You have a target you like. The seller is willing to talk but not ready for a full diligence process, and you need enough financial information to submit a credible offer or satisfy a lender before a $25,000 Quality of Earnings (QoE) engagement makes sense. That gap has existed in the lower-middle-market deal process for a long time. Exbo Group's Transaction Services team built a service to close it. 

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Why Pre-LOI Deals Stall on Data

Sellers who aren't ready to open a full data room will often still agree to something lighter. Buyers who aren't ready to commit to a full QoE still need more than a management-prepared spreadsheet. The result is a stretch of the deal process where both sides want organized financials and neither has a good way to get them without over-committing.

Exbo Group's new managed financial data extraction service, powered by Crunchafi Data Extraction, delivers a clean, standardized Excel workbook built directly from the target company's own accounting system.

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How the Process Works

Connect: Exbo sends the seller a secure link. They authorize a read-only connection to their accounting system in under five minutes. There's no software installation, no PBC list, and no data room.

Extract: Crunchafi pulls, normalizes, and structures four years of transaction history: monthly income statements and balance sheets, cash flow, and AR and AP detail, all validated and formatted consistently.

Deliver: Exbo reviews the output, flags anything that warrants a closer look, and delivers the workbook, typically within 48 to 72 hours of seller access being granted.

It's the same model behind every Exbo engagement: AI handles the extraction and structuring, and a member of the Transaction Services team handles the judgment call on what the numbers actually mean.

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Three Tiers, Scoped to Where You Are in the Deal

• Standard: Customer Copy ($2,000–$2,500): Monthly P&L and balance sheet, four years of transaction journals, and AR/AP listings. Best for an early look at the books before committing further.
• Enhanced: Accrual Databook ($3,000–$3,500): Everything in Standard, plus a full cash flow statement, trial balance with reconciliation checks, and a sales journal. Sufficient for most pre-LOI underwriting and SBA lender review.
• Comprehensive: FDD Databook ($4,500–$5,000): The full diligence-ready package: a pre-built QoE template, net working capital report, revenue and expense concentration analysis, AR/AP aging in five cuts, and pre-calculated monthly financial ratios.

Optional add-ons are available on request when scoping an engagement, including a light-touch narrative on revenue recognition and red flags, bank and credit card reconciliation, and proof of cash.

Crunchafi’s data extraction software connects to QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Oracle NetSuite, Xero, Sage Intacct, MYOB, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

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Built for the Lower-Middle-Market Deal Process

• Independent sponsors who need organized financials before issuing an LOI but can't justify a full QoE engagement on a deal that hasn't been committed to yet.
• SBA-financed buyers who need clean, structured financials to satisfy lender underwriting requirements before a loan can be approved.
• Investment bankers running sell-side processes where buyers want organized data before committing to full diligence, and sellers aren't ready to open the full books.
• Private equity firms and family offices with lean deal teams evaluating a target where seller resistance makes pre-LOI diligence difficult.

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About Exbo Group

Exbo Group is a full-deal lifecycle financial advisory firm serving private equity funds, independent sponsors, and growth-stage companies across the lower-middle market. Our Transaction Services practice has supported hundreds of QoE engagements across a range of industries and deal structures, and we've used Crunchafi's extraction technology as part of that workflow for years. This service brings that same capability to buyers and advisors who need organized, credible financial data earlier in the process, at a price point that fits where they are in the deal.

Every engagement is managed by a member of our Transaction Services team. You're not getting a software output; you're getting an Exbo deliverable.

If you have a deal where seller resistance or timing is holding up diligence, that's exactly the situation this service was built for. Reach out to Lauren Hennelly, Vice President of Transaction Services, at lhennelly@exbogroup.com to scope the engagement.

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FAQs

What is pre-LOI financial data extraction?
It's a managed service that pulls structured financial data directly from a target company's accounting system before a Letter of Intent is signed. It gives buyers and lenders credible financials for underwriting or offer decisions without the cost and timeline of a full Quality of Earnings engagement.

How long does the Crunchafi data extraction process take?
|Once the seller authorizes a read-only connection to their accounting system, a step that typically takes under five minutes, Crunchafi extracts and structures the data automatically. Exbo reviews the output for quality, flags anything that warrants a closer look, and delivers the structured financial workbook within 48 to 72 hours.

What accounting systems does Crunchafi support?
Crunchafi connects directly to the accounting or ERP system a target company already uses, including QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Oracle NetSuite, Xero, Sage Intacct, MYOB, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. The connection is read-only and temporary, so no data migration or new software installation is required on the seller's end.

How much does pre-LOI financial data extraction cost?
Pricing depends on scope. A basic Customer Copy databook starts around $2,000, an Enhanced Accrual Databook with cash flow and reconciliation checks runs $3,000 to $3,500, and a Comprehensive FDD Databook built for full diligence readiness runs $4,500 to $5,000. Optional add-ons, such as reconciliation or a red-flag narrative, are scoped separately.

Is this the same as a Quality of Earnings report?
No. Pre-LOI financial data extraction is a structured data organization service, not an audit, review, or Quality of Earnings report, and it doesn't offer the same level of analysis or assurance. It's designed to give deal teams credible, organized financials earlier in the process, before a full QoE engagement is warranted.