Each business type has its own financial logic. Pick your cluster for a tailored calculator and acquisition guide.
Revenue driven by traffic, subscriptions, or digital transactions. Valued on revenue multiples and growth trajectory.
Ad-supported or affiliate-driven content businesses. Model revenue from traffic, CPM rates, and monetization mix. Value on 30–40x monthly revenue.
MRR, churn, LTV, and CAC-driven valuation. ARR multiples, CAC payback, and a 12-month forward projection.
GMV, AOV, repeat rate, COGS, and CAC-driven model. Per-order contribution margin and SDE-multiple equity value.
Asset-intensive businesses where working capital, capex, and operational leverage drive value. Valued on EBITDA multiples.
Model EBITDA, capex requirements, and working capital intensity. Size your debt capacity and understand the equity check needed to close the deal.
Distribution businesses are working-capital machines. Understand the cash conversion cycle and how much cash growth will consume before you commit to a price.
Retail economics live and die on revenue per square foot, labor leverage, and rent structure. Model store-level EBITDA and find the breakeven before you sign a lease assumption.
Crew-based labor arbitrage — model utilization, billing rate vs. loaded cost, crew-level EBITDA, and the breakeven utilization you need to survive.
These tools work across business types to deepen your analysis.
A strong acquisition screen answers four questions quickly: what is the business worth, how much debt can it carry, how much cash does it need to operate, and what can go wrong after close.
A SaaS business, retailer, manufacturer, distributor, content site, and services company can all show the same EBITDA while carrying very different risks. Pick the calculator that matches the operating model so the first pass uses the right drivers.
The purpose of the hub is to keep the analysis specific. Generic multiples are useful only after you understand what creates the cash flow.
Small-business listings often lead with SDE. Buyers should bridge that number to cash flow after owner replacement cost, taxes, debt service, maintenance capex, and working capital. The best deal is not the highest SDE multiple; it is the one with durable cash conversion.
Use add-backs only when they are documented and likely to disappear after closing.
Debt can increase equity returns, but it also reduces room for error. Before diligence gets expensive, test whether the business can cover interest, principal, working capital, and a reasonable operator salary.
If a deal needs aggressive leverage to work, use seller financing, contingent consideration, or a lower price instead of forcing the model.
Every line in the model should create a diligence request. If gross margin matters, ask for invoices. If retention matters, ask for cohorts. If working capital matters, ask for monthly balance sheets.
The model is useful because it tells you where evidence matters most.
Start with the business-specific calculator, then use the LBO model and working capital cycle calculator if the initial screen looks attractive.
SDE is a starting point, not a finish line. Buyers should adjust for replacement labor, capex, taxes, debt service, and working capital.
Too much debt is any structure that leaves thin coverage after conservative cash flow assumptions. A lower price is usually safer than a fragile capital structure.
Seller financing can bridge valuation gaps, align incentives, and reduce bank debt. It is especially useful when some risk cannot be fully proven before closing.