Industry Insights for Business Owners

“How much of your revenue is pass-through media vs real agency fees?”

Marketing

“Where does your data come from, and what rights do you actually have?”

Marketing

“For every major data source, what’s the permission that allows training and ongoing use?”

Software

“What’s the real client run-off after a partner exits?”

Finance

“Can you break revenue down by platform, program, and part family?”

Industrial

“Will the approvals survive a change of ownership, or do we need a reissue?”

Transportation

“Can the liquor license transfer, and what’s the timeline?”

Food & Hospitality

“Are your POS margins real after promos, comps, and shrink?”

Consumer & Retail

“Can clients stay if the founder stops being the face?”

Marketing

“Can I take over the lease without a fight, and what happens to rent next?”

Consumer & Retail

“What exactly are you selling: a license, facilities, or just a brand and contracts?”

Media

“Where does your gross profit actually come from, by customer, by lane, by mode?”

Transportation

“Can your permits and EHS program support the buyer’s plan?”

Industrial

“Can you show clean financials that tie out to jobs, payroll, and bank deposits?”

Home & Facility

“Where does gross margin actually come from: cloud spend control or labor?”

IT & Security

“What counts as ARR in your reporting, and can you tie it back to your billing system?”

Software

“Show me your WIP schedule. Where have margins moved, and why?”

Construction

“What’s really driving gross margin, and where does it leak?”

Consumer & Retail

“Do your projects make money by design—or by luck?”

Professional

“What are your real SKU-level margins after ads, fees, and returns?”

Consumer & Retail

“Which acres are owned versus leased, how long do leases run, and whether they can transfer after a change in control?”

Agriculture

“What part of the CRM stack do you actually own?”

Marketing

“Which customers rely on you for 24/7 coverage, and what are the service promises?”

IT & Security

“Which contracts require novation or customer consent, and what does that do to the close timeline?”

Government

“Can you walk through last month’s production to collections?”

Healthcare

“Can you show clean financials and where profit is actually coming from?”

Marketing

“Are your revenue numbers real, or are they one dashboard screenshot away from changing?”

Media

“Can you pass a hospital or state vendor security review without heroics?”

Software

“Can you show contribution margin by channel and SKU, not just gross margin?”

Consumer & Retail

“Who can pull permits the week after closing?”

Home & Facility

“Can you show clean financials and reconcile EBITDA to what really happened in the field (storm costs, riders/trackers, and true pass-throughs)?”

Utilities

“Can you explain margin the way the shop floor experiences it, from quote to ship, including rework, scrap, expedites, and RMAs?”

Industrial

“Who can be in responsible charge after close—by state and discipline?”

Professional

“How much of your 'revenue' is pass-through, and what’s the real gross profit?”

Food & Hospitality

“How much of your inventory is future revenue vs. future markdowns?”

Consumer & Retail

““Show me the money flow.” Where do you sit in the flow of funds, and what do you actually touch?”

Finance

“What licenses, tags, permits, or registrations does the operation rely on, and whose name are they in—and can they transfer on a change of ownership?”

Agriculture

“Can you show clean books and explain what’s real profit versus deposits and pass-through items?”

Food & Hospitality

“How does cash actually move through the business in a normal month, and where does it get tight?”

Agriculture

“Who actually owns the game code, art, audio, and tools?”

Media

“Can you prove your earnings are real after maintenance capex, downtime, and owner add-backs?”

Industrial

“Can the business legally operate and pull permits without you?”

Home & Facility

“How accurate is your WIP, and who signs off on percent complete?”

Construction

“Can you walk me through your numbers in a way that matches how the business actually runs across the academic year?”

Education

“Can you show clean financials for a normal year, plus what was a one-off boom year vs. what’s repeatable?”

Consumer & Retail

“If a buyer changes ownership, what happens to licensure, accreditation, and what you can legally operate on Day 1?”

Healthcare

“How does the property perform on the scoreboard: occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR—and how do you compare to the comp set?”

Food & Hospitality

“Are you an HR advisor, a staffing shop, or a PEO (Professional Employer Organization) in disguise?”

Professional

“Can you break out services margin vs. pass-through tools, licenses, cloud spend, and reimbursables?”

IT & Security

“How do you define retention (policies, households, or commission dollars), and can you show it by line and carrier?”

Finance

“How will clients legally and practically move after close?”

