Mandatzo answers

Every answer below is aimed at a question people measurably search for, is written from named sources, and links to the page that handles the job itself. None of them is a landing page in disguise.

• Deal tracking software, and the four fields that decide whether it gets used

  Deal tracking software works when recording takes 15 seconds. The 4 fields that survive a bad week, and what happens to the ones that do not.

• The TSA agreement, what a transition services agreement charges, and how it ends

  A TSA agreement keeps the target running after close. What 7 services cost, why the markup is argued, and how each schedule exits.

• Deal flow management software, and the two different things buyers mean by it

  Deal flow management software means buyers through 1 mandate or opportunities into a firm. Buy for the wrong one and it never gets used.

• Private equity deal management software: what the front office needs and what it does not

  Private equity deal management software is front office, not fund admin. The 4 fields a sourcing record needs and the 1 that pays.

• Private equity deal flow software, and the 3 numbers that make a funnel mean something

  Private equity deal flow software counts opportunities. 3 numbers turn that count into money, and 1 of them is usually flattered.

• Capital markets CRM, and the 3 ways a raise differs from a sale

  A capital markets CRM tracks a raise, not a sale: a longer list, soft circles, and a fee on what clears rather than on the ask.

• LOI meaning in a deal: what a letter of intent binds, and what it does not

  An LOI is mostly non-binding, with 2 or 3 clauses that are not. Which parts bind, what exclusivity costs, and what happens next.

• Private equity CRM: why the relationship half is harder than the pipeline half

  A private equity CRM has 2 halves. The pipeline is easy; the relationships that produce proprietary deals 3 years later are not.

• M&A tool: the 4 categories sold under one name, and which one you are missing

  M&A tool covers 4 different products: the data room, the CRM, the diligence tracker and the integration plan. Only 1 is your gap.

• CRM for M&A work: why the mandate, not the contact, has to be the object

  A CRM for M&A has to model a mandate: 1 engagement, 1 buyer list, 1 stage and a fee. A contact and an opportunity will not do it.

• Deal management: the 5 things a live process owes, and who owes them

  Deal management is 5 obligations: the materials, the list, the outreach, the diligence and the close. Each needs 1 named owner.

• M&A software tools: the 3 a small desk needs and the 2 it is sold

  M&A software tools split into 3 a small desk needs and 2 it gets sold. What to buy first at $69 a month, and what to skip.

• M&A deal management software: the 5 obligations it has to make visible

  M&A deal management software makes 5 obligations visible. It discharges none of them, and the 1 that eats calendar time is diligence.

• CRM for private equity: the 6 questions worth asking before you buy one

  A CRM for private equity is judged on 6 questions, not a feature list. The 1 that matters most is what happens when a partner leaves.

• M&A pipeline: how to turn a count of live mandates into a number that means something

  An M&A pipeline of 14 mandates is not a number. At a 35% close rate and $12,000,000 average value it is worth $2,940,000.

• M&A advisory firm: how the business actually earns, and what it runs on

  An M&A advisory firm earns on close. On the worked example a mandate is $712,500 gross, and 4 or 5 of them run at once.

• Private equity CRM software: build it on a suite, or buy something that already models a deal

  Private equity CRM software is a build-or-buy call. The 3 things that decide it, and the 1 cost nobody puts in the comparison.

• Deal management platform: when a platform is the right answer and when a tool is

  A deal management platform suits firms with an admin. A tool suits desks of 6 with none. The 3 signs you are buying the wrong one.

• Deal flow CRM: the one field that pays for itself, and the 3 that get skipped

  A deal flow CRM lives or dies on 1 field: the source. The 3 fields that always get skipped, and why skipping them is rational.

• CRM for VC firms: the 3 things venture needs that a buyout record does not

  A CRM for VC differs from buyout in 3 ways: volume, the co-investor graph, and passes that come back 2 years later.

• M&A deal sourcing: the 4 channels, what each costs, and how to tell which one pays

  M&A deal sourcing runs on 4 channels with very different costs. Only 1 measurement tells you which is paying, and it takes 1 field.

• CRM private equity rollout: the 4 weeks that decide whether anybody uses it

  A CRM private equity rollout is decided in 4 weeks. The 3 mistakes that kill adoption, and the 1 habit that carries it.

• Deal pipeline software: why 6 to 10 stages works and 20 does not

  Deal pipeline software fails at 20 stages and works at 6 to 10. The test is whether an analyst picks the right one without thinking.

