DealProof · Financial and Public-Record Diligence · Sample
Established HVAC Contractor
Palm Springs, California · Evidence through September 12, 2026
Earnings Reconciliation
Seller-stated SDE of $240,000 becomes $215,000 supported SDE after add-back adjustments, then $178,000 buyer cash flow before debt after replacement management and maintenance capex. See the document references and decision bridge below.
- Unsupported travel add-back-$14,000
- Partially supported legal expense-$11,000
- Replacement management-$25,000
- Maintenance capex-$12,000
Conditions Before Closing
- Reconcile the two missing bank-statement months.
- Obtain written license and qualifying-individual guidance.
- Condition closing on acceptable lease and lien outcomes.
- Update debt service from the lender’s final term sheet.
Market and lender context
Context That Frames—but Does Not Verify—the Deal
Geography
Riverside County, CaliforniaCensus Geocoder
Median Household Income
Illustrative contextual valueACS 2024
Industry Footprint
County HVAC establishments and employmentCBP 2023
Use in Decision
Demand and labor context onlyNot target performance
Evidence and Source Ledger
Seller tax returns
Document reviewed
2023–2025 returns included
- Publisher:
- Fictional seller document custodian
- Reference:
- DOC-01, fictional 2023 to 2025 tax returns. Portal links are navigation aids, not saved evidence of this fictional finding.
- Sample as-of:
- September 12, 2026. No live retrieval was performed for this sample. Dataset periods are retained in the source name or finding.
- Match confidence:
- Illustrative document reference; authenticity unverified.
- Limitation:
- Supports reported tax revenue; filing transcripts remain a separate verification step.
- Buyer action:
- Request missing records and reconcile periods against the earnings bridge.
Bank statements
Partial
34 of 36 months included
- Publisher:
- Fictional seller document custodian
- Reference:
- DOC-02, statements for 2023 to 2025; November and December 2025 missing. Portal links are navigation aids, not saved evidence of this fictional finding.
- Sample as-of:
- September 12, 2026. No live retrieval was performed for this sample. Dataset periods are retained in the source name or finding.
- Match confidence:
- Illustrative document reference; authenticity unverified.
- Limitation:
- Two missing months reduce revenue-reconciliation confidence.
- Buyer action:
- Request missing records and reconcile periods against the earnings bridge.
Census Geocoder
Live API
Address resolved to county and tract
- Publisher:
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Reference:
- Official source portal. Portal links are navigation aids, not saved evidence of this fictional finding.
- Sample as-of:
- September 12, 2026. No live retrieval was performed for this sample. Dataset periods are retained in the source name or finding.
- Match confidence:
- Illustrative status; no measured identity confidence or live clearance.
- Limitation:
- Confirms geography, not the identity or performance of the target business.
- Buyer action:
- Confirm exact identifiers and review the underlying record before relying on the result.
Census ACS 2024
Context
Population, income, housing and labor indicators
- Publisher:
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Reference:
- Official source portal. Portal links are navigation aids, not saved evidence of this fictional finding.
- Sample as-of:
- September 12, 2026. No live retrieval was performed for this sample. Dataset periods are retained in the source name or finding.
- Match confidence:
- Geographic context only; no company attribution.
- Limitation:
- Five-year survey estimates describe the market, not the company.
- Buyer action:
- Compare local context with company-specific operating records.
Census CBP 2023
Context
County NAICS 238220 establishments, jobs and payroll
- Publisher:
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Reference:
- Official source portal. Portal links are navigation aids, not saved evidence of this fictional finding.
- Sample as-of:
- September 12, 2026. No live retrieval was performed for this sample. Dataset periods are retained in the source name or finding.
- Match confidence:
- Geographic context only; no company attribution.
- Limitation:
- Aggregate industry context is not a valuation comparable.
- Buyer action:
- Compare local context with company-specific operating records.
EPA ECHO
No adverse match returned
Illustrative search dated Sep. 12, 2026
- Publisher:
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Reference:
- Official source portal. Portal links are navigation aids, not saved evidence of this fictional finding.
- Sample as-of:
- September 12, 2026. No live retrieval was performed for this sample. Dataset periods are retained in the source name or finding.
- Match confidence:
- Illustrative status; no measured identity confidence or live clearance.
- Limitation:
- A database search is not an environmental assessment or clearance.
- Buyer action:
- Confirm exact identifiers and review the underlying record before relying on the result.
FMCSA SAFER
Not applicable
No carrier operation represented in this sample
- Publisher:
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
- Reference:
- Official source portal. Portal links are navigation aids, not saved evidence of this fictional finding.
- Sample as-of:
- September 12, 2026. No live retrieval was performed for this sample. Dataset periods are retained in the source name or finding.
- Match confidence:
- Excluded by fictional activity scope.
- Limitation:
- A USDOT number would be required for carrier-specific screening.
- Buyer action:
- Reassess applicability if business activities change.
CFPB complaints and enforcement
Not applicable
HVAC operations are outside the selected consumer-finance scope
- Publisher:
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Reference:
- Official source portal. Portal links are navigation aids, not saved evidence of this fictional finding.
- Sample as-of:
- September 12, 2026. No live retrieval was performed for this sample. Dataset periods are retained in the source name or finding.
- Match confidence:
- Excluded by fictional activity scope.