Finance

“Can you break down revenue and believable margins by job type: startups, winterizations, repairs, upgrades, and installs (even if job costing isn’t perfect)?”

Agriculture

“How does cash move in this business: deposits, change orders, and slow-paying customers?”

Agriculture

“Can you show clean financials with believable add-backs and can a lender underwrite this?”

Home & Facility

“Are we even allowed to buy this the way you’re selling it?”

Professional

“Can the deal legally happen: change-of-control, ownership limits, and program dependencies?”

Finance

“Can you walk me through the last 24 months of performance and financials, and what changed when the numbers moved?”

Agriculture

“Are your job costs trustworthy, or are they “close enough”?”

Industrial

“Can you show me your agreement list, and do the contracts actually survive a change of ownership?”

IT & Security

“Can this product legally be sold the way it’s being marketed?”

Healthcare

“Walk me from sessions delivered to cash in the bank.”

Healthcare

“Can you show clean financials that tie back to what’s happening on the floor?”

Industrial

“Are the reported tonnes accurate, and how long can this site sustain its current production rate?”

Industrial

“Can you show clean financials that tie to bookings and invoices, or is it mostly “we’re always busy”?”

Media

“Where does revenue really come from: sponsors, subscriptions, print, classifieds, events, or services?”

Media

“What does your census look like by day, not just “average occupancy”?”

Healthcare

“Can you map trip volume to collected cash by payer, and explain add-backs like an operator (not just a spreadsheet)?”

Transportation

“Do your numbers tie out, and can you show clean financials without hand-waving?”

Consumer & Retail

“Can you walk me through the financials in a way that matches how the business actually runs, like capacity, pricing, and what staffing would cost without you?”

Consumer & Retail

“What exactly are you selling: an asset, a platform, or a regulated operation?”

Healthcare

“Can you show clean financials that explain where profit actually comes from: labor, hardware, or service plans?”

IT & Security

“Can you legally operate the day after closing?”

Home & Facility

“Can the contract actually transfer, and what’s the carrier approval path?”

Transportation

“Can you walk me from “MWh produced” to “cash received” without hand-waving?”

Utilities

“Do you run trust accounting like a grown-up?”

Real Estate

“How much of next year’s revenue is a continuation vs. a new competition?”

Government

“Can you tie every revenue line to clean books and real contracts or invoices?”

Media

“How many agents are truly active, and how much volume comes from the top 10–25 agents?”

Real Estate

“Can we keep operating through the license and compliance transition?”

Finance

“Can you walk me through the financials in a way that matches how this business actually runs (deposits, gift cards, seasonality, and refunds)?”

Consumer & Retail

“Can you show profit by job, not by vibe?”

Construction

“Can you show sales from the POS all the way to the bank?”

Food & Hospitality

“Walk me from POS sales to cash in the bank.”

Consumer & Retail

“How exposed are you to POS, payments, and platform shifts?”

Consumer & Retail

“What actually causes churn in your product?”

Marketing

“Can you show clean financials that match how districts buy and pay (month-by-month, not just an annual P&L)?”

Education

“Can the buyer legally and practically keep doing the work on day one, and which licenses matter in each jurisdiction?”

IT & Security

“Walk me through your billing cycle from service delivery to payment.”

Government

“Are your margins real, or are you winning work by under-scoping it?”

Software

“Can you prove your margins by job, including change orders and callbacks?”

Construction

“Can you prove margin by lane, customer, and mode (not just a blended gross profit number)?”

Transportation

“Is your revenue tied to a carrier program, a prime, or your own customer relationships?”

IT & Security

“Are your margins real after chargebacks, returns, and “below the line” costs?”

Industrial

“Can you walk me through the numbers the way an operator would: what you make per trip, how deposits and refunds flow, and what margins look like after commissions?”

Food & Hospitality

“How do payments work for each segment, and how much revenue is prepaid but not yet delivered?”

Education

“Do you actually own what you’re selling the client?”

Media

“Can the school legally keep operating after a change in ownership?”

Education

“Can you walk me from what happens on the floor to what shows up on the invoice—and then to the bank statement?”

Industrial

“Can you show me how the business makes money after disposal, fuel, labor, and overtime, with real backup?”

Utilities

“Who controls your rates, and when is the next rate case or rate adjustment?”

Utilities

“How do you stop scope creep from eating your profit on fixed-fee work?”

Marketing