• The M&A process: the 9 stages of a sell-side deal, and where the calendar actually goes

  The M&A process runs 9 observable stages. Most of the elapsed time is in 2 of them, and neither is the negotiation.

• Investment bank CRM: getting a firm-level view out of records bankers keep for themselves

  An investment bank CRM has to serve 2 readers from 1 record. The 3 fields that aggregate, and the 1 rule that keeps it fed.

• Deal origination: why proprietary is a measurement rather than a claim

  Deal origination gets described as proprietary by nearly everyone. 1 field turns that claim into a measurement you can act on.

• Sell side advisory: what the adviser actually owes the client, in 5 obligations

  Sell side advisory is 5 obligations to one client. The fee is $712,500 on the worked example, and most of the work precedes it.

• Venture capital CRM: what a record has to survive at 400 companies a year

  A venture capital CRM has to survive 400 companies a year. That means 1 required field, fast screening, and passes kept forever.

• Venture capital deal flow management software: the 3 reports that justify it

  Venture capital deal flow management software earns its price on 3 reports. All 3 need 1 field, and none needs a new integration.

• What is an IOI, what an indication of interest contains, and how it differs from an LOI

  An IOI is a non-binding first bid, usually a range. It differs from an LOI in 3 ways, and only 1 of them is exclusivity.

• Private equity deal sourcing: the 4 origins, and which one a small fund can actually build

  Private equity deal sourcing has 4 origins with different costs. A fund below $200m can realistically build 1 of them well.

• Private equity deal tracking software: the 3 views a fund actually opens

  Private equity deal tracking software is opened for 3 views. Everything else is configuration nobody uses after month 2.

• CRM for investment banking: the 4 ways these projects fail, in order of frequency

  A CRM for investment banking fails in 4 predictable ways. The most common has nothing to do with the software you picked.

• VC deal flow: why volume is the wrong headline number and what to read instead

  VC deal flow gets reported as volume. 2 other numbers say more, and 1 of them is uncomfortable enough to be worth reading.

• Deal origination private equity: how a fund builds one channel properly in 3 years

  Deal origination in private equity takes 3 years to build 1 channel. The 4 steps, and the point at which most funds give up.

• Mergers and acquisitions software: 4 categories, 4 buyers, and 1 you probably need

  Mergers and acquisitions software is 4 categories with 4 different buyers. Only 1 of them is usually the gap on a small desk.

• Mergers and acquisitions software solutions: what a suite gets right and what it hides

  Mergers and acquisitions software solutions bundle 4 products. What a suite is good at, and the 1 thing bundling reliably hides.

• PE CRM: the three records a fund keeps, and the one it usually loses

  A PE CRM holds 3 records: the source, the opportunity and the pass. The 3rd is the one funds lose, and it is the most reusable.

• CRM for venture capital: designing a record that survives 400 companies a year

  A CRM for venture capital fails on volume, not features. 1 required field, a 1-action pass, and the co-investor graph nobody records.

• Deal sourcing software: the difference between finding companies and remembering them

  Deal sourcing software splits into finding and remembering. They are 2 products, and buying 1 expecting the other is the usual error.

• Private equity deal sourcing strategies: 4 of them, and which fits a fund of your size

  Private equity deal sourcing strategies number 4. Below a few hundred million only 1 is realistically buildable, and it takes 3 years.

• What is deal sourcing: finding the deal before somebody else runs an auction on it

  Deal sourcing is finding opportunities before a process exists. The 4 channels, and the 1 field that says which is working.

• The M&A integration process: what the deal team owes it, and where the handover fails

  The M&A integration process belongs to the buyer, not the adviser. The 3 things a deal team owes it, and the handover that fails.

• The double Lehman formula: the tiers, the arithmetic, and what actually gets billed now

  The double Lehman formula is 10/8/6/4/2% by million. On a $12,000,000 deal that is close to a 5% flat fee, which is what most letters say.

• VC deal sourcing: why being findable beats searching, and what that costs

  VC deal sourcing inverts: the best opportunities find you. What being findable takes, and the 1 number that says it is working.

• The M&A due diligence process: where the weeks actually go, and what the waiting costs

  The M&A due diligence process is mostly waiting. 68.4 open requests over 6 weeks is 164.16 hours and $15,595.20 of chasing.

