Buying a Business? Get a CFO on Your Side
Thinking about buying a business? Run the numbers first.
Buying an established business can be one of the best financial moves of your career. With an SBA 7(a) loan and a seller note, a qualified buyer can control a $2 million business with roughly $100,000 to $125,000 of their own cash. It can also be one of the worst, if you overpay, skip the cash proof, or sign a personal guarantee on debt the business can't carry.
I've been on every side of the table. I've audited the numbers sellers present, built the models lenders use, integrated acquisitions, and bought and run a small business of my own. I help buyers see the deal the way a banker will, before they sign anything.
Buyer services: QoE review, business plan, lender pitch
1. Quality of earnings review. I test whether the earnings you're paying for are real and will continue: a cash proof that ties bank deposits to reported revenue, every add-back traced to the ledger, earnings normalized in both directions, a working capital peg, and the debt-like items nobody mentioned.
The benefit: an adjusted EBITDA you can trust, every finding stated in dollars, and the leverage to renegotiate price or structure before you close, not after. On deals under $3 million, where the SBA doesn't require a QoE, it's often the only independent check on the seller's numbers. On larger deals, the lender's QoE protects the bank; this one protects you.
2. Business plan preparation. A lender-ready plan built from your deal model: sources and uses, normalized historicals, monthly year-one projections, the lender's coverage ratio and your own, a transition plan, and the top risks with how you'll handle each. Plus a short seller version for when you ask the seller to carry a note.
3. Lender pitch support, if you need it. Help choosing and approaching SBA lenders, preparing for the credit questions, and joining you in the meeting. I've built the models lenders use, so I know what a credit committee needs to see to say yes.
Use one service or all three. Every engagement is scoped to your deal and quoted up front.
The book: Fire Your Boss, Buy a Business
A CFO's guide to buying a seven-figure business using other people's money, updated for the October 2026 SBA rules. It walks the whole deal, from your first look to your first 100 days, and puts the financing first. Coming soon.
Get the free acquisition workbook now: the same Excel model I use to screen deals for clients, with the SBA lender tests built in. Email me with "Buy a Business workbook" in the subject line, and I'll send you the current version.
Read The Fractional CFO Playbook Free
Get the Introduction and the full 90-Day Plan to Clarity: the step-by-step plan for going from flying blind to seeing your numbers clearly. Free, from the author.