Learn how to buy a business

Create your buyer profile and run your first search

Set up the buyer profile that drives matching, then read your search results — what each score means and how to filter down to deals worth your time.

7 min read

Work your deals in the pipeline

Move deals through the stages of an acquisition, keep your notes and next steps in one place, and see at a glance which deals are going cold.

6 min read

Upload documents and read the diligence analysis

Which documents to ask a seller for, how to upload them, and how to read the analysis — verified SDE, add-back scrutiny, risk flags, and every figure cited to its source.

10 min read

How the Scout Score works — and why it can move

What the Scout Score measures, how a deal's price is compared against thousands of live listings, and why a score can shift slightly when the market moves.

7 min read

Generate a Letter of Intent

When you're ready to make an offer, what belongs in an LOI, how to generate and edit one, and what it does — and doesn't — commit you to.

8 min read

Buying a small business, step by step

From your first search to your first months as owner, on three paths: an SBA loan, cash or seller financing, or an online business. Every rule linked to its official source.

12 min read

Do you qualify for an SBA 7(a) loan? The requirements after October 2026

Who qualifies for an SBA 7(a) loan to buy a business under the October 2026 rules: citizenship, 10% equity, 1.25x cash-flow cover, the guarantee, and what changed.

7 min read

Financing a purchase with an SBA 7(a) loan

How an SBA 7(a) loan for a business acquisition works: who lends, how much of your own money goes in, how a seller note counts, the personal guarantee, and the term.

9 min read

Due diligence, step by step

What to check between the letter of intent and closing, in order: tax returns against the P&L, add-backs, liens, lawsuits, licenses, the lease, and the people.

10 min read

Closing, and your first months as owner

Asset or stock purchase, the price allocation the IRS asks both sides to report, sales-tax clearance, a new EIN, licenses, employees' I-9s, and the handover.

9 min read

The stages of buying a small business

Screening, first contact, NDA, letter of intent, due diligence, purchase agreement, closing, transition — what happens at each stage, and where financing fits.

7 min read

The tools people use to find a business to buy

Marketplaces, aggregators, off-market sourcing and diligence services — what each does, what they cost, and what 18,384 live listings show about how much financial detail each source carries.

8 min read

What is SDE, and how is it calculated?

Seller's Discretionary Earnings is the number a small business's asking price is built on. How it's calculated, how it differs from EBITDA, and where add-backs inflate it.

6 min read

Add-backs: which ones are legitimate, and which are red flags

Owner pay, benefits and documented one-off costs are fair add-backs. Recurring 'one-time' costs, a working relative's salary and cut marketing are not. One test settles each.

7 min read

SDE multiples: what sellers are actually asking

Median asking multiples from 3,768 live listings: 2.4× SDE overall, rising to 4.2× for physical businesses earning $1M+, plus the spread by category.

7 min read

Which documents to request from a seller

The seven documents to ask for, why a P&L on its own can't be verified, why the tax return is the most useful one, and why you should ask early.

5 min read

How to verify a seller's reported earnings

Rebuild SDE from the tax return, reconcile the P&L to bank deposits, test every add-back, read three years, and put the gap in dollars. Five checks, in the order that finds the most.

7 min read

The letter of intent: what it does, and what binds you

An LOI sets price, structure and terms before the lawyers start. Most of it is non-binding — but exclusivity, confidentiality and expense clauses usually aren't.

6 min read