About AcquireCalc

AcquireCalc is a free, browser-based toolkit for anyone exploring the purchase of a small or mid-sized business — first-time buyers, serial acquirers, brokers, and sellers who want to understand how buyers will model their company.

What the tool does

Our flagship deal stack calculator models the full structure of an acquisition in one screen: valuation against industry multiples, funding drawn from the business's own assets, seller financing, earnouts, debt assumption, and equity partners. The output is the number that actually matters — the cash you personally need at closing.

Most buyer spreadsheets answer only one question: "What is the purchase price?" AcquireCalc is built around the next set of questions that determine whether a deal can actually close: How much of the price can be seller-financed? Which assets can support financing or a sale-leaseback? What debt stays with the company? How much working capital remains after closing? Does the modeled payment leave enough room for operations, taxes, repairs, and a buyer salary?

The supporting calculators and guides are written for the same workflow. The SDE / EBITDA calculator helps normalize earnings before valuation. The SBA loan calculator helps pressure-test payment and debt-service capacity. The glossary explains deal terms in plain English so buyers can connect legal documents, lender language, and broker listings back to the economics of the transaction.

Editorial approach

AcquireCalc focuses on practical acquisition analysis rather than broad finance theory. Every page is written to answer a buyer's next decision: what number to enter, what document to request, what risk to discount, or what term to negotiate. We prioritize concrete examples, plain-language definitions, and deal-modeling context over generic summaries.

When a page discusses valuation multiples, seller financing, SBA debt, earnouts, working capital, or diligence, it explains how that topic affects cash at closing and post-close risk. That is the site's central editorial standard: a useful page should help a reader make a more informed acquisition decision, not just define a term.

How we maintain the calculators

The calculators run directly in the browser so the formulas are inspectable and the page remains usable without an account. We update copy and assumptions when common lending terms, SBA guidance, market multiples, or buyer workflows change. Because every deal is different, the calculators intentionally expose the key assumptions rather than hiding them behind a black-box score.

Outputs should be treated as a diligence aid. They can help a buyer ask better questions, compare structures, and identify red flags, but they do not replace an attorney, CPA, lender, or transaction advisor. The most important work still happens in source documents: tax returns, bank statements, payroll reports, customer contracts, leases, lien searches, and purchase agreements.

Privacy by design

Every calculation runs locally in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded, stored, or shared — there are no accounts, no databases, and no tracking of your deal data. Refresh the page and it's gone.

How the site is funded

AcquireCalc is supported by display advertising, which keeps the tools free for everyone. Ads are clearly marked and never influence the calculator's math or the editorial content of our guides.

Advertising does not change the order of guides, valuation ranges, calculator outputs, or recommendations. The site does not sell leads to brokers, lenders, or advisors. If a page links to an outside source, it is because that source helps document a concept, market range, or official program requirement.

About the author

A note on advice

We publish educational tools and content, not advice. Business acquisitions involve legal, tax, and financial complexity that no calculator can capture — always engage a qualified attorney, CPA, and where appropriate an M&A advisor before signing anything.

Contact

Questions, corrections, or suggestions? Email [email protected].

Why This Matters for Buyers

Small-business acquisitions are often evaluated with incomplete information. A buyer may receive a listing summary, a seller-adjusted cash-flow number, and a few optimistic explanations before being asked to submit an LOI. AcquireCalc exists to slow that process down just enough to make the important assumptions visible.

The site is most useful when it helps a buyer identify the next document to request or the next term to negotiate. If a calculator output changes materially after one assumption is revised, that assumption deserves diligence. If a guide identifies a risk that cannot be priced or protected contractually, the buyer should understand that before spending money on legal and lender work.

That is why the content emphasizes buyer workflow: normalize earnings first, test valuation second, model financing third, and only then decide which terms belong in the LOI. The calculators are meant to make those steps repeatable across different industries and deal sizes.