Professional Quality of Earnings Reports for Small Business Buyers

The seller prepared the numbers. You are signing the personal guarantee. In 10 business days or less you will know what the business really earns without the owner in it, which add-backs do not survive the evidence, and what is worth renegotiating before you close.

Book My Free 20 Minute Deal Review See a Sample Report

Let's review your deal together. I will give you my honest feedback and whether or not a full QoE makes sense for you.

Comprehensive reports are lender ready or we rework them free Unlimited follow up questions
$3,900
Reports Starting At
8 Days
Average Turnaround
$250M+
In Deal Value Analyzed
Nick Ringling, Founder of ClearView QoE
Nick Ringling
Founder, ClearView QoE

15+ years and 500+ closed transactions, across investment real estate and business acquisitions. I started ClearView because buyers at this size kept getting priced out of real diligence and closing on numbers nobody had checked. You work with me directly from the first call through the final report, and at the end you will know exactly what you are buying.

The Problem

Traditional QoE Firms Aren't Built for Your Deal

If you're acquiring a business valued between $300K and $5M, you've probably discovered that traditional quality of earnings firms charge $8,000 to $20,000 or more — often more than your entire due diligence budget.

So buyers skip it. They rely on seller-provided financials. They close on unverified numbers. And sometimes they get burned by add-backs that were never real, revenue that wasn't recurring, or liabilities that were buried.

You deserve the same financial clarity that private equity buyers get on every deal. We built ClearView specifically to make that possible.

Cost Comparison
Big 4 / Regional Firm $20,000+
Mid-Market Boutique $8,000–$15,000
ClearView QoE from $3,900
✦ CPA Reviewed & Professionally Delivered
The Process

How It Works

A streamlined, four-step process that delivers a professional QoE without the traditional timeline or price tag.

1

Upload Documents

Securely submit financial statements, tax returns, bank statements, and QuickBooks files through our portal.

● All files are SSL-encrypted in transit. Documents are never shared with third parties.

2

Proprietary Analysis

Our proprietary software parses, normalizes, and analyzes the financials — identifying add-backs, anomalies, and trends with precision.

3

CPA Review

A licensed CPA reviews, validates, and refines the report — ensuring professional accuracy and defensibility.

4

Receive Report

You receive a complete, formatted QoE report ready to share with lenders, partners, or use in negotiations.

What's Included

Full QoE Scope, Every Report

No stripped-down basics. Every engagement includes the complete scope that professional buyers expect.

Financial Statement Analysis

Review of your P&Ls, balance sheets, and cash flow statements (2 years on Standard, 3 on Comprehensive) to assess accuracy, consistency, and reliability.

Revenue Analysis

Breakdown by customer, product line, and period to identify concentration risk, growth trends, and revenue quality.

Adjusted EBITDA Schedule

Full normalization of earnings — removing one-time items and owner-specific costs to show true business profitability.

Add-Back Analysis

Identification and justification of all add-backs — owner comp, personal expenses, one-time legal fees, and more.

Gross Margin Analysis

Review of margins by product or service line to evaluate sustainability and identify compression or expansion trends.

Owner Compensation Review

Total owner compensation assessed against what a market-rate replacement manager would actually cost the business.

Customer Concentration Analysis

Flags reliance on any single customer or small group that could represent significant post-acquisition risk.

Expense Normalization

Review of operating expenses to flag unusual, non-recurring, or non-essential items that won't transfer to a new owner.

Tax Return Reconciliation

Comparison of filed tax returns against internal financials to surface discrepancies that may signal risk.

Working Capital Analysis

Review of AR, AP, and inventory to establish a normalized working capital baseline for deal structuring purposes.

Debt & Liability Review

Identification of outstanding debt, liens, deferred revenue, and contingent liabilities affecting the buyer's position.

Month-over-Month Trend Analysis

Granular monthly performance review to surface seasonality, anomalies, or recent deterioration hidden in annual figures.

Transparent Pricing

Simple, Flat-Rate Pricing

No hourly billing. No surprise overages. One flat fee for a complete, CPA-reviewed report.

Standard
$3,900
For acquisitions up to $1M in deal value
Not in SBA format. Using an SBA loan? Choose Comprehensive.
  • Full 12-item QoE scope
  • 2 years of financial analysis
  • Adjusted EBITDA schedule
  • Add-back documentation
  • CPA reviewed & signed off
  • Formatted PDF report
  • 10 business day turnaround
Book a Free Deal Review

No sales pitch. Just an honest look at your deal.

Comprehensive
$5,000
For acquisitions $1M–$5M in deal value
  • Full 12-item QoE scope
  • 3 years of financial analysis
  • Adjusted EBITDA schedule
  • Deep add-back analysis
  • Working capital peg analysis
  • CPA reviewed & signed off
  • Formatted PDF report
  • SBA lender-ready format
  • 10 business day turnaround
Book a Free Deal Review

No sales pitch. Just an honest look at your deal.

Book Your Free Deal Review Here

Why ClearView

Built for Buyers, Not Wall Street

Exclusively Small Business

We don't take enterprise engagements. Our entire process, pricing, and team is calibrated for $300K–$5M acquisitions.

