Should you buy this business? Find out in 60 seconds.
Paste a listing or enter the numbers. We'll calculate your SBA financing, DSCR, owner cash flow, and score it against 5 criteria that are 2x stricter than what banks require. Used by business buyers across 30+ industries on 3 continents.
Enter the asking price and cash flow,
then hit Analyze This Deal.
Your Bulletproof Score and full
deal breakdown will appear here.
Evaluate five key criteria: Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) of 2.0x or higher, a purchase multiple at or below 3x seller's discretionary earnings (SDE), annual owner cash flow of $100,000 or more, at least 3 months of working capital reserves, and the ability to survive a 20% revenue drop. Conservative buyers use criteria that are 2x stricter than what banks require — which is exactly what this calculator scores against.
SBA lenders typically require a minimum DSCR of 1.25x, meaning the business generates 1.25 times what's needed to cover loan payments. However, a 1.25x DSCR leaves almost no margin for error. Conservative acquisition professionals target 2.0x to 2.5x — enough to weather downturns, seasonal dips, and the learning curve of new ownership.
Using the standard 80/10/10 SBA acquisition structure, you'll need approximately 10% of the purchase price as a down payment, plus closing costs (typically 3% of the price), plus 3 months of working capital reserves. For an $800,000 business, that's roughly $80K down + $24K closing + $50-75K working capital = $155,000-$180,000 in total cash at closing. This calculator breaks down these numbers exactly for any deal.
A safe purchase multiple is 2.5x to 3.0x the seller's discretionary earnings (SDE). Industry averages range from 2.5x to 4x depending on the sector. Paying above 3.5x significantly increases your financial risk and reduces your cash flow margin after debt service. Our calculator flags any deal above 3x as a caution and above 4x as a fail.
The 80/10/10 structure means 80% of the purchase price is financed through an SBA 7(a) loan, 10% through a seller financing note, and 10% is your down payment. The seller note is critical — it's your insurance policy. If the seller misrepresented the business, you have leverage because they still have money on the table. The business pays its own debt from day one, and you own 100% of the equity.
Apply a 20% reduction to the business's cash flow and recalculate whether it can still cover all debt obligations. If the stressed DSCR drops below 1.0x, the business cannot survive a meaningful downturn — meaning you'd be unable to make loan payments if revenue declines. This calculator automatically runs this stress test on every deal you analyze.
The Bulletproof Deal Analyzer is a free business acquisition calculator built for serious buyers evaluating deals through SBA financing. Unlike basic loan calculators that only show payment amounts, this tool scores every deal against five proprietary safety criteria — DSCR, purchase multiple, owner cash flow, working capital reserves, and stress test survivability — that are 2x stricter than standard bank minimums.
The calculator supports the 80/10/10 deal structure (80% SBA loan, 10% seller financing, 10% buyer down payment), includes industry benchmark data across 30 sectors, and provides a comprehensive financing breakdown including SBA guaranty fees, monthly and annual payments, cash-on-cash return, and payback period.
Built by BizBuyEmpire, this tool is used by business buyers across the United States to evaluate acquisition opportunities before committing capital. Run unlimited analyses — free, no account required.