• CRM investment banking teams will actually update: 4 design rules

  A CRM investment banking teams update follows 4 rules. The 1st is that recording an event has to take under 30 seconds.

• LOI M&A: what signing a letter of intent actually costs a seller, and what to negotiate first

  An LOI in M&A costs the seller its competitive tension for 30 to 90 days. What to negotiate before price, and what binds.

• Term sheet template: the 8 lines that do the work, and the 3 that get argued

  A term sheet template is 8 lines. 3 of them carry the whole negotiation, and price is usually not the hardest one.

• Top M&A advisory firms: how to read a league table, and why the top one may be wrong for you

  Top M&A advisory firms lists rank by deal count or value. Neither says who is right for a $12,000,000 sale. 4 questions that do.

• Private equity deal origination: a three-year investment, and where funds give up in year two

  Private equity deal origination takes about 3 years to produce flow. The 4 steps, and the 1 that is skipped because it is cheapest.

• A corporate carve out is a deal with a second deal inside it, and the second one is the TSA

  A corporate carve out has a TSA inside it. 7 services at $4,200 a month with an 8% markup is $381,024 over a year.

• Proprietary deal flow: a claim everybody makes and a measurement almost nobody has

  Proprietary deal flow is claimed by nearly every fund. 1 field turns the claim into a number, and the number is usually smaller.

• The CIM M&A processes send: the 9 sections, what each has to answer, and what it costs

  A CIM in M&A runs about 9 sections and 54 pages. At 1.8 hours a page plus review it costs $11,514 before a buyer reads it.

• Startup due diligence checklist: the 6 categories, and the 2 that kill more deals than the numbers

  A startup due diligence checklist covers 6 categories. 2 of them kill more deals than the financials, and both are fixable early.

• Regulatory due diligence checklist: two questions, and the antitrust one that has a form

  Regulatory due diligence asks 2 questions: does the target comply, and does the deal need clearance. Only 1 has a filing.

• PE deal flow: the three numbers worth reporting, and the one everybody reports instead

  PE deal flow gets reported as a count. 3 other numbers say more, and 1 of them is uncomfortable enough to be worth reading.

• M&A deal origination for an adviser: winning the mandate, not finding the company

  M&A deal origination for an adviser means winning mandates. Most come from 3 sources, and 1 record decides whether they compound.

• Small M&A advisory firms: what they genuinely do better, and the two things they cannot

  Small M&A advisory firms beat larger ones on attention and sector depth. 2 things they cannot do, said plainly.

• M&A advisory firms: the four kinds, and which one suits a business of your size

  M&A advisory firms come in 4 kinds. On a $12,000,000 sale a 5% fee is $600,000, which decides who will take you seriously.

• M&A due diligence software is a request tracker, and it is not the data room

  M&A due diligence software tracks requests, owners and dates. The room stores documents. Chasing 68.4 open items costs $15,595.20.

• CRM venture capital teams will keep updated: 3 rules for a fund seeing 400 companies

  A CRM venture capital teams update follows 3 rules. The 1st is that a pass has to be recordable in a single click.

• M&A technology due diligence checklist: the 5 areas, and the 2 that change the price

  An M&A technology due diligence checklist covers 5 areas. 2 change the price, and both are about ownership rather than code quality.

• The sell side M&A process: nine stages, and the clock that holds the price together

  The sell side M&A process runs 9 stages. The whole value is one clock, and the first missed deadline costs more than a slow week.

• M&A pipeline stages: nine that people will actually update, and the test for each one

  M&A pipeline stages work at 9 and fail at 20. The test is whether an analyst picks the right one without rereading definitions.

• A term sheet example worked line by line on a $12,000,000 sale

  A term sheet example on a $12,000,000 deal: what each line says, what it hides, and where the $600,000 fee sits against it.

• Financial due diligence checklist: the six groups, and the one that decides the price

  A financial due diligence checklist has 6 groups. Quality of earnings decides the price; the other 5 mostly confirm it.

• Deal origination software: what it can do about relationships, and what it cannot

  Deal origination software helps with 3 things and cannot help with the 4th. The 4th is the one that takes 3 years.

• Deal sourcing venture capital funds rely on: why inbound wins and what it takes to earn it

  Deal sourcing in venture capital inverts: rounds close in days. 3 things earn inbound, and 1 number says whether they worked.

