Buying a business
Before you sign the offer, know what you are actually buying.
A seller's numbers are prepared to sell the business. A pre-offer review rebuilds them from the evidence: what the business really earns, what it depends on, what will hold it back, and what it is worth to you. Fixed fee, senior-led, three business days from complete data.
The price is set on numbers you did not prepare.
Most small acquisitions are priced as a multiple of earnings, and the earnings come from the seller. Every add-back for the owner's car, a one-time repair or a relative on payroll raises the number you multiply. Some are fair. Some are not. Large buyers pay accounting firms tens of thousands of dollars to find out which. Owner-run buyers usually find out after closing.
This review gives you the same questions, answered from the evidence, before your money is committed.
What we look at
Six questions every buyer should be able to answer.
01
What it really earns
The seller's profit, rebuilt. Every add-back is tested and graded by the evidence behind it, so you see which adjustments hold up and which are hope.
02
How good those earnings are
One-off gains, timing tricks, owner perks and anything that will not repeat once the business is yours, separated from the profit that will.
03
Who it depends on
Customer and supplier concentration, and how much of the business walks out the door with the current owner.
04
Where the cash goes
Working capital, the cash cycle and what the business needs to keep running on day one, so the cash you inherit is not a surprise.
05
What will hold it back
The one constraint that will limit growth after you own it, named with the evidence, before it becomes your problem.
06
What it is worth to you
An indicative value range built on the earnings that survived the review, with the assumptions shown, so you can see what moves the number.
What you get
A decision you can defend, before you sign.
Written for a buyer, not an accountant: plain findings, what they mean for price and terms, and what to do about them.
- A written review of the target's normalized earnings, with an evidence grade on every adjustment
- A risk register, red, amber and green, ranked by what it could cost you
- An indicative value range, with the sensitivities that move it
- The questions to put to the seller before you sign, in priority order
- If you proceed, the first 100 days: what to fix, protect and measure first
How it works
Three steps, three business days.
The same analytical engine that runs every Aperture engagement, pointed at the business you are about to buy.
Scope and confidentiality
A short call about the deal. We work under your NDA, agree what data the seller needs to provide, and fix the fee before anything starts.
The review
The target's financials and operating data go through the same analytical engine used on every Aperture engagement: normalization, earnings quality, concentration, cash and constraint.
The readout
A working session before you make or finalize your offer: what we found, what it means for price and terms, and what to ask next.
The fee is fixed and agreed before any work starts, quoted on the size and complexity of the deal. No success fee, ever.
After you buy
The review becomes your starting point.
If the deal closes, the work is not wasted. The review is the baseline for The Aperture Method: the constraint is already named, the numbers are already rebuilt, and the first 100 days are already planned. You can carry straight on into the scoreboard that tracks whether the acquisition delivers what it promised.
To be clear
What this review is not.
Not an audit or an attestation
This is independent analysis to inform your decision. Where your lender or deal needs a CPA's quality-of-earnings report or an audit, we work alongside that firm, not instead of it.
Not a formal valuation
You get an indicative range and the reasoning behind it. Where a credentialed appraisal is required, for SBA lending, a partner buyout or a tax matter, we will say so.
Not a broker
We do not find deals, introduce buyers to sellers or take a percentage. One fixed fee, so the only interest we have is in telling you the truth about the business.
What buyers ask first.
Who is this for?
Owners buying a competitor, a supplier or a second location, and individual buyers acquiring their first business. If you are about to put real money behind a seller's numbers, it is for you.
When should I bring you in?
Before you sign a letter of intent, or as soon as the seller agrees to share financials. That is when what we find can still change the price and the terms. Afterwards it can still shape your first 100 days.
What do you need from me and the seller?
Three years of financial statements and tax returns if available, the most recent year-to-date figures, and the data behind revenue: customers, products, locations. We send a precise list at the start, and we work with what exists. Messy is normal.
How is this different from a Quality of Earnings report?
A Quality of Earnings report is a formal engagement by an accounting firm, often required by lenders, and priced accordingly. This review asks many of the same questions earlier and at a fraction of the cost, so you know whether the deal deserves that spend. It does not replace a formal report where one is required.
How long does it take, and what does it cost?
Three business days once we have the complete data package. If records arrive in pieces, the clock starts when the last piece lands. The fee is fixed and agreed before any work starts, quoted on the size and complexity of the deal.
Do you help people sell their business?
No. We work for buyers. Owners preparing to sell are better served by an exit-planning adviser, and we are glad to point you to one.
Is everything kept confidential?
Yes. We work under your NDA, the seller's data is used only for your review, and nothing about the deal is ever published or used as an example without permission.
Looking at a business right now?
Tell us about the deal. A short, confidential conversation is enough to know whether a review is worth it, and what it would cost.