Due diligence and transaction readiness
Books that survive diligence. Numbers your lender, investor or buyer can check.
When an owner-led company is about to borrow, take investment, buy a competitor or sell, someone else is going to read the books. ProvenCFO gets them ready: 24 months reconciled, a financial model built from the actual history, Quality of Earnings preparation, a buy-side review of a target's books, and a data room that answers requests in a day. We get the numbers ready, so you and your advisors can focus on the deal.
| Item | Status | Read |
|---|---|---|
| 24 months reconciled, every account | 24 of 24 | Complete |
| Revenue by customer, tied to the ledger | 36 months | Complete |
| Deferred revenue schedule | $412,000 | Tied out |
| Adjusted EBITDA bridge | 7 adjustments | Owner comp add-back needs support |
| Working capital peg, trailing 12 | $286,000 | Calculated |
| Data room index | 142 files | Current |
Lender, investor or buyer requests are answered from this folder in a day. The one open item is documentation for one add-back.
Sound familiar?
- The pitch deck or the offering memo has a revenue number and the books have a different one.
- The lender or investor asked for a model and the one you have is a spreadsheet from last year.
- Deferred revenue, the cap table and the ledger have never been tied out.
- You are buying a company and need someone to read their books before you believe the seller.
- The bank wants a 12-month projection and covenant math and nobody has done one.
- A buyer's Quality of Earnings is coming and you do not know what it will find.
Software we work in
QuickBooks Online, Xero, Carta, Pulley, Brex and Mercury (feeds), BILL, Ramp, Gusto, Google Sheets and Excel for the model and the data room.
Bookkeeping from $400 / mo
What ProvenCFO does for you each month
Diligence-ready books
24 months reconciled, revenue by customer, deferred revenue schedule, fixed asset and debt schedules, cap table tied to the ledger. Diligence takes days, not weeks.
Financial model from real history
Revenue build by customer or channel, hiring plan, use of proceeds and runway in base and stress cases, all tied to the actual books so the history reconciles.
Quality of Earnings preparation
Sell-side: an adjusted EBITDA bridge, working capital peg and add-back support your buyer's QoE will agree with. We prepare the package; an independent firm issues the report when one is required.
Buy-side review
We read the target's books before you believe the seller: revenue quality, customer concentration, working capital, debt-like items, what the price should reflect.
Lender, investor and buyer reporting
Covenant calculations, borrowing base, monthly investor package, board financials, each in the format the reader expects.
13-week cash forecast after the close
The first quarter of new money or new debt planned week by week, so it funds the plan and not the drift.
Questions
Do you raise capital or find buyers?
No. ProvenCFO is not a broker, investment bank or placement agent and does not raise capital or sell securities. We prepare the financials, the model, the Quality of Earnings package and the data room, and we sit in the meetings when asked. Your bankers, brokers and attorneys run the transaction.
Can you build our financial model?
Yes. A driver-based model with revenue build, hiring plan, use of proceeds and runway in base and stress cases, built from the actual books so the history ties. It is Growth or Executive tier CFO work, or a fixed-price project if you are not yet a monthly client.
What do lenders and investors ask for in diligence?
Two years of reconciled financials, revenue by customer, deferred revenue, AR and AP agings, the cap table, tax filings, major contracts and a 12 to 24 month model. We keep the data room current so the ask is a link, not a project.
Do you do Quality of Earnings?
We prepare sell-side QoE packages and run buy-side reviews of a target's books. When a lender or buyer requires an independent QoE report, we work alongside the firm that issues it, and the preparation we have done shortens their work.
What does it cost?
CFO Growth is $4,000 a month and Executive $6,500, on top of bookkeeping and controller. A standalone financial model, QoE preparation or buy-side review is quoted as a fixed project, typically starting at $10,000 for a 40-hour engagement. See pricing.
Start here
Find out what your numbers are telling you.
A 20-minute call. We look at how your books run today and tell you what we see. Nothing is sold on the call.