An AI-powered scored evaluation across 8 domains that tells you exactly where your business stands — and exactly what to fix before you go to market.
Start with the Assessment to see where you stand. Move to Validation when your score needs to survive a buyer’s scrutiny.
What you say about your business
Best when: you’re orienting or planning ahead.
See Assessment Samples →What your documents prove
The gaps that cost sellers the most are almost always fixable — if you find them 12–18 months before listing, not 12 days after getting an LOI.
Each domain is scored 1–10 using AI analysis against a rubric calibrated to what buyers and their diligence teams actually examine at each stage of a transaction. The weights shown are representative — the framework recalibrates them to your vertical, so the score reflects what matters most in your market (see Calibrated to Your Industry below).
Documentation and contract/legal-file completeness, data-room organization, and the likelihood a buyer's advisor uncovers material issues post-LOI.
Owner's personal client relationships and decision-making centralization, documented succession and transition plan, and the degree to which institutional knowledge is captured independent of the owner.
Recurring versus one-time revenue, customer tenure and contract coverage, churn, and concentration risk in any single account.
EBITDA normalization, add-back defensibility, working-capital profile, and the growth narrative a buyer's CFO will construct from your books.
SOP coverage, process documentation, system dependency, and the ability to grow without proportional headcount increases.
Tech-stack documentation, vendor lock-in risk, cybersecurity posture, and data governance.
Contract assignability, IP ownership, employment-law and regulatory adherence, and any open litigation or compliance gaps.
Key non-owner employee retention risk, compensation competitiveness, critical-role bench depth, non-compete and retention agreements, and team stability under new ownership.
The same eight domains and the same criteria, scored two ways. The difference is what backs the number — and how well it holds up when a buyer pushes on it.
You answer the questionnaire; we score your business across all eight domains from what you tell us. Fast, no documents required — you can complete it in an afternoon. This is your baseline: where you stand, what buyers will scrutinize, and what to fix before you go to market.
Best when: you’re orienting, planning ahead, or want to know your gaps before committing to a sale process.
You supply the records; we verify the assessment against what your documents actually show — the way a buyer’s quality-of-earnings team will. Validation builds on your completed Assessment: the questionnaire tells us what to look for, your documents confirm it. This is where a self-reported score becomes a defensible one.
Best when: you’re getting serious about going to market and need numbers that survive diligence — not numbers a buyer can re-trade.
A buyer won’t take your word for your numbers — they’ll re-verify everything in diligence, and every gap between what you claimed and what your documents prove is something they can re-trade the price on. Validation is you running that check first, on your terms, so there are no surprises across the table. What you say about your business, versus what your documents prove.
Your Assessment credits in full toward Validation — the questionnaire you complete is the foundation the validation checks against, never wasted.
Your Exit Readiness Score tells buyers how much leverage they have at the negotiating table. Higher scores mean fewer gaps for buyers to exploit — lower scores signal re-trade risk before closing.
See a Sample Report →| Score | Band | Buyer Discount Risk |
|---|---|---|
| 8.0 – 10.0 | Institutional Ready | Minimal — few gaps for buyers to exploit |
| 6.5 – 7.9 | Market Ready | Low — some negotiating leverage for buyers |
| 5.0 – 6.4 | Needs Preparation | Moderate — expect re-trade attempts |
| 3.5 – 4.9 | Material Gaps | High — significant discount likely |
| Below 3.5 | Not Ready | Very High — consider delaying go-to-market |
Scores reflect readiness relative to what buyers examine in diligence — not a valuation guarantee. Consult a qualified M&A or valuation professional for a specific valuation.
Full domain-by-domain scoring with per-criterion findings, diligence risk callouts, and your vertical-calibrated Buyer Discount Risk band. Delivered as a PDF that's yours to share — or not.
Prioritized remediation list with the diligence-risk each item addresses. Each action is sized by effort and impact — so you fix the right things first, not just the easiest.
For owners who want SellerDiligence to execute the roadmap — not just deliver it. Technology, documentation, compliance, and vendor management remediation support.
SellerDiligence assessment rubrics are calibrated by vertical — because what matters in a healthcare practice sale is not the same as what matters in a technology services acquisition.
$1M–$15M revenue business, 12–36 months from exit, owner-operated. All vertical overlays live.
The earlier the better. Owners who assess 12–36 months out have time to actually fix what the report finds — and those fixes compound before you go to market.
Review a portfolio of document-verified sample reports — full domain scoring, per-criterion findings, and remediation roadmaps across multiple verticals. These are Validation-engine reports, built from source documents.