A model usually fails on its structure before anyone argues with its conclusion. A number gets typed into the middle of a calculation, a formula changes halfway across a row, an assumption has no source against it, and the balance sheet does not balance. A lender, a buyer or an investment committee reads any of those as a reason to discount everything the model says. Every build here uses the same conventions, whatever the engagement. The fee and the scope are agreed before work begins.
A financial model engagement is priced by the enterprise value of the business and what the model has to do. A model build is a monthly driver-based three-statement model of the business, and it includes a cell-level review and repair of any model you already hold. A transaction model adds the deal structure, the debt waterfall, the covenant tests and the returns. The fee and scope are agreed before work begins.
A bank, a board or an investor has asked for projections and what you have is a spreadsheet nobody wants to defend.
You are pricing an acquisition and need the debt, the covenants and the returns modelled properly before you commit to a number.
You own a model somebody else built, it now disagrees with itself, and you need to know what in it can be trusted.
You are running the business off a model that takes a day to update every month and breaks when anything changes.
A model is a tool for answering questions you have not thought of yet, which is why the way it is built matters more than the numbers in it on the day it is delivered.
The common failures are structural. Assumptions get scattered through the file instead of living on one sheet, so changing a price means hunting for the cells that hold it. Numbers get typed inside calculation sheets, which means an input nobody can find is driving an output everyone is relying on. A formula gets edited in one month and not the others, so the row looks consistent and is not. Nothing records where an assumption came from, so six months later nobody can say whether a figure was researched, negotiated or invented. And the balance sheet is left out entirely, which is the single clearest signal to a credit team that the projections were written rather than modelled.
What comes out of these engagements is a monthly three-statement model with a balance check row that has to read zero, every assumption on its own sheet and labelled, revenue built from volume and price, costs split between fixed and variable with the driver named for each variable line, headcount driving payroll, working capital on days assumptions with the actual history shown next to them, and each debt facility on its own schedule with rate, term, amortization, fees and availability.
Two things come with it that matter more than they sound. Every assumption carries its source and the date it was set, so the file can be defended in a room. And the model is handed over with written documentation and a live walkthrough with whoever will own it, because a model that only its author can update stops being used within a quarter.
Every model uses isolated inputs, consistent formulas, sourced assumptions and a documented review, regardless of engagement size.
Fixed fees depend on enterprise value and whether you need an operating model or a transaction model.
| Engagement | Under $2M EV | $2M to $10M EV | $10M to $50M EV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model Build | $2,100 | $3,100 | $5,999 |
| Transaction Model | $2,950 | $4,500 | $7,500 |
Businesses above fifty million in enterprise value are scoped individually. Where a model is needed for a deal, the transaction model carries the operating model inside it.
From $2,100
We build a monthly three-statement model of the business, or review and repair the one you already have.
From $2,950
We model the deal structure, the debt waterfall, the covenants and the returns.
Model Build fits a business that needs a model it can run on, built monthly and driver-based. It covers the revenue build from volume and price, the cost build split between fixed and variable, headcount driving payroll, and working capital on days assumptions. Capital expenditure comes with the asset and depreciation rollforward, each debt facility sits on its own schedule, and the three statements carry a balance check. It also tracks actuals and variance and carries a dashboard with the metrics management runs on. Where a model already exists, the engagement starts by reviewing it cell by cell and repairing what can be repaired before anything new gets built.
Transaction Model is for a deal being priced or financed, where the questions are different. It carries the full operating model and adds the transaction structure, with sources and uses showing fees, rollover, seller paper and sponsor equity separately. The debt waterfall runs tranche by tranche with amortization, cash sweep, revolver and intercreditor order. Each covenant is calculated the way the agreement defines it, with headroom by period, cash available for debt service and coverage. Returns come with a bridge by driver for each capital layer, and the sensitivity tables on price, leverage, growth and exit run to the point a covenant breaks.
