Deal Financial Review — Praxis Profit

The stakes

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

A full Quality of Earnings from an accounting firm runs $15,000–$25,000 — more than most Main Street diligence budgets. So most buyers go in on the seller's numbers alone. Here's what that tends to cost.

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 5–7 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 me

"I read small-business financials for a living. Before you buy, I tell you what you're really buying."

For 15 years in business and commercial banking, including Vice President roles at Wells Fargo and PNC, I reviewed hundreds of financing requests — small-business loans, SBA loans, and business acquisitions. The financial statements always showed the strongest version of the business, while the tax returns were built to minimize taxable income. My job was to reconcile those two stories and find the company's true cash flow.

I don't earn a commission from the transaction, and I'm not paid by the broker or the lender. I have no stake in whether you buy. Telling you to walk away is as valuable as telling you to proceed — that's what independent means.

Bengaly Kante

Founder, Praxis Profit

15 years in business and commercial banking

Former Vice President — Wells Fargo & PNC

SBA & acquisition lending background

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 – $5M$3,500 – $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 runs $15,000–$25,000, and lenders will often finance diligence costs into the acquisition loan.

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 the SBA rules that changed under SOP 50 10 8. 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 — and that's the point. A certified QoE from an accounting firm runs $15,000–$25,000, which doesn't make sense on most Main Street deals. This is independent financial analysis and buyer decision-support that gives you the essentials of that analysis at a price that fits the purchase. It isn't a 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 60–90 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, I provide a valuation and sale-readiness review that shows what your business is worth and what to fix to raise it 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 — CFO advisory for the first years of ownership. See praxis-profit-advisory.netlify.app.

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