How it works
How DealLoupe pre-screens your deal.
Three steps. Minutes, not weeks. No meetings, no retainers, no 40-page engagement letters. Just the documents you already have, and a straight answer about what's in them.
Upload your deal documents
Send us what the seller (or broker) gave you. The minimum set for a useful pre-screen:
Minimum set
- The listing or CIM (Confidential Information Memorandum) — the seller's information packet
- Profit & loss (P&L) statements, ideally the last 3 years
- Business tax returns
- Balance sheet
- Asking price and proposed terms
The more you give, the stronger the report
- Bank statements
- AR/AP aging reports (unpaid customer invoices and unpaid bills, sorted by age)
- Customer revenue breakdown
- The lease
- Debt schedule
- For franchise deals: the FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document), including Item 19
Only have the listing so far? You can still run a pre-screen. The evidence-gaps section will show what your documents can and cannot prove, and the report will tell you exactly what to request from the seller.
The AI reads and cross-checks everything
No skimming, no shortcuts. The AI:
- Pulls the numbers from every document: revenue, profit, add-backs (expenses added back to profit on the claim that a new owner won't have them), debts, balances.
- Compares documents against each other. Does the listing match the P&L? Does the P&L match the tax returns?
- Finds the inconsistencies — the places where the story and the paperwork disagree.
- Spots the red flags, checked against our fixed methodology: owner dependence, customer concentration, inflated add-backs, sliding sales, and more.
- Notes what's missing: the documents a careful buyer would insist on seeing before going further.
Get your report — instantly
The AI generates it the moment your documents are in — and you can read it in one sitting:
- The overall risk level: low, medium, high, or critical
- The top 5–10 red flags visible in the documents
- What's missing, and why it matters
- The exact questions to ask the seller next
- The headline call: proceed with conditions, pause for evidence, specialist decision required, reprice or restructure, or hard stop
What you receive
What the report looks like.
Three short documents, written for a buyer, not an accountant. Below is an illustrative sample, not a real deal.
Deal Risk Pre-Screen
Risk: High"Do not proceed to a letter of intent (LOI) until the seller provides tax returns and explains the $110K of owner add-backs…"
Evidence gaps
MediumHow much your documents can actually prove.
Confirmed conclusions
3 mismatches"The gap is driven by add-backs that are not documented anywhere the seller has provided…"
Illustrative sample for layout only; the numbers do not describe any real business.
Honest expectations
What the AI does — and what it doesn't.
What it does
- Reads and cross-checks the documents you provide
- Flags the risks that are visible in those documents
- Shows which documents and data are missing
- Drafts the questions to ask the seller
- Gives a clear call: proceed with conditions, pause for evidence, specialist decision required, reprice or restructure, or hard stop
- Tells you which specialist the deal deserves next
What it does not do
- It does not verify or audit the business; it can only analyze what's in the documents
- It does not confirm legal cleanliness or guarantee any numbers
- It does not replace your CPA, M&A attorney, or a formal Quality-of-Earnings review
- It does not give financial, legal, or investment advice
- It does not tell you to buy; it tells you whether the deal is worth the professionals' time
Ready when your documents are.
Upload what you have. In minutes you'll know if this deal deserves your CPA — or your walking shoes.
Founding round open: the first 50 pre-screens are free, no card required.
Not ready yet? Start with the free 10 Red Flags guide →