| Deliverable | Component | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Excel model | Control | Version, preparer, reviewer, change log and the open items list |
| Excel model | Company inputs | Company assumptions on one sheet, every cell labelled, with no assumption anywhere else in the file |
| Excel model | Scenario inputs | Scenario assumptions on their own sheet driven from a single switch |
| Excel model | Revenue build | Revenue by driver, unit, channel and geography, built from volume and price |
| Excel model | Operating expense build | Costs split between fixed and variable with the driver named for each variable line |
| Excel model | Payroll and headcount | A headcount plan by role driving payroll, taxes and benefits into the profit and loss |
| Excel model | Working capital schedule | Receivables, payables and inventory on days assumptions with the history shown beside them |
| Excel model | Capital expenditure and fixed assets | Capital expenditure by category with the fixed asset and depreciation rollforward |
| Excel model | Debt schedule | Each facility with rate, term, amortization, fees and availability |
| Excel model | Three statement output | Monthly profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow with a balance check row that has to read zero |
| Excel model | Actuals and variance | Actuals loaded by month with variance to forecast and to budget |
| Excel model | Dashboard | Outputs, charts and the metrics management runs the business on |
| Excel model | Assumption source log | Every assumption with its source and the date it was set |
| Build standards | Conventions | Blue inputs, black formulas, green cross-sheet links, consistent formulas across every period and no hardcodes in calculation sheets |
| Documentation | Written documentation | How the model is structured, what drives what, and how to update it each month |
| Handover | Handover session | A live walkthrough with the team who will own the file |
| Review findings | Formula and logic audit | Cell level review of formulas, ranges, links and consistency across periods |
| Review findings | Circularity and error trace | Circular references and error cells traced to source |
| Review findings | Hardcode detection | Hardcoded values inside calculation sheets listed with their effect on the outputs |
| Review findings | Assumption reasonableness | Assumptions tested against industry benchmarks and against the company's own history |
| Review findings | Findings with severity | Each finding ranked critical, significant or cosmetic with the output effect quantified |
| Rebuilt model | Rebuild of broken sections | Sections that cannot be repaired in place rebuilt with isolated inputs, consistent formulas and sourced assumptions |
| Rebuilt model | Change log | Every change made, why it was made, and the before and after effect on the outputs |
| Basis | What this is | The model is built for internal use and planning, and it carries no opinion or assurance. |
| Deliverable | Component | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Everything in Model Build | All sheets above | Carried in full |
| Excel transaction model | Transaction structure | Leveraged buyout, merger or accretion and dilution structure as the deal requires |
| Excel transaction model | Sources and uses | Funding at close with fees, rollover, seller paper and sponsor equity shown separately |
| Excel transaction model | Purchase price and allocation | Price, assumed and repaid debt, and the allocation used for modelling |
| Excel transaction model | Debt waterfall | Tranche by tranche with amortization, cash sweep, revolver and intercreditor order |
| Excel transaction model | Covenant tests | Each covenant calculated as the agreement defines it, with headroom by period |
| Excel transaction model | Cash flow and coverage | Cash available for debt service and coverage by period |
| Excel transaction model | Returns | Internal rate of return, multiple of invested capital and a returns bridge by driver for each capital layer |
| Excel transaction model | Sensitivity and stress | Tables on price, leverage, growth and exit, run to the point of covenant breach |
| Excel transaction model | Multi-currency | Dual currency presentation with the translation method documented, where the deal needs it |
The engagement starts by establishing what the model has to answer and who will be reading it, because a model for a credit committee, a model for a board and a model for pricing a deal are structured differently, and the request list follows from that.
The historical period goes in first and gets tied to the statements, so the forecast is built on a base somebody can check.
Revenue, costs, headcount, working capital, capital expenditure and debt are built as drivers with each assumption sourced and dated, which is the stage where most of the questions get asked.
A partner reviews the file before it is released, the balance check has to read zero in every period, every formula row is checked for consistency, and the outputs are tied back to the source data.
You receive the model, the written documentation and a live walkthrough with whoever will own the file, so the model can be updated by your team.
A lender, a board or an investment committee will test the structure before it tests the conclusion, which is why the balance check, the sourced assumptions and the absence of hardcodes matter more than the forecast being optimistic or conservative. A model that cannot be audited gets discounted whatever it says.
The test is whether it survives contact with the month end, which means loading actuals has to be quick, variance has to fall out automatically, and the dashboard has to show the handful of numbers management actually acts on. That is also why the handover session exists, since a model nobody on your team can update stops being used within a quarter.
To start we need three years of financial statements and the current year to date with monthly detail where it exists, and the general ledger or trial balance behind them. We also need the revenue detail by customer, product or unit, and the headcount list with roles and compensation. Send the capital expenditure history, the debt agreements with their rates, terms and amortization, and any existing model or budget. For a transaction model we also need the letter of intent or term sheet and the proposed debt terms.
Audit, review and compilation engagements. Any opinion or assurance on financial statements. 409A valuations and certified appraisals. ESOP valuations. Fair value measurement under ASC 805 and ASC 820. Fairness opinions. Tax return preparation and tax opinions. Securities placement, investor solicitation, and any transaction-contingent or success fee.
TEOL Capital is not a broker-dealer, an investment adviser, a placement agent or a finder. Engagements are preparation and support work. TEOL does not place securities, solicit investors or make investor introductions, and takes no success, contingency or placement fee.
The fees published here are indicative, set against the scope described on each page, and a final quote is confirmed in writing before any engagement letter is issued. Nothing published here is an offer, and no engagement begins until a letter is signed by both sides. Work outside the stated scope is identified and quoted before it begins. Full payment or a 50% deposit on engagements under $10,000, and 50% at start with 50% at delivery above that. Turnaround is quoted on receipt of a complete information request and is a target rather than a term of the engagement. Fees are reviewed quarterly, and an engagement letter issued at a published fee holds that fee regardless of any later review. Work is prepared for the client named in the engagement letter and for that client's own use. Anyone else who receives it does so for information and cannot rely on it. Management accounts, consolidations and financial statements we prepare are built from the records management maintains and remain management's responsibility. We do not guarantee any particular outcome, including a sale, a financing, a valuation conclusion or a price. Our liability on any engagement is limited to the fees paid for that engagement.