Guides

Guides for Search Fund & ETA Buyers

Straight, numbers-first guides for buying a $5M to $25M business as a solo searcher. No fluff, no jargon left undefined.

• First-time solo searcherYour First CIM: What to Do in the First 48 HoursA broker sent you a confidential information memorandum and you are not sure where to start. Here is the triage order that keeps you from wasting a week on a deal that was never going to work.Read the guide
• Self-funded searcher, pre-LOIWill Your Deal Clear SBA DSCR? A Pre-LOI Gut CheckBefore you sign an LOI or pay for a quality of earnings report, one ratio tells you whether an SBA lender can fund the deal at all. How to run it in five minutes.Read the guide
• Searcher negotiating priceWhich Add-Backs Will an SBA Lender Actually Accept?Sellers inflate adjusted EBITDA with add-backs that underwriting throws straight out. Which ones survive, which ones vanish, and what each rejected dollar costs you in purchase price.Read the guide
• Searcher nearing closeThe Net Working Capital Peg: The Line That Costs You at CloseThe working capital true-up is the quietest six-figure swing in an SMB acquisition. How the peg is set, how sellers game it, and how to protect your cash at closing.Read the guide
• Deciding how to searchSelf-Funded Search vs. Traditional Search FundRaise a fund and search full-time, or self-fund and move fast on an SBA deal. The honest trade-offs in control, economics, deal size and risk for a solo buyer.Read the guide
• Any searcher at the CIM stageHow to Reconcile a Broker CIM with the Seller's 1120-SA line-by-line method for checking a broker's CIM against the seller's tax return before an LOI: which lines to compare, what variance is normal, and the questions to send the broker.Read the guide
• Any searcher at the CIM stageThe Seller's P&L Doesn't Match the Tax Return: What It MeansThe CIM shows more profit than the 1120-S. The common causes ranked from harmless to deal-breaking, how big a gap is normal, and which number an SBA lender will use.Read the guide
• Searcher structuring the LOISBA Seller Note Rules Under SOP 50 10 8.1When a seller note counts toward the 10% equity injection, what full standby means, and how a paid seller note can push your DSCR below 1.25x. Three worked capital stacks.Read the guide
• Searcher who wants to do it by handHow to Build an SBA Deal Model in Excel (Free Template)Build the four tabs yourself: CIM vs. tax return, adjusted EBITDA, working capital peg and a 1.25x DSCR test. Every formula explained, with a free prefilled template.Read the guide
• Searcher using AI on dealsChatGPT and Claude for CIM Analysis: An Honest ComparisonWhat AI does well on a broker CIM, where it falls short on numbers, three prompts that work, NDA and data settings, and how it compares to Excel and a QoE.Read the guide