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This engagement is designed to give you a clear, independent financial read on a specific deal before you commit — from someone who has no stake in whether it closes.
Deals have momentum. That's what makes them dangerous.
By the time a deal is in front of you with terms on paper, there's already a broker who wants it to close, a seller who wants it to close, an attorney drafting documents to make it close, and a timeline pushing everything forward. Everyone at the table has a reason to say yes. The question is whether anyone at the table has looked at the financial structure and stress-tested what happens when things don't go according to plan.
That's the seat I sit in. I've spent more than 20 years as a direct lender, underwriter, financing facilitator, and M&A advisor — analyzing deal structures, evaluating whether the numbers support the terms, and determining what happens to the buyer's financial position when the optimistic projections meet real-world conditions. I've seen deals that created transformational wealth for the buyer. And I've seen deals that looked just as promising on paper destroy businesses that were healthy before the ink dried.
The difference between those outcomes isn't luck. It's whether someone analyzed the structure, stress-tested the downside, and gave the buyer an honest financial read before the commitment was made.
This engagement puts me on your side of the table — with no incentive other than telling you the truth about what this deal looks like financially.
Who This Is For
This is for the business owner who has a deal in front of them and wants an independent financial analysis from someone whose only job is to protect their interests.
You're evaluating an acquisition — a competitor, a complementary business, a strategic add-on — and the numbers look right on the surface, but you want someone who's underwritten thousands of deals to tell you what they'd look like under scrutiny.
A partnership buyout has been proposed and you need an independent analysis of whether the terms are fair, whether the structure makes financial sense, and whether your business can absorb the commitment.
You're negotiating a commercial real estate purchase and you want to understand the true financial impact on your operating business — not just the mortgage payment, but the full capital exposure including debt service, opportunity cost, and impact on your borrowing capacity.
Someone has proposed a deal structure — seller financing, earn-out, equity split, performance-based terms — and you want a financial professional to evaluate whether that structure works for you or primarily benefits the other side.
You're about to make a six- or seven-figure commitment and you want a second set of eyes from someone who isn't your attorney, isn't your CPA, isn't the broker, and isn't on the other side of the transaction.
The deal feels right. Everyone around you is saying go. But you've been around long enough to know that the time to be most careful is exactly when everything looks most certain.
If you're generating $600K or more in annual revenue and there's a deal on the table with real money attached — this analysis exists to make sure you see the full financial picture before you commit.
What I Evaluate
I analyze the deal the way a lender and underwriter would — because if financing is involved, that's exactly who will be evaluating it next. And even if it's not, the underwriter's lens is the most rigorous financial framework available for determining whether a deal actually works.
The proposed deal terms, structure, and financial commitments — every dollar, every condition, every obligation
Cash flow impact on your existing operations under the proposed terms — not in a vacuum, but layered onto the business you're already running
Debt service requirements and your realistic capacity to absorb them without compromising your current financial position
Stress-test scenarios — what happens to your business and the deal if revenue drops 10%, 20%, or 30% from projections
Alternative structures that may reduce your risk, improve your terms, or shift the financial exposure in your favor
Bankability of the proposed structure if financing is required — how a lender will view this deal, and whether the terms as proposed are fundable
Hidden costs, timing risks, and capital exposure that may not be visible in the term sheet but show up in the cash flow
What You Receive
Within 10 business days of receiving your documents, I deliver a Written Deal Analysis Memo — a comprehensive financial analysis of the specific deal you're evaluating.
Your memo will include:
Full financial assessment of the proposed deal terms — what you're actually committing to, translated from legal language into financial reality
Cash flow impact analysis under the proposed structure — what this deal does to your monthly cash position, your margins, and your operating flexibility
Stress-test results — exactly what your business and the deal look like under reduced revenue conditions, so you know where the breaking point is before you reach it
Risk identification with severity assessment — every financial risk I've found, ranked by how much damage it can do and how likely it is to materialize
Alternative structure recommendations where applicable — if there's a way to get the same deal done with less risk or better terms, I'll show you what it looks like
Bankability assessment if financing is involved — how a lender will evaluate this deal, what they'll approve, what they'll question, and what could kill the funding
Clear summary of total financial exposure — not just the purchase price or the stated terms, but the full picture of what you're putting at risk
A 30-minute follow-up call is included to walk through the findings, discuss the risk profile, and answer direct questions about the deal structure.
