Probity Launches Deal Diligence Software for Small Business Buyers

Small business acquisition due diligence software that verifies the seller's earnings against the tax returns before the buyer makes an offer.

FRANKFORT, IL, UNITED STATES, November 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Probity, deal diligence software for small business buyers and entrepreneurship through acquisition, today launched at https://useprobity.com. Probity deal diligence is the check a buyer runs on the seller's numbers before pricing the letter of intent, starting from the seller's business tax returns.

A broker's confidential information memorandum (CIM) is a sales document. It is written from the seller's figures, nobody audits it, and its add-backs are the seller's own claims. The tax returns are the version the seller signed and filed. Every buyer should run due diligence to learn how far apart the two are, and the sooner the numbers are checked, the less a buyer spends on a deal that was never what the CIM said.

A buyer usually reviews hundreds of listings to find the few worth pursuing, and the seller keeps talking to other buyers. Plenty of good businesses are never listed at all. Probity adds speed and accuracy from the first search through proof of cash by:

- Running a proprietary search for every business in the buyer's area that fits the buy box, listed or not
- Checking each listing against the buy box
- Analyzing the tax returns and the CIM
- Building the monthly forecast
- Proving the cash

Probity verifies the seller's earnings against three years of business tax returns. It calculates seller's discretionary earnings (SDE), the figure brokers use for small businesses in place of EBITDA, from what the returns actually support, shows where that figure and the one in the CIM part ways, and prompts the buyer with questions to ask the seller. That check matters even more for anyone using an SBA loan to buy a business. SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, in effect since October 1, 2026, changed how lenders test earnings on an SBA 7(a) business acquisition loan, including when a quality of earnings report is required.

Each deal gets a data room for documents, a due diligence checklist for buying a business, and Cash Proof, an optional proof of cash analysis that confirms the money in the seller's bank accounts matches the tax returns, with seats for the buyer's CPA, attorney and lender.

"This is the small business acquisition due diligence tool I wish I had," said Rob Novak, founder of Probity, a CFO who closed and operated multiple acquisitions. "The CIM brings the story and the tax returns bring the facts. Probity puts them side by side with the issues and the questions to ask. The buyer moves fast, stays disciplined, and focuses on the decisions that need to be made. This would have saved me a lot of time and money on past deals."

Availability

Probity deal diligence starts free: the first deal costs nothing, with no card required. Paid plans cover buyers sourcing and actively reviewing many deals, firms with several partners on one account, and deeper diligence after the letter of intent, including Cash Proof. Plans are on the Probity pricing page.

About Probity

Probity is deal diligence software for people buying a small business. It finds businesses that fit the buyer's buy box, listed or not, verifies the seller's earnings from the tax returns and gives each deal a data room for documents and advisers. Probity is a product of CrestPoint Ventures LLC, Frankfort, Illinois, founded in 2026. Probity is not a quality of earnings report, not an audit, and not an opinion of value. More at https://useprobity.com/deal-diligence.

Rob Novak
Probity
hello@useprobity.com
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