an expectation rests only on conversation, say so; an unsupported claim weakens the stronger evidence around it.
Label each staffing fact by its proof
Payroll records establish past employment, not future attendance. Connect each continuity assumption to an agreement, dated discussion or contingency, without overstating its certainty. Obtain material missing records during preparation and ask how an unavailable item affects readiness; do not assume the filing can always be completed later.
Fix dates for the ownership model, the draft agreements, the funds documentation, and the review of the final package, then place the closing where it does not contradict the record. For each statement in the business plan, note the document that proves it: a forecast supported by a purchase order, a hire supported by an offer letter, tooling supported by an invoice and a transfer. The purchase agreements, paid invoices, and bank evidence show whether money is actually committed; a budget header does not.
The signed partnership or operating agreement, because it decides ownership and control.