Why This Matters Financially
Most bad deals don't look bad at the time. They look reasonable. They look like growth. They look like the kind of opportunity a smart operator would jump on.
The problem is that most business owners evaluate deals based on the upside — revenue potential, strategic fit, the cost of missing out. What they don't evaluate is what happens when the deal underperforms. What happens to your cash flow when you're carrying $15,000 a month in new debt service and revenue comes in 20% below the projection the seller gave you. What happens to your existing business when the acquisition you just closed needs another $200,000 in working capital that wasn't in the original plan. What happens 18 months from now when you need additional financing and this deal has consumed every dollar of your borrowing capacity.
I've watched this play out hundreds of times. The deal that felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity becomes the commitment that takes three years to recover from — not because the owner was wrong about the opportunity, but because nobody analyzed the structure, the downside, and the financial exposure before the papers were signed.
On the other side, I've worked with owners who brought in an independent analysis before committing — and either negotiated better terms because they understood the leverage points, walked away from deals that would have damaged their business, or moved forward with full clarity on the risk and a plan for managing it. Those owners don't make fewer deals. They make better ones.
$2,500 is the cost of this analysis. The cost of a bad deal is six figures minimum — and sometimes it's the business itself. The math isn't complicated.
What This Is Not
This is not legal review of contracts or agreements. I analyze the financial structure and risk — your attorney handles the legal terms.
This is not a formal appraisal or certified valuation. If you need a valuation of the business you're acquiring, the Owner's Valuation Insight Report is a separate engagement.
This is not a negotiation service. I provide the financial analysis that informs your negotiation — what to push on, where you have leverage, and what terms to protect. How you use that at the table is up to you.
Engagement Terms
Payment of $2,500 is required before any work begins.
You provide all relevant deal documents, your current business financial statements, and the proposed terms through a secure intake form.
The deliverable is a Written Deal Analysis Memo plus one 30-minute follow-up call.
Your memo is delivered within 10 business days of receiving complete documents.
Scope is limited to the deal as presented. Material changes to the deal structure or terms require a separate engagement.
All sales are final. You're paying for professional financial analysis, which is delivered in full.
How It Works
Step 1: Complete your payment on this page.
Step 2: You receive a secure intake form. Upload the proposed deal terms, any financial documents from the other party, and your current business tax returns and financial statements.
Step 3: I analyze the deal from the perspective of a lender, underwriter, and M&A advisor — structure, cash flow impact, debt service, stress-test scenarios, bankability, and total financial exposure.
Step 4: Your Written Deal Analysis Memo is delivered to your email within 10 business days of receiving complete documents.
Step 5: We get on the phone for a 30-minute follow-up call to walk through the findings and discuss the deal's risk profile.
Who You're Working With
I'm Charles M. Barr, founder and CEO of LVRG Business Funding. I've spent 20+ years analyzing deals — not from the sidelines, but from the seats where the financial decisions get made. As a lender, I decided which deals got funded. As an underwriter, I determined whether the numbers held up. As an M&A advisor, I've analyzed hundreds of transactions and advised owners on both sides of the table.
I've seen deals that built generational wealth and deals that bankrupted otherwise healthy businesses. The difference is almost always the same: the structure, the debt load, the downside analysis, and whether anyone involved had the financial expertise and the independence to tell the buyer the truth.
The people selling you the deal are not incentivized to do that. I am.
Disclaimer: This engagement does not constitute legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, or a certified appraisal. The Deal Analysis Memo reflects the professional judgment of the analyst based on documents and information provided by the client and experience in commercial finance, underwriting, and M&A advisory. No guarantee of specific deal outcomes, transaction results, or financing approvals is made or implied. This is a single engagement — not an ongoing advisory relationship, retainer, or open-ended commitment. Payment is required before work begins. All sales are final.