Acquisition due diligence, for regular buyers
Know what you're really buying before you sign.
Every year thousands of healthy small businesses close simply because the owner retires without a successor. OpenBook helps first-time buyers catch financial and contractual red flags in minutes — without a full team of M&A lawyers.
Sample verdict
- • Client concentration: top 2 = 55% of revenue
- • Priced at 3.0x SDE — above 2.0-2.8x range
- • Owner handles all client relationships
How it works
Three steps between you and a smarter offer.
Enter the numbers
Asking price, three years of revenue, SDE, client mix, lease and contract structure. Two minutes.
Get your Red Flag Score
A single score out of 100 with a traffic-light verdict, plus every triggered flag explained in plain English.
Ask the right questions
Auto-generated seller questions tailored to your specific flags. Walk into the meeting prepared.
Worked examples
Three real-world evaluations. Click any card to open the full report.
Sunrise Commercial Cleaning Co.
Janitorial services · 12 employees · single owner-operator
Open full report
Harbor Heating & Air
Residential HVAC · 18 employees · 3 site managers
Open full report
Millbrook Diner
Family diner · 14 employees · declining lunch traffic
Open full reportWhy this matters
A generation of owners is retiring. Their businesses shouldn't die with them.
A silver tsunami of small-business owners are looking for a successor. Most deals fall through because the buyer can't afford a full M&A team to verify the numbers. OpenBook fixes that.
US business owners retiring per week without a successor
of small-biz acquisitions fail within 5 years — most from due-diligence gaps
categories of red flag OpenBook auto-checks in under 2 minutes
Pricing
Start free. Pay when it's worth it.
StandardBook
Unlimited reports. AI seller questions. PDF export. Compare 3 deals.
Choose StandardBookPoemBook
Everything above + unlimited compare, AI narrative, copilot chat, white-label.
Choose PoemBookMethodology
Built on the same benchmarks private equity buyers use.
Every score starts at 100. We deduct points against six standard acquisition risks: client concentration, revenue trend, SDE multiple vs category norms, lease exposure, contract structure, and owner dependency.
| Laundromats | 2.0 – 3.0x |
| Independent restaurants | 1.5 – 2.5x |
| Home services (HVAC / plumbing / electrical) | 2.5 – 3.5x |
| E-commerce / DTC | 2.5 – 4.0x |
| Professional services | 2.0 – 3.0x |
| Cleaning / facilities | 2.0 – 2.8x |
| Auto repair | 2.0 – 3.0x |
| Small manufacturing | 3.0 – 4.5x |
| Salons / spas | 2.0 – 2.8x |
Ready to check a real deal?
Free, instant, no login. Walk out with a score and the exact questions to bring back to the seller.