Evidence methodology

A Strong Conclusion Starts with Knowing What Kind of Evidence Supports It.

The Evidence Ledger and Coverage Matrix keep economic attractiveness separate from identity confidence, source coverage and document support.

The governing chain: Claim → Evidence → Interpretation → Financial or operational consequence → Buyer action.

Inside the report

One Claim. Its Support. the Decision It Changes.

Illustrative structure using fictional figures. Every row preserves what was supplied, what was tested, what remains unresolved and what the buyer should do next.

Seller claim2025 SDE is $240,000Listing and seller schedule

Claim

EvidenceTax return, P&L and bank deposits do not fully reconcileAuthorized records reviewed by period

Conflict

Buyer consequenceDebt coverage falls below the buyer’s target after unsupported adjustmentsCalculation retains inputs and assumptions

Pressure

Next actionRequest deposit detail and add-back support before relying on priceOpen item becomes a seller request or closing condition

Verify

Review the complete fictional DealProof sample →

Business Identity Comes First

The Business Identity Passport records legal name, DBAs, former names, related entities, addresses and official identifiers. A name-only hit can be a lead, but it cannot confirm that a record belongs to the acquisition target.

Evidence Classifications

Seller provided

A claim or record supplied by the seller; not independently verified.

Buyer provided

An assumption, record or decision supplied by the buyer.

Document supported

A value tied to an authorized document, page or worksheet and review status.

Live official API

A result returned by an official API for the recorded query and retrieval time.

Official search

A result preserved from an official search or versioned dataset.

Guided or manual search

The correct official route is identified, but a person must complete or review it.

Calculation

A derived result with disclosed inputs and formula.

Not applicable

A source does not apply to the documented identity, industry, location or activities.

Unresolved

Evidence is missing, conflicting, unavailable, too weak or not yet reviewed.

Coverage Matrix States

A matched record, completed search with no match, failed search, missing identifier, unavailable source, manual search, nonapplicable source and source excluded from the product are eight different outcomes. The report never converts one into another.

Calculations and Scores

Deal economics, financing scenarios, concentration and financial reconciliations show their inputs and formulas. Coverage measures completed work, not business cleanliness. Confidence describes evidence support, not the probability that a deal will succeed.

Immutable Report Versions

Every export freezes the report identity, version, evidence cutoff, calculations, sources, retrieval dates, limitations and verification hash. Rechecking later creates a new version.

Professional Boundaries

Business Buyer Check provides acquisition decision support. It is not an audit, appraisal, certified valuation, legal clearance, quality-of-earnings opinion or lending decision. Unresolved items identify where a CPA, attorney, lender, insurance adviser or specialist may be required.