The broker's numbers were built to sell you. We read them to protect you.
Send us the CIM, the add-back schedule, the tax returns. We read every line like a forensic analyst and hand you an 8 to 14 page report, verdict first, every finding cited to the page and the line.
We read the same documents the broker used to build the price.
Built for how SMB deals actually go wrong
Pick the pressure point. Here is what we read for, and what we have seen hide there.
Every add-back, tested against reality
Add-backs are where the price gets manufactured. We take each one back to the source document and ask whether it is truly non-recurring, truly personal, and truly gone once you own the business. Owner comp, one-time fees, and "normalized" expenses get the hardest look.
Whether the revenue is real and repeatable
We tie the top-line story to the tax returns and the bank deposits, then test how much of it recurs. One-off projects dressed up as run-rate, channel revenue that already ended, and a good year cherry-picked as the base all change what you are actually buying.
How much of the business is one phone call
Concentration is the quiet deal-killer. We quantify what the CIM would rather leave vague: revenue by customer, contract terms, and how easily the top accounts walk after a sale. A number that is described but never shown is a number worth demanding.
The cash the deal quietly assumes you bring
A clean EBITDA can still hide a working-capital hole you inherit at close. We look at receivables aging, payables stretched to flatter cash, and the seasonal swing, so the number you finance is the number you actually need to run.
Whether the business goes when the owner does
If the seller is the sales team, the relationships, and the tribal knowledge, you are buying a job with risk attached. We look for owner-held accounts, undocumented process, and licensing that does not transfer, so the transition is priced honestly.
Why buyers run Deal X-Ray
Verdict on page one
You get the answer first, then the evidence. Open the report and you already know whether to keep going, renegotiate, or walk. No 40-page slog to reach the point.
Learn moreEvery finding cited to the line
Page and line, on the exact document. You can take a finding straight into the negotiation and point at it, instead of arguing over a gut feeling.
Learn morePriced for a single deal
A fraction of a $15k quality-of-earnings engagement, delivered in days. Run it on the deal in front of you without committing to a full audit before you even have a signed LOI.
Learn moreThree steps to a verdict
You send the documents. We do the forensic read. You get a report you can act on.
Send the deal documents
The CIM, the add-back schedule, the tax returns, and whatever financials you have. Upload them once. No calls to schedule, no back-and-forth to get started.
We read them line by line
A forensic analyst works through every figure, ties the story to the source documents, and tags what does not hold up by severity: Red Flag, Inconsistency, Probe, Note.
You get an 8 to 14 page report
Verdict first, then the evidence, every finding cited to page and line. Delivered in days, ready to take into the negotiation.
How we flag what we find
Four labels, so you know instantly whether a finding changes the price or just the paperwork.
Red Flag
A finding that should change the price or kill the deal. This is the one you renegotiate around, or walk away over.
CIM p.14 / adj. EBITDA schedule, line 6Inconsistency
Two documents that do not agree. When the CIM and the tax return tell different stories, one of them is the number you should trust less.
Form 1120S 2024 line 1a vs CIM p.9Probe
A claim asserted but not supported. Not wrong yet, just unproven. Ask the seller for the backup before you rely on it.
CIM p.11Note
Context worth knowing before you sign. Not a problem, but a detail that shapes how you run the business on day one.
Lease, section 4 / renewal termsWhat a finding looks like
Illustrative examples of the findings a report surfaces. Not real clients, just the shape of the work.
Owner salary add-back exceeds a market replacement wage, so the adjusted EBITDA is overstated and the multiple is applied to a number you cannot keep.
Cited: CIM p.14 / adj. EBITDA schedule, line 6Revenue on the tax return trails the CIM figure for the same year, and nothing in the package explains the gap between the two.
Cited: Form 1120S 2024 line 1a vs CIM p.9Top-customer concentration is described in the narrative but never quantified, so the single largest risk to the revenue is left unmeasured.
Cited: CIM p.11Samples shown for illustration. Deal X-Ray is pre-launch and does not publish client work.
Before you send the documents
What do you need from me?
The CIM, the add-back or adjusted-EBITDA schedule, and the tax returns are the core. P&L statements, bank statements, and the lease help us go deeper. Send what you have. We will tell you if a gap limits what we can conclude.
How long does it take?
Days, not weeks. Once we have the documents, you get the 8 to 14 page report back in time to act inside a normal diligence window, before the deposit is due.
Is this a substitute for a quality-of-earnings engagement?
No, and we will not pretend it is. A full QoE is a deeper, accountant-led engagement. Deal X-Ray is the forensic read you run first, for a fraction of the cost, to decide whether the deal even warrants that spend.
What if you find nothing?
Then the report says so, with the verdict on page one, and you move forward with more confidence than you had before. A clean read is a real result. You paid to know, and now you know.
Don't wire the deposit until you've read it.
Send us the documents. Get the verdict, cited to the line, in days. Then decide with your eyes open.
Request a report Launch price $487, rising to $999.