Acquisition criteria · A practical guide for buyers
Define fit before falling for a listing.
Write down the business you can operate—and the evidence you need before going further.
Separate your requirements, preferences, exclusions and unknowns. Build a buyer search brief you can bring to your next conversation.
Suggested working time: 30–45 minutes plus discussion. An untested planning estimate. No account, enrollment or payment required.
01 / Define your search
Four filters.
Four different jobs.
An appealing listing can pull the conversation toward price before you have defined your role. Start with the work you want to do, the responsibilities you can carry, and the constraints you cannot casually change. A search criterion is useful when you can explain why it matters and how you would investigate it.
The SBA’s buying-a-business guidance asks prospective buyers to consider their investment, capabilities and the business they would be taking on. It also points to investigation and professional help. That is background for this exercise—not confirmation that a specific candidate is suitable. Source and limitations.
- Must-have
- A condition you currently consider necessary. Example: you can be present where the business needs leadership. Explain the reason, not just the threshold.
- Preference
- A feature you value but might trade against something else. Example: work scheduled in advance. A preference does not make a missing requirement disappear.
- Exclusion
- A circumstance outside your current search. Example: routine overnight travel you cannot support. Confirm the facts before treating a candidate as excluded.
- Unknown
- A question you cannot yet classify or answer. Give it an evidence request and a follow-up owner. Unknown is not the same as acceptable.
The key distinction: a preference does not make a missing requirement disappear. Unknown is not the same as acceptable.
02 / Look for evidence
A criterion is yours.
A claim needs evidence.
What you need and what a seller says are different things.
Illustrative example · no finding about a company
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Your requirement“I need dependable management coverage.”You define the condition and why it matters.
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The seller’s claim“This company has it.”A description is a starting point for investigation.
Not establishedThe claim still needs investigation.
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The next questionWhat would support or challenge that claim?Request evidence through an authorized process.
Keep your search filter separate from a finding about a particular business.
Read the explanation
“I need dependable management coverage” is a criterion. “This company has it” is a claim that needs evidence. Keep the two separate. A seller’s description, a record you have received and a professional’s assessed finding are different things.
Do not add up preferences into an overall score that hides a decisive gap. If a must-have is not supported, explain the issue and decide what information or discussion is needed before continuing. This tool does not make that decision for you.
03 / Build the brief
Five steps.
One usable search brief.
- Define your role. Describe what you expect to do each week, including the work you cannot currently perform.
- Set the boundaries. Record industry, location and operating characteristics with a reason for each.
- Write the filters. Identify must-haves, preferences, exclusions and unknowns in the criteria builder.
- Name the evidence. Ask what would support or challenge each assumption and how to obtain it appropriately.
- Assign the next action. Put a person and target date against each important question. Revisit the brief as you learn.
04 / Keep the full picture
Price is only
part of the question.
- 01Purchase consideration
- 02Professional & transaction costs
- 03Working capital
- 04Transition needs
- 05Reserves
Keep price and funding questions open
In the worksheet, list purchase consideration, professional/transaction costs, working capital, transition needs and reserves separately. These are planning categories, not a complete transaction model. Do not infer a maximum purchase price from cash on hand or treat an informal financing conversation as a commitment. Ask qualified professionals to assess the facts and alternatives before relying on an affordability conclusion.
Any amounts you enter are your assumptions. This guide supplies no borrowing ratios, valuation multiples, minimum cash requirement or loan-program eligibility rule. Franchises, regulated activities and complex transactions need additional specialized review beyond this introductory scope.
05 / A fictional buyer case
A listing looks promising.
What’s still unknown?
Morgan’s search meets Cedar Route Services
Morgan wants to run a local service business and use prior scheduling and team-management experience. A listing for Cedar Route Services describes steady earnings, repeat customers and a capable second-in-command. The seller says they could stay briefly after a sale.
The business appears to need specialist operating capability that Morgan does not personally have. Morgan does not know whether a credentialed owner or designated operator is required, whether the current specialist would remain, or how much of the work still depends on the seller. Funding needs have not been established.
An appealing feature of the listing.
Required qualifications and staff continuity are unconfirmed.
Work through the tension
- Which parts of the listing match Morgan’s preferences?
- Which statements are still claims rather than established facts?
- What evidence is needed before Morgan can decide whether the operating requirements fit?
What to notice: repeat work is a preference, not a substitute for operating capability. “The seller will help” leaves the responsibilities and evidence unspecified. The qualification question is an unknown needing professional clarification—not proof the acquisition is feasible or impossible.
The completed example records four criteria and twelve planning sections. It leaves the search-fit question unresolved and assigns next actions. All names, dates and circumstances are fictional; no acquisition recommendation or real seller information is included.
06 / See the worked example
A complete record.
Still an open question.
A completed buyer search brief
Notice the difference between Morgan’s filters and information still needed about Cedar Route. The example is complete as a planning record, not as due diligence.
Your buyer search brief
Start with your criteria, then record the broader search context. You can create a partial brief; missing answers remain visibly incomplete. The section-status labels are your notes, not verification by SMBRI.
No submission, account or analytics. Save a draft locally to resume later, or download before leaving. Unsaved changes are lost when you refresh or close. Do not enter confidential seller, staff, customer, tax or banking information.
Your buyer search brief
08 / Bring in the right help
Give each unknown
a next conversation.
This U.S.-oriented educational guide does not establish the requirements for any state, industry or transaction. Get appropriate local and specialist advice before acting.
- Acquisition practice
- Who can help test the search approach, request process and transition assumptions? Ask about relevant experience, fees, conflicts and responsibility.
- Accounting & valuation
- Which records and analysis would support the financial questions? Who is engaged to assess them, and what limitations apply? The search brief itself is not a valuation.
- Business counsel
- What questions arise about confidentiality, operating qualifications, contract rights, permissions and transaction documents? Do not assume a right or license transfers automatically.
- Funding
- Which funding alternatives warrant discussion after the total need is understood? What facts, terms and obligations need review? This tool grants no financing eligibility or approval.
Use an authorized process to request information. A checklist is not permission to access confidential records or contact employees and customers. Record which questions are still unanswered and who is responsible for obtaining advice.
Use the brief.
Then revisit it.
- Download the brief and check that each important criterion has evidence and a next action.
- Discuss the requirements and unknowns with the people involved in your search.
- Set the next review point. Document why a criterion changes; do not silently redefine it to fit a listing.
No CEA credit, course access, financing or professional engagement is included. Existing learner access is unchanged.
Sources, authorship and review
The four-category exercise, buyer case and worksheet are original teaching material. Source checking does not establish effectiveness, endorse a purchase or constitute independent expert validation.