For SBA & business acquisition lenders

Know what you're lending against.

Valuation + Quality of Earnings, built for SBA acquisitions.

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01SBA-ready

Valuation + QoE built for SBA acquisition lending

02NACVA-certified expertise

Credentialed business valuation professionals

03PDF + API

Lender-ready reports and structured data delivery

$172M+

Business value analyzed

Private businesses analyzed

$97M

Lending exposure represented

Valuation + QoE

Built for acquisition underwriting

SBA SOP 50 10 8.1

Acquisition diligence just changed.

SBA's updated change-of-ownership framework places greater emphasis on documented historical earnings, transaction-specific acquisition analysis, and Quality of Earnings for qualifying transactions.

Quality of Earnings

Independent QoE is now part of the diligence framework for qualifying acquisition and expansion transactions.

Historical earnings

Normalization and support for historical cash flow matter.

Defensible evidence

The lender needs a clear record of the information and analysis relied on in underwriting.

Read the 1-Page SBA 8.1 Lender Brief

Lenders should rely on the applicable SBA SOP and notices for transaction-specific requirements.

Lender field guide

Meet the QoE

What SBA acquisition lenders should know about Quality of Earnings.

Download the guide →

Quality of Earnings

Know which add-backs actually hold up.

Chief starts with reported earnings, traces adjustments to source evidence, tests what's supportable, and gives the lender a normalized earnings base for valuation and credit analysis.

01Start with reported earnings
Start with what the financials say.
- Bring the borrower financials together
- Reconcile reported earnings
- Establish the starting point for analysis
02Test the adjustments
See which addbacks hold up.
- Review owner and one-time expenses
- Trace adjustments back to supporting evidence
- Separate supported adjustments from questionable ones
03See normalized cash flow
See what the business can actually support.
- Arrive at normalized earnings
- See the impact of accepted adjustments
- Carry the result into valuation and credit analysis

QUALITY OF EARNINGS

Harbor Manufacturing Co.

Industry: Metal fabrication
TTM revenue: $9.4M
Periods: FY24 · FY25 · TTM

TTM revenue

$9.4M

Reported EBITDA

$615K

EBITDA margin

6.5%

Operating cash flow

$538K

Historical performance	FY 2024	FY 2025	TTM Jul 2026
RevenueTax return · P&L	$8.1M	$8.9M	$9.4M
Gross profitP&L	$2.44M	$2.58M	$2.63M
Operating incomeP&L	$496K	$470K	$441K
EBITDAP&L · GL	$688K	$652K	$615K
Net incomeTax return	$362K	$331K	$298K

REPORTED EBITDA · STARTING POINT

$615K

Reconciled to the FY 2025 tax return and TTM interim statements.

ADJUSTMENT REVIEW · TTM JUL 2026

Reported EBITDA $615K

Owner compensationOwner-related · 2025 general ledger	SUPPORTED	+$120K
One-time legal expenseNon-recurring · Legal invoices	SUPPORTED	+$45K
Related-party rentRelated party · Lease agreement	SUPPORTED	+$35K
Non-recurring revenueRevenue quality · Sales ledger	SUPPORTED	−$22K
Vehicle expenseOwner-related · Bank statements	PARTIALLY SUPPORTED	+$18K
“Growth investment”Proposed addback · Management explanation	EXCLUDED	+$0K

EVIDENCE

Owner compensation

Borrower proposed: +$120K
Chief supported: +$120K
Status: SUPPORTED
Period: TTM Jul 2026

SOURCE

2025 general ledgerPayroll detailTax return

ANALYST NOTE

Seller salary above the cost of a market-rate replacement GM.

Market replacement cost documented. Full amount supported.

Every adjustment is reviewed against source documents before it counts.

REPORTED EBITDA

$615K

SUPPORTED ADJUSTMENTS

+$196K

NORMALIZED EBITDA

$811K

EBITDA BRIDGE

Every adjustment changes the picture.

NORMALIZED CASH FLOW

Normalized EBITDA

$811K

Annual debt service

$605K

DSCR

1.34x

Debt / EBITDA

4.4x

Valuation earnings base $811K · indicated value $4.78M at 5.9x

Tax returnsInterim statementsP&LBalance sheetGeneral ledgerPayrollBank statementsDeal documents

NORMALIZED EBITDA

$811K

VALUATION INPUT

$811K

Valuation

Does the purchase price hold up?

Chief connects normalized earnings to a defensible valuation conclusion so the lender can see how performance, purchase price, financing structure, and value relate.

01Find the real earnings
Start with what the business really earns.
- Bring the financials together
- Find one-time and owner-related expenses
- Turn reported earnings into normalized earnings
02See what it's worth
See what the business is worth.
- Use more than one valuation method
- See the range, not just a single number
- Understand what supports the conclusion
03Test the purchase price
See whether the price holds up.
- Compare purchase price to concluded value
- See how the deal is financed
- Check coverage on normalized earnings

BUSINESS VALUATION

Harbor Manufacturing Co.

