Deal Financial Review | Praxis Profit

The deliverable

What a Deal Financial Review looks like.

Every review rebuilds the seller's earnings into a number you can defend, then tests the asking price against it. This is one section from a sample review, using illustrative figures for a fictional HVAC business.

The number a buyer can actually defend

The seller markets the business on one earnings figure. A lender and a buyer's analyst will rebuild it, accepting some adjustments and rejecting others. The gap between those two numbers gets multiplied by the valuation multiple, which is why a $90,000 difference in earnings can move the price by more than $250,000.

The full review carries this same treatment across ten sections: recast earnings, a valuation sanity check, a red-flag scan, an owner-dependency read, debt-service math, financing structure, and a seller question punch-list you can hand over before signing an LOI.

See the full sample review (PDF)

The stakes

The biggest purchase of your life, priced on numbers you didn't prepare.

A certified Quality of Earnings engagement is often a five-figure diligence project, which can be out of proportion to many Main Street transactions. That leaves buyers needing a practical way to pressure-test the seller's presentation before they commit. Here's where the risk usually shows up.

Inflated earnings

Owner add-backs and one-time items dressed up to make the profit, and the price, look bigger than it really is.

Value that walks out the door

The business runs on the seller's relationships and habits. Day one after closing, it's a different company.

Hidden concentration

One customer, one vendor, or one contract quietly holds up most of the revenue you're paying for.

A price no lender's math supports

The asking price sounds fair until someone runs it against recast earnings and debt service, the same test the bank will run in 60 days.

The Deal Financial Review

Seven things you'll know before you commit.

The essentials of a Quality of Earnings analysis plus a valuation sanity check, built for real Main Street deals and priced for the size of the purchase.

The verdict, up front

Green, yellow, or red on the deal at its asking price, and the three things that matter most.

Recast earnings

The seller's profit, normalized. Real add-backs kept, dressed-up ones stripped, so you see the earnings you're actually buying.

Valuation sanity check

A fair multiple for this industry and size, applied to recast earnings, are you overpaying, and by how much.

Red-flag scan

Concentration, revenue and margin trends, cash issues, working capital needs, and anything propping up the earnings.

Owner-dependency read

Can this run without the seller, or does the value leave with them? Answered plainly.

Does the deal pencil?

At this price and today's rates, do real earnings cover the loan and still leave you a living wage?

Your question punch-list

The exact financial questions and documents to demand from the seller before you close.

How it works

It starts with a conversation, not a checkout page.

You shouldn't have to pay a stranger before you've heard how he thinks. So the first step is free, and useful on its own.

1 Free · 20 minutes

Book a Clarity Call

Bring whatever you have, the listing, the CIM, the broker's numbers, your LOI. I'll look at it live and tell you honestly what I'd examine first. You leave with something useful whether or not we go further.

If it's worth a full review, I quote it on the call

Flat fee based on the size of your purchase, starting at $2,500. Half up front by invoice, the balance when your review is delivered. No subscriptions, no upsells.

Your written verdict in 5 to 7 business days

A complete written analysis ending in a clear green, yellow, or red call, with recast earnings, the red flags, the debt-service check, and your seller question list. Yours to act on and hand to your partners or lender.

Why this read is different

One more perspective, with nothing riding on the outcome.

Independent of the transaction

No transaction-based compensation of any kind: no commissions, lender fees, broker fees, referral fees, success fees, or percentage of any deal. Telling you the numbers don't support the price is as much a result as telling you they do.

Built for real Main Street decisions

15 years in business and commercial banking, and hundreds of acquisition, SBA, and commercial files reviewed. This is the same reading those files get, done for the buyer instead of the bank.

You work directly with Bengaly

No junior analyst, no handoff after the sales call. The person who reads your deal is the person you talked to.

How this fits with your lender. A lender or SBA financing professional helps determine whether financing can work. Praxis Profit helps you understand whether the business itself makes sense at the current price, based on the numbers available. Both questions matter, and they are answered by different people.

More about Bengaly Kante →

Pricing

One review. Priced for the deal, not for a Big Four invoice.

From $2,500 flat fee, scoped to your purchase price

Purchase price under $2M$2,500

Purchase price $2M to $5M$3,500 to $4,500

Above $5MScoped on the call

Half up front by invoice, the balance on delivery. Quoted on your Clarity Call, no payment before we've talked. For comparison, a certified QoE is often a five-figure diligence engagement with a different scope and purpose.

Clarity & turnaround promise

Every review is delivered on time with a clear green, yellow, or red verdict and plain-English answers to your key financial questions. If you need more clarity on my findings after reading your report, I'll answer your follow-up questions by email or video within 24 hours, at no extra charge.

Book the free Clarity Call

Free tools

See the work before you book anything.

Sample deliverable

A complete sample Deal Review

A full written review of a sample HVAC acquisition, the verdict, the recast earnings, the red flags, the debt-service math, and the seller question list. Exactly what you'd receive on your own deal.

Download the sample (PDF)

Checklist · 2026 edition

The Deal Red-Flag Checklist

22 things to check in a target's financials before you make an offer, the same first pass I run on every deal, updated for current SBA rules, including SOP 50 10 8.1, which takes effect October 1, 2026. Use it on your next listing today.

Download the checklist (PDF)

Questions

Before you book.

Why is the first call free?

Because you shouldn't pay a stranger before you've heard how he thinks. In 20 minutes I'll look at your deal live and tell you what I'd examine first. If a full review makes sense, I quote it then. If it doesn't, you still leave knowing more about your deal than you came in with.

Is this a certified Quality of Earnings report?

No. A certified QoE is a different engagement, often used when the transaction size and diligence requirements justify that scope. This is independent financial analysis and buyer decision-support for Main Street acquisitions. It is not a certified Quality of Earnings report, certified valuation, audit, or legal or tax advice.

How fast will I get it?

Five to seven business days from the moment you send the financials and your deposit clears, fast enough to keep pace with a live deal and a 60 to 90 day closing window.

What do you need from me?

Whatever the seller has provided: profit-and-loss statements, tax returns, the listing or CIM, and any add-back schedule. A short intake form covers the rest. The more complete the documents, the sharper the review.

What if the deal turns out to be bad?

Then you just saved yourself from the most expensive mistake of your life. Telling you to walk away is as valuable as telling you to proceed, that's what independent means.

Will my lender accept this review?

This is independent buyer decision-support rather than a formal CPA audit, so a lender may still require its own appraisal or verification. That said, it's built around the same underwriting metrics banks use, recast earnings and debt-service coverage, and lenders appreciate a buyer who shows up with clear, organized numbers.

Do you also work with sellers?

Yes. If you're preparing to sell, the Sale Readiness Review shows what the current numbers may support, what a buyer is likely to challenge, and what to address before you list. Bring it up on the call and I'll scope it.

What if I've already bought a business?

Then you're past the deal review and into the part where cash flow visibility matters most. I work with owners after the purchase too, business performance advisory for the first years of ownership. See the post-acquisition page.

Know what you're really buying, before you sign.