Clearly Acquired Blog

Expert insights, funding strategies, and practical guidance for securing capital, financing growth, and navigating business acquisitions. Whether you're raising capital for expansion, restructuring debt, or exploring your first acquisition, our blog provides the knowledge and resources to help you succeed.

Growth
June 16, 2025

How to Use Working Capital Loans to Fund Growth After Buying a Business

Working capital loans provide newly acquired businesses with the short-term liquidity needed to cover essential expenses like payroll, rent, and inventory. These loans are especially valuable post-acquisition when cash reserves are often low, helping owners manage operations smoothly and fund early growth without disrupting momentum. With fast approvals and flexible use, they offer critical breathing room to stabilize and scale.

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Growth
June 13, 2025

5 Ways to Maximize Your Business Line of Credit (Without Risking a Cash Crunch)

A business line of credit can be a powerful financial tool—if used wisely. To avoid a cash crunch, stay disciplined: monitor usage closely, time your draws around real business needs, maintain low credit utilization, and proactively manage cash flow. These five strategies will help you grow your business without overextending your finances or damaging your credit profile.

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Growth
June 12, 2025

The New 23% QBI Deduction in the One Big Beautiful Bill: What Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” permanently increases the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction from 20% to 23%, offering significant long-term tax relief for pass-through business owners. This policy shift not only reduces effective tax rates but also provides financial clarity for Main Street entrepreneurs, opening new doors for reinvestment and growth. Here’s a breakdown of what it means, how to qualify, and what to do next.

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Growth
June 11, 2025

SBA Loan Terms: What Buyers Need to Know

SBA loans are a top choice for business buyers thanks to low down payments, long repayment terms, and government guarantees that reduce lender risk. The two main programs—7(a) and 504—offer different advantages: 7(a) loans are flexible for acquisitions and working capital, while 504 loans are ideal for fixed asset purchases like real estate. With updated 2025 rules requiring 100% U.S. ownership and tighter credit standards, careful preparation is now more important than ever.

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Growth
June 11, 2025

Ultimate Guide to Earnings Quality Analysis

Earnings quality analysis helps buyers, sellers, and investors determine if reported profits are truly sustainable or inflated by one-time events, aggressive accounting, or non-cash adjustments. By examining key indicators like the Quality of Earnings (QoE) ratio, cash flow trends, and non-recurring items, stakeholders can uncover red flags that impact valuation and risk. This analysis is essential in M&A due diligence to ensure accurate pricing, stronger negotiations, and more reliable post-acquisition performance.

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Growth
June 10, 2025

How to Mitigate Seller Financing Risks

Seller financing can help close deals and command higher prices, but it exposes sellers to risks like buyer default, legal disputes, and delayed payments. To protect your investment, conduct rigorous due diligence, secure collateral with legal filings like UCC-1s, and draft airtight agreements with clear terms and enforcement clauses. Technology platforms like Clearly Acquired and AI-powered tools further reduce risk by streamlining buyer verification, document management, and deal monitoring.

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Growth
June 9, 2025

Top 7 KPIs for Scaling SMBs

Tracking the right KPIs gives small and medium-sized businesses a clear, measurable path to sustainable growth. By focusing on key metrics like Sales Growth Rate, Gross Profit Margin, Customer Acquisition Cost, and Customer Lifetime Value, SMBs can make informed decisions, optimize operations, and avoid common pitfalls like cash flow shortages. These seven KPIs act as a strategic compass—helping owners adapt, allocate resources wisely, and scale with confidence.

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Growth
June 7, 2025

Raising Growth-Stage Equity for Main Street Businesses: When, Why & How

Raising growth-stage equity allows Main Street businesses to fund expansion, acquisitions, or strategic initiatives when debt alone isn't enough. This long-form guide explains when to raise equity, why it makes sense, how to do it without losing control, and what legal, financial, and strategic tools you’ll need to get it right. It’s a must-read for founders ready to scale beyond cash flow.

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Growth
June 7, 2025

The Equipment Financing Checklist: What Lenders Need to Approve Your Deal

Equipment financing approval hinges on three core pillars: creditworthiness, financial documentation, and collateral value. Lenders typically want a 600+ personal credit score, two to three years of tax returns and financial statements, and a clear valuation of the equipment serving as collateral. SBA or USDA-backed programs may offer more favorable terms, especially for small or rural businesses, but thorough preparation and a strong business case remain critical for securing the best rates.

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Growth
June 6, 2025

The Hidden Costs of Equipment Financing (and How to Avoid Them)

When financing equipment, the sticker price is just the starting point. Hidden costs—like delivery, installation, loan fees, training, maintenance, and downtime—can inflate your total expense by 20–50%, draining cash flow and eating into profits. To avoid these surprises, businesses should negotiate clear loan terms, bundle soft costs, and consider flexible options like vendor financing or operating leases for more predictable budgeting.

