Direct sources. Clear status. Practical public information.
Reviewed November 11, 2026 · general U.S. business planning.
The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends organizing expenses into one-time and monthly costs and accounting for at least one year of monthly expenses. A buyer also needs timing and working-capital assumptions kept visible.
Three buckets
| Bucket | Examples to verify | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| One-time | Professional review, transfer, repairs, technology conversion, training, deposits. | Quote/contract basis, owner, due date, inclusions, exclusions. |
| Monthly | Rent, payroll, utilities, software, insurance, maintenance, marketing. | Current bill/quote, frequency, escalation, term, cancellation. |
| Timing / working capital | Inventory cycle, receivable delay, payroll timing, seasonality, contingency. | Period, cash-timing assumption, low/base/high case, stop point. |
Transparent first-year screen
Known one-time costs + (12 × verified monthly costs) + timed variable/cushion assumptions. Keep seller-provided, third-party-verified, buyer-estimated, disputed, and unknown inputs separate. Unknown is not zero.
Reader action
- Give every input a source, date, owner, and evidence state.
- Separate cash timing from accounting or tax treatment.
- Run low/base/high cases and name the decision threshold.
- Stop before commitment until responsible legal, accounting, tax, insurance, financing, and operational reviewers assess the actual records.
This is not a valuation, tax basis, financing decision, liquidity certification, or return forecast.
Foundation and source
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