Buy-side underwriting

Five-minute deal screener

Know whether a business is worth pursuing, what your assumptions imply it is worth, and what could kill the deal before paying for professional diligence.

Free, no account required. Figures stay in this page until you download them. Download a screen to restore it in your private workspace.

Walk through a fictional cleaning deal and inspect its sources

Restore a downloaded screen

1. Start with the listing

Enter annual figures for the same period. Seller claims remain unverified.

Deal name

Annual reporting period

Listing / seller claim source reference

Asking price ($)

Seller claim

Annual revenue ($)

Seller claim

Seller-claimed annual SDE ($)

Seller claim

2. Reconcile earnings (optional)

Use the P&L and tax returns. Leave unknown figures blank; enter 0 only when the source explicitly supports zero. Owner pay must already be expensed in net income.

Starting net income is

Reported net income ($)

Buyer-entered source figure

Income taxes deducted in net income ($)

Buyer-entered source figure

One working owner's expensed pay and benefits ($)

Buyer-entered source figure

Interest expense ($)

Buyer-entered source figure

Depreciation ($)

Buyer-entered source figure

Amortization ($)

Buyer-entered source figure

Unrecorded recurring costs / replacement pay for other owners ($)

Buyer assumption

Earnings source reference and review notes

Review each additional add-back

Proposed and excluded items contribute zero to normalized earnings. Include an item only after reviewing its source and explaining why it will not recur. Do not repeat owner pay, interest, taxes, depreciation, or amortization already in the earnings bridge. All decisions remain buyer-entered and unverified.

No additional add-backs entered.

3. Review your assumptions

These prefilled figures are illustrative, not lender quotes. Model the business price, one amortizing loan, and cash-funded reserves. Use the full workspace for real estate and seller notes.

Down payment (%)

Buyer assumption

Annual loan interest rate (%)

Buyer assumption

Loan term (months)

Buyer assumption

Annual buyer pay / operator salary reserve ($)

Buyer assumption

Annual maintenance capex reserve ($)

Buyer assumption

Annual additional working-capital investment ($)

Buyer assumption

Cash-funded initial working capital ($)

Buyer assumption

Cash-funded closing costs ($)

Buyer assumption

Illustrative cash tax reserve rate (%)

Buyer assumption

Low SDE multiple (x)

Buyer assumption

High SDE multiple (x)

Buyer assumption

4. Identify what could kill the deal

Missing information becomes a diligence question.

Largest customer share of revenue (%)

Seller claim

Seller's weekly operating hours (hours)

Seller claim

Use this earnings basis for cash flow and valuation