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Growth
June 6, 2025

The Smarter Way to Source and Manage Business Acquisition Opportunities

Clearly Acquired’s buy-side search tools are designed to streamline how you source, import, and manage business acquisition opportunities. From direct broker listings and public marketplace search to off-market targeting and automated email imports, everything feeds into one organized pipeline with built-in stages and a data room. It’s the fastest, smartest way to go from deal flow to closing.

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Growth
June 4, 2025

How to Use SBA 7(a) and 504 Loans for Equipment Financing

SBA 7(a) and 504 loans are powerful tools for small businesses looking to finance equipment. The 7(a) loan offers flexibility, faster processing, and up to $5 million in funding for equipment, working capital, or other needs. The 504 loan is best for long-term investments, offering fixed rates, up to $5.5 million, and only 10% down—ideal for larger purchases with stable repayment over time.

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Acquire Quality. Fund Growth. Close with Confidence.

As an AI-driven Business Acquisition Marketplace and Financing Platform, we are on a mission to simplify and accelerate the MainStreet to MidStreet lending and acquisition ecosystem.

We specialize in technology that supports price discovery, identity verification and financial qualification, and buy-side tools to help searchers source and manage deal flow, make offers, secure lending/financing solutions, and close with confidence.

illustration of team with digital platform

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions by users that are looking to buy businesses on Clearly Acquired:

How can I show business owners I'm a legitimate buyer and that I'm interested?

With a Clearly Verified account, you can instill confidence in other users, brokers and sellers that you are, who you say you are, when you "verify" your identify.  This is the key to instilling confidence in the users on the platform,  gaining traction and getting instant access to financials, supporting data and insight to quickly move to making an offer or moving on.   This will save you months of wasted time and expedite the closing of a sale.

How are my finances verified?

Using financial technology the Clearly Acquired Platform safely and securely verifies your finances, to help sellers understand your closing capability and help lenders expedite your financing. Additionally, the buy-side deal room will help you get your documentation in order, to prepare you for the debt and equity financing you will need to close your acquisition.

Can I get in touch with advisors to help support me in this process?

The Clearly Acquired team is here to support you on your business acquisition or business sale journey. That said, the platform is designed to connect you with a community of users, who are identify verified, which include: investors, lenders, advisors, brokers, consultants, and other buyers who are looking for partners.  

What is a Deal Hub?

The Deal Hub is the central repository for all transaction-related activities on our business acquisition platform. It serves as a secure and organized space where buyers and sellers can access critical information and manage the entire acquisition process efficiently. The Deal Hub is divided into two main components: the Data Room and the Deal Rooms.

Data Room: The Data Room is a secure, virtual storage space where sellers can upload and share essential documents related to their business. This includes financial statements, legal contracts, operational reports, and other due diligence materials. Buyers can access these documents to conduct thorough evaluations and make informed decisions. The Data Room ensures that all sensitive information is protected and only accessible to authorized parties.

Deal Rooms: The Deal Rooms are dedicated spaces for each business listing where buyers and sellers can collaborate and negotiate terms. Each Deal Room is equipped with tools for real-time communication, document sharing, and tracking the progress of the deal. This streamlined environment facilitates transparent and efficient interactions, helping to expedite the acquisition process and ensuring that both parties are aligned at every stage.

The Deal Hub's comprehensive and secure infrastructure simplifies the complexities of business acquisitions, providing a seamless experience for all users involved.

What is Plaid?

Plaid is a financial technology company that provides a secure and seamless way to connect and interact with financial institutions. It enables applications to access users' financial data with their consent, facilitating a wide range of services such as identity verification, account authentication, and transaction history retrieval. Plaid's robust API infrastructure ensures high security, reliability, and compliance with regulatory standards.

By integrating Plaid, Clearly Acquired can offer a secure, efficient, and reliable method for identity verification, building trust among users and ensuring the integrity of the acquisition process.

I am new to the idea of business acquisition, where can I get more information on how to get started?

Make sure to check out our Educational Course on Business Acquisition that is offered in our paid plans for buyers: From Purchase to Profit: Mastering the Art of Business Acquisition.

This Membership Course for buyers is designed to empower individuals with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate the business acquisition process successfully. Whether you're a first-time buyer or an experienced entrepreneur, our course equips you with the tools and insights needed to make informed decisions and achieve your acquisition goals. Join us and embark on your journey to buying a business with Clearly Acquired.

Easy as 1, 2, 3

Create Your Account. Get Verified. Start Searching.

1

Create an account

Every day, lenders, investors, brokers, and sellers come to Clearly Acquired looking for qualified operators like you. Creating an account and getting verified helps you stand out and build trust.

2

Build your profile

Build your profile to get matched with capital and opportunities. Showcase your expertise and resume, to connect with the right capital and acquisition partners—making every opportunity count.

3

Search & Connect

Browse Verified listings, source off-market deals, & manage deal flow with powerful tools to underwrite opportunities, and connect with capital to streamline the entire acquisition and funding process

Join the Clearly Acquired Search Community

Create Your Profile & Get Verified for Free