What supporting documents go with a sell-side quality of earnings report?
The supporting documents that go with a sell-side quality of earnings report are the narrative PDF plus a live Excel databook: monthly trial-balance and general-ledger exports, not PDFs; revenue by customer; one support file per add-back; AR and AP aging; a working-capital build; and fixed assets.
Analysis and raw exports live in separate folders. Have counsel review. This page is not a template.
Sell-side QoE supporting packet (definition). The narrative PDF plus a live Excel databook.
Monthly trial balances and general-ledger exports as spreadsheets, not PDFs. One support file per add-back.
Analysis and raw exports in separate folders. A PDF dump of the books is not this packet.
The packet, sourced, not a vendor list
BD Emerson’s quality of earnings page (retrieved 2026-10-02) says the deliverable is a written report with an Excel databook behind it: monthly adjusted EBITDA, the adjustment schedule with support, net working capital, net debt, and customer detail. Proof of cash comes first. Each adjustment carries an amount, a support reference, a recurring or non-recurring flag, and a read on whether the other side will accept it. CLA’s sell-side quality of earnings note (Craig Arends, retrieved 2026-10-02) puts three to five years of financial statements, tax returns, customer lists, contracts, and supporting schedules for all proposed EBITDA adjustments in the room before the LOI. A Neumann & Associates’ add-backs buyers accept (Karin Neumann, 27 May 2026, retrieved 2026-10-02) says the QoE analyst will request bank statements, invoices and payroll records to reconstruct each add-back. How to share the report itself is how to share a quality of earnings report with a buyer. How to answer the questions it raises is how to answer buyer questions about a quality of earnings report.
| Put this | Why it is in the packet | Where the norm is written |
|---|---|---|
| Narrative PDF plus a live Excel databook | The report the buyer reads, and the numbers the buyer's firm tests. | BD Emerson: written report with an Excel databook |
| Monthly trial-balance and general-ledger exports, as spreadsheets | A GL or TB as a PDF is a fail. The buyer's firm has to test the books. | BD Emerson: trial balances, general ledger detail |
| Revenue by customer | Concentration, retention, and whether the earnings stay. | BD Emerson: customer and revenue concentration |
| One support file per add-back | Each line needs an invoice, payroll file or bank line. | A Neumann & Associates, May 2026: bank statements, invoices, payroll |
| AR and AP aging | Whether the working-capital picture is ordinary. | CLA: working capital anomalies |
| Working-capital build and the peg | The twelve-month ordinary level that lands in the purchase agreement. | BD Emerson: net working capital analysis and the peg |
| Fixed assets | What the buyer is actually buying on the floor. | CLA: inventory and asset tracking |
| Proof of cash | Deposits and disbursements tied to the general ledger. | BD Emerson: proof of cash and bank-to-book |
Analysis versus raw exports
Put the firm’s workpapers in one folder and the raw exports in another. Mixing them is how a support file gets lost. A general ledger or trial balance as a PDF is a fail; the databook and the exports go in as spreadsheets. Spreadsheets preview as sheets. The buyer’s own diligence request list controls. Have counsel review the cut. This page is not a template.
| Folder | First-look | After exclusivity | Keep out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report | The narrative PDF, view-only | The same report, still under the firm's letter | A copy emailed as an attachment |
| Databook | Live Excel: monthly adjusted EBITDA, the adjustment schedule, NWC, net debt, customer detail | Updated periods the exclusive bidder has earned | A PDF print of the workbook |
| Raw exports | Monthly TB and GL as spreadsheets | Bank statements the proof of cash ties to | A PDF dump of the books |
| Add-back support | One file per line: invoice, payroll, or bank line | The rest of the support the exclusive bidder requests | Cash or undocumented expenses |
| Working capital | AR and AP aging, the working-capital build | The peg calculation the exclusive bidder tests | A hoped-for peg that is not in the books |
| Analysis | The firm's workpapers, separate from raw exports | Follow-up schedules the exclusive bidder requests | Mixing analysis with raw exports in one folder |
Cashpian does not produce, review or certify a quality of earnings report. See What is Cashpian?, and pricing.
FAQ
Why not put the trial balance in as a PDF?
A general ledger or trial balance as a PDF is a fail.
The databook and the exports go in as spreadsheets so the buyer's firm can test them.
Spreadsheets preview as sheets.
What is the databook?
BD Emerson (retrieved 2 October 2026): a written report with an Excel databook: monthly adjusted EBITDA, the adjustment schedule with support, net working capital, net debt, and customer detail.
Who decides the final support list?
The buyer's own diligence request list.
BD Emerson and CLA publish what a QoE tests, not a file count.
Have counsel review. This page is not a template.
Where do analysis files sit versus raw exports?
In separate folders.
Analysis is the firm's workpapers.
Raw exports are the books.
Mixing them is how a support file gets lost.
Sources
- BD Emerson, Quality of Earnings, retrieved 2026-10-02. Written report with an Excel databook. Monthly adjusted EBITDA. Adjustment schedule with support. Net working capital. Net debt. Customer detail. Proof of cash first. Trial balances and general ledger detail as data, not a PDF dump.
- CLA, Craig Arends, How a sell-side quality of earnings can help close a business sale, retrieved 2026-10-02. Three to five years of financials, tax returns, customer lists, contracts, and supporting schedules for all proposed EBITDA adjustments. Consult advisors.
- A Neumann & Associates, Karin Neumann, Add-Backs Buyers Accept (And Those They Don’t), 27 May 2026, retrieved 2026-10-02. Bank statements, invoices and payroll records to reconstruct each add-back. Cash and undocumented expenses are not accepted.
If the files are already in a folder, grade which row they are on. Cashpian is a gated room for that packet. It is not a listing portal. It does not sell the company or run the deal.