►EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1) $40K ACCOUNTING REPORT — OR $4M MISTAKE: You're about to personally guarantee seven figures of debt on a business you don't fully understand. A QoE costs $20K–$40K. Getting it wrong costs you the entire deal — and your financial life. 2) "IT'S ON THE TAXES" IS AMATEUR HOUR: First-timers trust bank statements, financials, and tax returns like they're gospel. They're not. In small business M&A, those three documents can show you three completely different realities — and sellers are getting paid 4x every number they inflate. 3) THE WILD WEST HAS NO SHERIFF: There is zero verifiable reporting standard for small businesses. None. It's not GAAP — it's "cash-ish" and "accrual-ish." Elliott has seen it all, and the only thing standing between you and a catastrophic overpay is a real QoE. 4) TRIANGULATE OR GET TAKEN: Taxes. Bank statements. Financials. Payroll. CRM. Operating system. A real QoE cross-checks all of it until every data source says the same thing. If they don't reconcile, you don't close. Period. 5) EVEN DEACONS LIE AT 4X EBITDA: Elliott's words, not ours. When a seller stands to pocket millions, motivation to embellish is baked in. The only way to know your million-dollar EBITDA is real? A solid quality of earnings. Full stop.