Proprietary Software Platform

Our proprietary analysis platform handles document parsing and financial analysis with precision, dramatically reducing turnaround time — and passing those savings directly to you.

Every Report CPA Reviewed

A licensed CPA validates every report before delivery. You get professional-grade output at a fraction of traditional cost.

Fast Turnaround

Traditional QoE reports take 3–6 weeks. Ours are delivered in 10 business days so your deal doesn't stall.

We were about to skip due diligence entirely because every firm quoted us $18,000. ClearView gave us a complete picture of the business for $3,900. Found two add-backs that weren't real. Saved the deal.

MR
Michael R.
First-Time Business Buyer · HVAC Acquisition
Nick Ringling, Founder of ClearView QoE
Nick Ringling
Founder, ClearView QoE
About

The Person Behind the Report

Nick Ringling is a St. Charles, Missouri based entrepreneur with 15+ years of experience in business ownership, sales, and small business acquisitions. After founding and operating Land Group US — completing 500+ buy/sell transactions across investment real estate and business acquisitions — he spent years in the M&A search community and saw the same problem repeating itself: buyers in the $300K–$5M range needed professional financial due diligence but had nowhere to turn. Every quality of earnings firm was built for private equity, not the individual buyer trying to make the most important financial decision of their life. So Nick partnered with licensed CPAs to build ClearView QoE from the ground up — institutional-grade due diligence at a price that actually fits the deal. When he's not working, you'll find him exploring the outdoors or planning the next trip with his wife Erika and their dog Copper.

From the Blog

Buyer Education & M&A Insights

Practical guides on Quality of Earnings, due diligence, and how to evaluate a small business acquisition with confidence.

Awareness Post 01

What Is a Quality of Earnings Report — And Do You Need One?

Understand what a QoE report actually does, how it differs from an audit, and when you need one before buying a business.

Read Guide →
Consideration Post 02 ⭐

How a Quality of Earnings Report Can Save You Thousands

Real examples of how QoE reports uncover overstatements, inflated add-backs, and hidden costs — and how buyers use them to negotiate.

Read Guide →
Consideration Post 03

Add-Backs Explained: What Every Small Business Buyer Needs to Know

Which add-backs are legitimate and which inflate the number you're about to pay a multiple on — and how to tell the difference.

Read Guide →
Awareness Post 04 ✦

A Complete Due Diligence Checklist for Small Business Buyers

A phase-by-phase framework — financial, legal, operational, and commercial — with a ready-to-use checklist for every stage of the deal.

Read Guide →
Consideration Post 05

How to Evaluate a Business Before Making an Offer

The full five-dimension evaluation framework — financial quality, operational resilience, commercial strength, owner dependency, and personal fit.

Read Guide →
View All Blog Posts    Read Posts 1–3 Together →
FAQ

Common Questions

How much does a quality of earnings report cost?

Two flat prices. $3,900 for deals up to $1M that don't need SBA formatting, and $5,000 for deals over $1M or any deal of any size that needs to be SBA lender ready. No hourly billing and no surprise overages.

How long does a QoE report take?

10 business days or less from the day we have your complete document set. Working to a deadline? Tell us the date and we'll tell you honestly whether we can meet it.

What documents do you need from me?

Financial statements, business tax returns, bank statements, and the QuickBooks file if the seller keeps one. Three years of each where available. Everything goes through our secure upload portal, and if the seller hasn't handed everything over yet, we'll tell you what actually matters.

How does the process work?

It starts with a free 20 minute deal review with Nick. If a QoE makes sense, you upload the financials, we analyze them, a licensed CPA reviews and signs off, and you get the finished report plus a call with Nick to walk through the findings.

Will SBA lenders accept this report?

Our Comprehensive tier ($5,000) produces reports in SBA lender-ready format. We recommend confirming directly with your lender, as requirements vary. Most lenders accept third-party QoE reports from licensed CPAs.

What industries do you cover?

We work across most service, trade, and product-based businesses in the $300K–$5M range — including HVAC, landscaping, e-commerce, professional services, and more. Contact us if you have questions about your specific deal.

How is this different from hiring a CPA firm?

Traditional CPA firms charge $8,000–$20,000+ for QoE engagements and take 3–6 weeks. ClearView delivers the same professional output — reviewed by a licensed CPA — in 10 business days starting at $3,900.

What if I have questions after I receive the report?

Every engagement includes a delivery call to walk through the findings, and follow up questions are unlimited. Just email or call Nick whenever something comes up.

Get Started

Ready to Buy with Confidence?

Don't close on unverified financials. Get a professional QoE report and know exactly what you're buying.

01
We review your deal
Tell us the business type, deal size, and where you are in the process.
02
We give you an honest assessment
We'll tell you if a QoE makes sense for your situation — and what it would flag.
03
You leave with a clear next step
No pressure. Whether you move forward or not, you'll know exactly where you stand.

-- or --

“Found two add-backs that weren’t real. Saved the deal.”

MR
Michael R.  ·  First-Time Buyer, HVAC Acquisition
Book a Free Deal Review Email Us a Question

No sales pitch. Just an honest look at your deal.

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