Acquisition Calculator

Deal Risk Scorer

Six diligence signals → one 0–100 composite. The breakdown surfaces the top contributors so you know exactly where to dig deeper before you commit.

Owner dependence

How central is the seller to operations?

Customer concentration25%

% of revenue from top 3 customers

Revenue trend (last 12 months YoY)+5%

Negative = declining; positive = growing

Add-back ratio20%

Add-backs as % of stated SDE; >40% is a yellow flag

Document quality

From tax-returns-only to QoE + audited

Lease years remaining

On the primary location; SBA wants term past loan maturity

What goes into the score

Each signal is weighted by how predictive it is of post-close regret in small-business acquisitions:

Owner dependence — the strongest single signal. Businesses where the owner IS the business rarely transfer cleanly.
Customer concentration — top 3 customers above ~40% of revenue is a serious red flag.
Revenue trend — declining revenue compresses valuation and limits financing options.
Add-back ratio — add-backs above ~40% of SDE demand careful documentation review.
Document quality — clean, reviewed financials materially de-risk a deal.
Lease remaining — SBA lenders want lease term past loan maturity; short leases threaten financing.

How to read the score

0–30 (Low). A clean deal with no major red flags. Standard diligence applies. 31–60 (Medium). Workable but real concerns — address the top contributors before committing. 61–100 (High). Walk-away territory unless you have specific operational expertise to fix the problem signals.