The majority of women business owners have a long-term plan to exit their business, but many of them have not settled important details, according to a new survey by the Center for Women’s Business Research. More than 8 in 10 female entrepreneurs (82.7 percent) intend to sell or transfer their business, but significantly fewer have researched and drafted a comprehensive exit strategy.

According to the report Exit Strategies of Women and Men Business Owners, 83.8 percent of women do not have a written plan, 66.9 percent do not have a specific exit timetable and 59.9 percent have not undertaken a formal valuation of their business.

Older and more experienced women are far more likely to have a detailed exit plan. Nearly 4 in 10 women over 50 possess a schedule for selling their business, compared to just 5.9 percent of women under 50. Likewise, nearly one-quarter of older entrepreneurs have a written sales plan, while just 7.6 percent of their younger counterparts do. Women who previously owned another business also plan more strategically. They are more likely than first-time entrepreneurs to have a schedule for selling (45.3 percent versus 26.7 percent) and a written plan (24.5 percent versus 11.9 percent).

Women with exit strategies differ on how they plan to leave their business. The largest group, 39.3 percent, plans to sell all or part of their firm. Roughly 2 in 10 have arranged to pass the business to a family member or maintain ownership while relinquishing day-to-day management to someone else.

Women rank money and their employees’ futures as the most important factors in deciding how sell their business, with 86.2 percent of respondents identifying them as influences. Nearly 8 in 10 women point to the buyer’s plans for the business as a driver.

The survey targeted owners with businesses at least five years old that grossed at least $1 million in revenues the previous year. The Center for Women’s Business Research, which focuses on female entrepreneurs and their businesses, produced the survey with support from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance.

—Andrew Farrell