If you’re a business owner considering a future sale, chances are you’ve heard of Quality of Earnings (QofE) reports. Investment bankers, buyers, and advisors all rely on them for one reason: valuation is driven by adjusted earnings, not what shows up on a tax return.
But they’re incredibly valuable for you, too. Utilizing a sell-side QofE report helps sellers get ahead of buyer scrutiny by normalizing EBITDA, removing non-recurring or discretionary items, surfacing risks, and creating a defensible view of earnings before going to market.
When done well (and early), a Quality of Earnings report can reduce surprises, speed up diligence, and protect leverage once negotiations begin.
This isn’t just an opinion — there’s strong data supporting the fact that sellers who commission a sell-side QofE often achieve higher valuation multiples, experience fewer price reductions during diligence, and close deals faster. It’s one of the highest-ROI investments a seller can make.
So, why doesn’t everyone use one before selling? Because traditional sell-side QofEs come with real friction.
The Roadblocks That Can Make Getting a QofE Problematic
There are a number of issues that make owners think twice about commissioning a QofE report:
- They’re expensive, often costing $70,000–$100,000 or more
- They can take months to complete
- The scope tends to be broad, covering information you don’t always need
Due to these reasons, many sellers delay the analysis or skip it altogether. Unfortunately, what typically happens is that the buyer’s team simply performs their own QofE later — and at that point the leverage has already shifted in their favor.
valueX-RAY: A Seller-Friendly Alternative to the Traditional Quality of Earnings Report
Developed by netgainCFO, valueX-RAY is a faster, more affordable, more seller-focused alternative to a traditional sell-side QofE. It’s designed to deliver the most important benefits of a QofE – earnings clarity, buyer-aligned risk insight, credibility – without the six-figure price tag or multi-month timeline.
At its core, valueX-RAY answers one important question: How will buyers really view my earnings, and what’s likely to get challenged?
Using direct integration with QuickBooks Online, incorporating historical tax returns, and leveraging structured AI-assisted analysis programmed with CFO-level judgment, valueX-RAY produces a QofE-style report in as little as one to two weeks. The result is a clear view of adjusted earnings, key risk factors, and the operational issues that could affect valuation.
Sellers also get a Value Creation Plan — a practical roadmap outlining how to improve margins, reduce risk, and strengthen valuation over the next 12-24 months. Instead of discovering weaknesses during buyer diligence, sellers can address them proactively and on their own timeline.
Validating Value Versus Protecting Value
A traditional sell-side QofE is often about validating value during a transaction. valueX-RAY is about creating and protecting value before the transaction begins.
For some deals, a full sell-side QofE will still make sense — particularly when buyers require it or the deal size justifies the investment. But for many business owners, valueX-RAY is the right first step: faster, more accessible, and early enough to actually influence outcomes.
Bottom line? Before you go to market, it helps to see what buyers will see. valueX-RAY makes that possible.
Check out this page to learn more.