Industry: Metal fabrication
TTM revenue: $9.4M

REPORTED EBITDA

$615K

ADJUSTED EBITDA

$0K

$615K + $0K normalization adjustments

NORMALIZATION ADJUSTMENTS

Owner compensation	+$120K
One-time legal expense	+$45K
Related-party rent	+$35K
Non-recurring revenue	−$22K
Vehicle expense (partial)	+$18K
“Growth investment” (excluded)	+$0K
Total adjustments	+$0K

Reported $615KNormalized $615K

NORMALIZED EARNINGS DISTRIBUTION

Reported$615K

Adjusted$615K

$520KHover the curve$920K

VALUATION METHODS

Income approachDiscounted cash flow$4.7M
Market approachGuideline public companies$5.0M
Comps approach17 private transactions$4.8M

ESTIMATED BUSINESS VALUE

···

Enterprise value · Normalized EBITDA $811K × 5.9x

Valuation range$4.5M – $5.2M · Estimated Enterprise Value: $4.8M

Income$4.70M · Discounted cash flow

Market$5.00M · Guideline public companies

Comps$4.80M · 17 private transactions

$4.20MHover the curve$5.50M

PURCHASE PRICE

$5.1M

CONCLUDED VALUE

$4.8M

Price is 6.3% above concluded value

Inside the $4.5M to $5.2M range, near the top.

SOURCES OF FUNDS

Senior loan$3.6M
Seller note$580K
Buyer equity injection$920K
DSCR on $811K normalized···

Annual debt service $605K. Total sources $5.1M = purchase price.

QuickBooksTax returnsFinancial statementsBankingDeal documents

What the lender gets

One acquisition file. One defensible baseline.

Chief organizes the original credit thesis into a structured record, not a stack of attachments.

As underwritten

Harbor Manufacturing Co.

Historical financials01
Normalized earnings02
Valuation03
QoE adjustments04
Buyer profile05
Purchase price06
Sources & uses07
Equity injection08
Seller financing09
Debt service coverage10
Working capital11
Key risks12
Source evidence13

The bridge

Bring the credit analysis to life. Grow deposits. Give the banker a reason to call.

Most valuation and QoE work ends as a PDF that nobody opens again. Chief keeps what the bank knew at approval, then keeps watching after close. When a business changes, the banker sees it with the original numbers right beside it.

At underwriting

Historical financials
Normalized earnings
Valuation
Transaction structure
Buyer profile
Original risks
Approved DSCR
Supporting evidence

After close

Current financials
Actual cash flow
Updated DSCR
Material changes
Variance from original assumptions
Source evidence

As underwritten

Locked at approval

$811K

Normalized EBITDA

$4.8M

Business value

1.34x

DSCR

The original thesis, adjustments and evidence, preserved as approved.

The same intelligence helps the bank act early, meet SBA servicing and liquidation requirements, and win new business.

Catch problems early

Know when a business has moved away from what was underwritten. Problems are much cheaper to fix in year one than year four, and the evidence is already in the file.

Revenue decline
Margin compression
DSCR deterioration
Customer concentration
Working-capital pressure
New debt

Find the next opportunity

Know when a business is growing, hiring, buying equipment, adding locations, or planning another acquisition. Each of those is a deposit, a loan, or a service the bank can win.

Revenue growth
AR growth
Cash accumulation
Payroll growth
Equipment purchases
New locations
Additional acquisitions

Email alert · Illustrative example

From: Chief Intelligence

To: BDO, Business Banking

Subject: Harbor Manufacturing has grown since close

Harbor Manufacturing closed in March 2025 on a $3.6M SBA 7(a) loan. Post-close financials now show revenue and cash balances up since the deal closed. The underwriting baseline is on file, so this compares against the same numbers used at close. Cash building like this may point to a treasury management conversation.

Source: post-close financials · Living Credit Record on file

Text message · Illustrative example

Chief Intelligence

Today 9:14 AM

Morning note on Harbor Manufacturing. The $3.6M SBA deal we closed in March.

Revenue and cash are up since close, and the underwriting baseline is on file. Cash building like this may point to a treasury need.

Delivered

Thanks. I'll reach out to them this week.

The banker decides whether to reach out.

No flood of alerts. A banker with 300 business clients gets one message about one business, and only when something important has changed.

Works with your process

Start with the file you're already working on.

Chief adds intelligence without asking the lender to replace anything it already runs. One analysis comes back two ways: the PDF for the credit file, and structured data when the institution is ready for it.

No LOS replacement required.

No core write access required.

No automated credit decision.

No requirement to change valuation providers.

Bring your own valuation or QoE

Existing third-party valuation, QoE, credit memo, financial statements, projections, and transaction documents can be used to establish the original underwriting baseline.

Lenders don't have to change valuation providers to use Chief.

Activate an Existing Loan

Who uses Chief

Built for the people responsible for an acquisition loan.

Head of SBA

Standardize acquisition diligence while keeping production moving.

Credit

See normalized earnings, valuation conclusions, assumptions, and supporting evidence.

BDO / Relationship manager

Win the acquisition loan with clearer diligence, then keep visibility into changes that may create the next relationship opportunity.

Portfolio / Special assets

Retain the original underwriting thesis when the loan moves beyond origination.

Innovation / Strategy

Add a high-value intelligence layer without beginning with a core-system replacement.

Start small

Start with one file.

01
Send the acquisition file
- Financial statements
- Tax returns
- Purchase agreement
- Existing valuation/QoE if applicable
02
Chief builds the analysis
- Normalized earnings
- Valuation
- QoE
- Source-linked findings
03
The lender gets a defensible baseline
- Analysis ready for underwriting
- Preserved for future comparison

Start a File Talk to Chief About Lender Onboarding

After closing

Every later review starts from the same baseline.

The lender underwrites the deal, Chief records what the numbers said at closing, and every later period is measured against that record. When something moves, the lender sees whether it creates risk or an opening to grow the relationship.

Underwrite

Valuation and quality of earnings on the deal, before the loan is approved.

Establish the baseline

The report becomes the Living Credit Record, a record of what the numbers said when the loan closed.

See what changes

Later periods are compared to the baseline from the borrower's own data. Chief surfaces both early risk signals and relationship-growth opportunities. The lender decides what action, if any, to take.