You can't prove it runs without you.

You know it does — mostly. The buyer doesn't know that, the lender doesn't, and the broker has learned not to say so until it's true.

Book the Read — 30 minutes, freeListing now, or a sale fell through? See if Standard Verified fits this sale.

Most owners find out whether the business is transferable after they go to market.

The ones that sell are discounted for one reason: the buyer is buying a job.

The failed sale doesn't come with a reason. It comes with silence.

Buyers used to take the seller's word and price the doubt in. Now they can measure the business against a published standard — and the ones who do will pay for what they can see and discount what they can't. The question is whether you know the answer before they do.

PublishedTwelve elements, each with a written gate. Anyone can read them.

SignedBy the Architect who did the work, with a blind second pass.

IndependentFixed fee, paid at engagement, never contingent on the findings.

Fifteen working daysFrom the day the data room opens. The clock is in the contract.

Standard Verified

The same assessment a buyer commissions — twelve gates, the owner-dependency page, the remediation map — commissioned by you, before you list or after a sale fell through. Written, signed, and shareable with buyers, lenders and brokers under NDA.

The Standard Report™

Example Co. · commissioned by the owner · Standard scope

Evidence window 08/04–08/22/2026

Verified against the published gates · page 2 of 14

Verdict · twelve elements

EE	Element	Evidence cited	Dated	State
EE1	Clarity	One-page definition v3; three non-founder interviews	08/26	MET
EE2	Financial Visibility	Account structure; 60 days of allocations; weekly review log	08/26	MET
EE3	Profit Discipline	Profit target present; margin by offer not calculated	08/26	NOT MET
EE4	Operating Cadence	Leadership Weekly, 7 of 8 weeks; all founder-facilitated	08/26	NOT MET
EE5	Role Clarity & Accountability	Chart signed and displayed; five decisions traced	08/26	MET
EE6	Founder Dependency Reduction	Dependency audit requested; no record exists	08/26	NOT EVIDENCED
EE7	Core Process Documentation	Three processes; transfer test stalled at step 4	08/26	NOT MET
EE8	Marketing System	Lead log 12 mo; publishing record; two referral partners	08/26	MET
EE9	Sales System	Pipeline export; 0 of 14 closes by a non-founder	08/26	NOT MET
EE10	Customer Retention System	Concentration 31% top client; churn tracked	08/26	MET
EE11	People & Culture Foundation	Values stated; hiring process undocumented	08/26	NOT EVIDENCED
EE12	Delivery & Quality	Promised outcome per offer; checklists in use; defect log	08/26	MET

Owner-dependency exposure

4 of 5 decisions were the founder’s3 of 3 core processes founder-only0 of 14 closes by a non-founderNever tested a two-week absence

Remediation map

EE4	Non-founder facilitator; eight weeks	M	Team
EE6	Dependency audit; one delegation, 60 days	L	Team · SBS
EE7	Document the approval; re-run the test	S	Team
EE9	Sales process; one close by a teammate	M	Team · any operator

Exposure total: $32,000–$71,000 · 5–7 months · EE6 depends on EE4Not a certification, valuation or QoE · reliance as stated on page one · Architect’s signature

Click to enlarge

This is what you get. Not a score. A verdict. Twelve lines, each MET, NOT MET, or NOT EVIDENCED, with the evidence cited and dated. Behind them, the owner-dependency exposure on one page and the remediation map: what it takes to close each open gate, how long, and who can do it.

No averaging. A gate is passed or it isn't.
NOT EVIDENCED means the record doesn't exist. It is never softened into a pass.
An example of the format. Click the page to enlarge it.

What it is. Proof of what runs without you — and the exact list of what doesn't yet, with the cost and time to fix each item.
What it does for the sale. A buyer who can see the operating picture prices the business. A buyer who can't prices the risk. This is the difference between the multiple and the discount.
What it is not. A certification, a valuation, or a promise the business will sell. It is a point-in-time verification against the published gates, valid twelve months, re-verified at half price once you've closed the gaps.
What it isn't attached to. Nothing. The verification is worth its fee if you never call us again. Where it finds gaps, the map names what closes them and who can do the work — your team, us, or any competent operator — and stops there.

From $15,000 flat, paid at engagement — priced by the scope of the business, not the asking price

Four numbers set the scope: operating entities, locations, people, and distinct revenue lines. Any one over its line moves the scope up.

Standard1 entity · 1–2 locations · up to 25 people · up to 3 revenue lines$15,000

Extended2 entities · 3–4 locations · 26–50 people · 4–5 lines$25,000

Multi-site3–4 entities · 5–8 locations · 51–150 people · 6–8 lines · 20 working days$45,000

Full5+ entities · 9+ locations · 151–500 people · 25 working daysfrom $65,000

Re-verification after remediation, within twelve months: half the scope fee. Same twelve lines, same signature; page one names who commissioned it. Never contingent on what it finds.

See the scope and the price in twenty seconds.

Four numbers set it. The scope you see here is the scope you're quoted; it locks the day the data room opens.

Operating entitieslegal entities with their own operations, books or staff

Locationssites where work is done or customers served

PeopleW-2 plus regular contractors, all entities

Distinct revenue linesseparately priced or delivered offers, not contracts

Your scope

$15,000

Standard scope. All four numbers inside the first line.

Book the Read — thirty minutes, free

Flat, paid at engagement, never contingent. Add-ons priced at the same scope. Priced by the business, not by the sale.

How it goes.

Book the Read

Thirty minutes on the sale: where it stands, what a buyer will ask, whether verification is the right instrument for it.

Get verified

Your records as they exist, you, and two people you name. Fifteen working days. Nothing has to be created for it.

List with proof — or close the gaps first

Share the verification under NDA, or close what the map names and come back to re-verify at half the fee.

Not listing yet? If the sale is two to five years out, that's a founder's road, not a seller's — start with a free Standard Session, or see Sell It — Sellable OS™, which builds toward the sale. This page is for the owner who is listing now, or whose sale already fell through.

The questions owners ask first.

What does it cost?

From $15,000, flat, by the scope of your business. Re-verification after you've closed the gaps is half the fee.

How long does it take?

Fifteen working days from the day we have access. Nothing has to be created for it; we work from what exists.

What do you need from me?

Your records as they are, ninety minutes with you, and forty-five each with two people you name.

Will it hurt my sale?

The buyer is going to ask these questions anyway, without a standard behind them. Knowing the answers first is what lets you fix them or price them.

Who can I show it to?

Buyers, lenders and brokers, under NDA. It's valid twelve months and it's signed.

What if it comes back short?

Then you have the list, costed, before a buyer writes it for you. Close the gaps and re-verify at half the fee, or list with the map in hand.

Survive is what the buyer tests you on. Thrive is what gets you the multiple instead of the discount.

Book the Read — free Read the twelve gates first

A verification is a point-in-time written assessment against the published gates, signed by the Architect who did the work. It is not a certification, a valuation, or representation of either party. Small Business Standard™ Certified is a separate mark, not yet awarded to any business.