- Limitation:
- Applicability is screened before results are interpreted.
- Buyer action:
- Reassess applicability if business activities change.
California SOS and UCC
Official search required
Entity status and lien searches remain open
- Publisher:
- California Secretary of State
- Reference:
- Official source portal. Portal links are navigation aids, not saved evidence of this fictional finding.
- Sample as-of:
- September 12, 2026. No live retrieval was performed for this sample. Dataset periods are retained in the source name or finding.
- Match confidence:
- Illustrative status; no measured identity confidence or live clearance.
- Limitation:
- Name matching alone cannot establish payoff, priority or legal effect.
- Buyer action:
- Complete and preserve the official search with verified identifiers; obtain professional interpretation where needed.
California CSLB
Manual review
Qualifier and transfer guidance unresolved
- Publisher:
- California Contractors State License Board
- Reference:
- Official source portal. Portal links are navigation aids, not saved evidence of this fictional finding.
- Sample as-of:
- September 12, 2026. No live retrieval was performed for this sample. Dataset periods are retained in the source name or finding.
- Match confidence:
- Illustrative status; no measured identity confidence or live clearance.
- Limitation:
- Written authority confirmation is required before closing.
- Buyer action:
- Complete and preserve the official search with verified identifiers; obtain professional interpretation where needed.
OSHA, DOL and courts
Guided review
Official searches remain on the request list
- Publisher:
- Relevant official authority; separate searches required
- Reference:
- Official jurisdiction-specific search remains open. Portal links are navigation aids, not saved evidence of this fictional finding.
- Sample as-of:
- September 12, 2026. No live retrieval was performed for this sample. Dataset periods are retained in the source name or finding.
- Match confidence:
- Illustrative status; no measured identity confidence or live clearance.
- Limitation:
- No-match results never prove that no record exists.
- Buyer action:
- Complete and preserve the official search with verified identifiers; obtain professional interpretation where needed.
How to Read This Report
Returned by a named source or supplied document.
Derived from disclosed inputs and formulas.
Requires additional evidence or specialist judgment.
What Changes the Offer
Fictional seller SDE of $240,000 less $14,000 unsupported travel and $11,000 unsupported legal adjustments produces $215,000 supported SDE. Deducting $25,000 incremental replacement management and $12,000 annual maintenance capex produces $178,000 buyer cash flow before debt. Taxes and working-capital changes remain excluded.
At the $650,000 asking price, the multiple changes from 2.71× seller SDE to 3.02× supported SDE, or 3.65× buyer cash flow before debt. At 20% down, 10.5% interest and ten years of monthly amortization, annual debt service is $84,199. Coverage on buyer cash flow is 2.11×, leaving $93,801 before tax and working-capital changes. A 20% decline in supported SDE, holding management and capex fixed, leaves $135,000 before debt and 1.60× coverage.
A buyer-selected 3.0× supported-SDE reference implies $645,000. A separate 3.0× buyer-cash-flow reference implies $534,000. These are negotiation scenarios, not appraisals or comparable-sale conclusions. Resolve missing documents and obtain lender terms before setting an offer.
| Adjustment | Fictional support | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Travel: −$14,000 | DOC-03, 2025 add-back schedule, row 7; DOC-04 travel ledger. Business purpose not documented. | Request receipts and business-purpose support. |
| Legal: −$11,000 | DOC-03, row 9; DOC-05 invoices. $11,000 remains recurring or unsupported. | Obtain invoice detail and identify recurring legal costs. |
| Management: −$25,000 | BUYER-01, replacement-duty budget. Incremental cost after existing payroll; no duplicate owner-pay deduction. | Validate duties, hiring cost and buyer operating role. |
| Capex: −$12,000 | DOC-06, equipment register; BUYER-02 annual maintenance reserve. | Obtain inspection and replacement schedule. |
All references are invented for this example. Evidence cutoff: September 12, 2026. DOC-01 tax returns cover 2023 to 2025; DOC-02 bank statements lack November and December 2025. These references demonstrate provenance and do not certify earnings.
Choose Save as PDF in the print dialog. All figures and evidence in this sample are fictional.
Report protocol
How Evidence Is Classified
The report keeps claims, calculations, contextual data, and official records separate. No missing search is silently converted into a clean result.
Seller claim
Information entered or extracted from the listing. It remains unverified until reconciled to documents.
Acquisition math
A reproducible calculation based on labeled inputs and assumptions, not an appraisal or lender decision.
Market context
Geographic or industry data used for comparison. It does not prove target-company performance.
Public-record evidence
An official-source result that still requires identity matching and legal or specialist interpretation where appropriate.
Unresolved
Missing, stale, conflicting, unavailable, or incomplete evidence that creates a buyer follow-up.
Required Fields on Every Evidence Entry
- Publisher
- The agency, seller, user, or document custodian responsible for the underlying information.
- Source and URL
- The named dataset, search system, or document with a link when one is available.
- Retrieved / as-of
- When the result was collected and the period represented by the underlying data.
- Status
- Matched, possible match, no match returned, manual review, unavailable, or not run.
- Confidence
- Support for attribution—not a probability that the business is safe or the finding is legally conclusive.
- Limitation
- What the source and result cannot establish.
- Buyer action
- The document request, official search, specialist review, or deal protection prompted by the evidence.