• Boutique M&A advisory firms: how the business works from the inside, and what that means for you

  Boutique M&A advisory firms run 4 or 5 mandates at once at a 35% close rate. What that means for the attention yours gets.

• Deal flow pipeline: building one people maintain, in four decisions

  A deal flow pipeline needs 4 decisions. Get them right and 14 live mandates is $2,940,000 instead of a number nobody trusts.

• Carve out M&A: the four things to settle before going to market, not during exclusivity

  Carve out M&A fails on preparation. 4 things to settle first, including a TSA that costs $381,024 over a year on the worked example.

• IT due diligence checklist: the systems the business runs on, which is not the product it sells

  An IT due diligence checklist covers the estate a business runs on. 5 areas, and the 1 that becomes a TSA line on a carve out.

• Private equity investment due diligence checklist: what the investment committee is really asking

  A private equity investment due diligence checklist answers 4 committee questions. Only 1 of them is about the company as it is today.

• Private equity due diligence checklist: which workstreams the fund keeps and which it buys in

  A private equity due diligence checklist runs 6 workstreams. A small fund keeps 2 and buys 4, and the split decides the timetable.

• Cybersecurity due diligence checklist: incident history first, posture second

  A cybersecurity due diligence checklist should ask about history before posture. 4 areas, and the 1 that becomes a price conversation.

• Technical due diligence checklist: reviewing the product being bought, not the office IT

  A technical due diligence checklist reviews the product. 4 areas, and only 2 of them ever move the price.

• A sample due diligence checklist is a starting point to cut down, not a list to send

  A sample due diligence checklist runs to hundreds of items. Sending it whole costs $228 per item left open. Cut it first.

• Accounting due diligence checklist: how the numbers were produced, not what they say

  Accounting due diligence examines how numbers were produced. 4 areas, and revenue recognition is where most surprises live.

• Commercial due diligence checklist: the work that happens outside the data room

  Commercial due diligence happens outside the data room. 4 areas, and customer interviews are the 1 that changes minds.

• Legal due diligence checklist: separating what blocks a deal from what only prices it

  Legal due diligence findings split into blockers and price adjustments. 5 areas, and only 2 of them can stop a deal.

• Website due diligence checklist: buying a traffic asset, where the risk is concentration

  Website due diligence has 4 areas. Traffic concentration in 1 source is the risk, and it is checkable in an afternoon.

• LOI template: the six clauses, which of them bind, and what a template gets wrong

  An LOI template has 6 clauses. 3 bind and 3 do not, and the exclusivity clause is the one a template makes too long.

• M&A advisor fees: the four parts, and what they total on a $12,000,000 sale

  M&A advisor fees have 4 parts. On a $12,000,000 sale they total $712,500, or $487,500 at close if retainers are credited.

• Best M&A software: three named products, the fit each is built for, and the rubric to check them

  Best M&A software depends on who you are. 3 named products with the fit each is built for, and 4 tests to run in a trial.

• Best private equity CRM: three named products, sorted by how large a network you have to hold

  Best private equity CRM depends on network size. 3 named products, the fit each is built for, and 1 question that predicts adoption.

• Buy side advisory: the mandate with no process, and why the fee is structured differently

  Buy side advisory has no auction and no deadline. That changes the fee structure and the work, and 1 mandate can run for years.

• M&A advisory services: what an owner is actually buying, in five deliverables

  M&A advisory services are 5 deliverables, not a relationship. On a $12,000,000 sale they cost $712,500, so it is worth listing them.

• M&A transaction advisory services: the diligence work, which is usually not your banker

  M&A transaction advisory services means diligence, usually from an accounting firm. 4 deliverables, and why it is a separate engagement.

• Best M&A advisory firms: the four answers that separate them, which no league table contains

  Best M&A advisory firms cannot be ranked across sizes. 4 answers separate them, and a $600,000 fee decides which band you are in.

• Investment banking advisory services: four products sold by the same firms to different clients

  Investment banking advisory services covers 4 products. Each has a different client and a different fee shape, and 1 has no deadline.

• Buy side M&A advisory: running a search that does not quietly become indefinite

  Buy side M&A advisory drifts without milestones. 4 things to agree before signing, starting with the target list.

• Due diligence checklist for acquisition of a private company: what differs from buying a public one

  A due diligence checklist for acquisition of a private company differs in 4 ways. There are no filings, so everything is asked for.

• The private equity deal process seen from the fund side: seven stages and two committees

  The private equity deal process runs 7 stages and 2 committees. The 1st committee decides whether to spend money on diligence.

• Proprietary deal sourcing: what it takes to be real, and the 3 years before it is

  Proprietary deal sourcing takes about 3 years and one narrow sector. The 1 field that proves it, recorded at entry or not at all.

• Deal flow investment banking firms should measure: pitches, not deals

  Deal flow in investment banking is pitches, not deals. 14 live mandates at a 35% close rate is $2,940,000 of expected fees.

• What is a CIM in investment banking, what is a CIM in business, and what a confidential information memorandum contains

  A CIM is the confidential information memorandum a sale sends after the NDA. About 54 pages, and it costs $11,514 to produce.

• CIM mergers and acquisitions processes send: an m&a cim section by section, with a cim example of the shape

  An M&A CIM runs 9 sections and 54 pages. This is what each section has to answer and where a CIM example usually falls short.

• What is LOI, what is an LOI in business, loi meaning in business, and ioi vs loi

  An LOI is a letter of intent. It differs from an IOI in 3 ways, and only exclusivity, confidentiality and expenses actually bind.

• A letter of intent to purchase business assets or shares: the six clauses, and letter of intent m&a practice

  A letter of intent to purchase a business has 6 clauses. Structure decides the tax forms, and exclusivity is what the seller pays.

• The m&a term sheet, term sheet m&a practice, and the acquisition term sheet: one document, three names

  An M&A term sheet is an LOI under another name. The 3 lines that carry the negotiation, and price is usually not the hardest.

• What is an M&A advisor, what the job actually consists of, and what it costs

  An M&A advisor delivers 5 things and is paid mostly on close. On a $12,000,000 sale that is $712,500 in total.

• The divestiture process: what a divestiture asks that an ordinary sale does not

  A divestiture is a carve out with a seller who keeps operating. 4 extra questions, and a TSA that runs to $381,024 a year.

• M&A process timeline: the m&a process steps in order, and which of them consume the calendar

  An M&A process timeline is dominated by 2 phases. Diligence chasing alone is 164.16 hours on the worked example.

• Corporate banking vs investment banking: three differences that decide which one you are talking to

  Corporate banking vs investment banking differs in 3 ways: the product, the revenue and the relationship. Only 1 is paid on events.

• VC CRM and m&a crm compared: what changes when a fund sees four hundred companies a year

  A VC CRM records less per company than an M&A CRM by necessity. 3 fields survive 400 companies a year, and 1 is required.

• M&A advisory fees: what actually moves them, and by how much on a $12,000,000 sale

  M&A advisory fees move on 4 things. Deal size moves them most: at 5% a $12,000,000 sale pays $600,000 at close.

• Buyside advisory: what a client should insist on before signing, and why buy side advisor mandates drift

  Buyside advisory has no deadline, so mandates drift. 4 things to insist on, and a $12,500 retainer is $112,500 over 9 months.

• M&A corporate advisory: advising a company that buys rather than an owner who sells

  M&A corporate advisory serves acquirers, not owners. 3 differences from a sale mandate, and 1 of them is that nothing forces a decision.

• The m&a deal process from the buyer: the m&a buy side process and buy side m&a process in seven steps

  The M&A deal process from the buy side runs 7 steps and 2 approvals. The 1st approval is what authorises spending on diligence.

• Venture capital deal sourcing: earning inbound, and the deal sourcing private equity funds do instead

  Venture capital deal sourcing is inbound; private equity sourcing is outbound. The 1 field that measures either, recorded at entry.

• IP due diligence checklist: ownership first, registers second, and the gap that is a condition

  An IP due diligence checklist starts with ownership, not registers. A missing assignment is a condition, not a discount.

• The due diligence process in mergers and acquisitions, and the due diligence process m&a teams actually run

  The due diligence process in M&A runs 6 workstreams in parallel. Coordination fails at the joins, and chasing costs $228 an item.

• Bank due diligence checklist: what a lender asks that an equity buyer does not

  A bank due diligence checklist asks about downside, not upside. 4 areas, and the covenant test is where a deal is priced.

• The post m&a integration process: what the first hundred days inherit from the deal

  The post M&A integration process inherits 3 things from the deal team. A TSA at $381,024 a year is usually one of them.

• HR due diligence checklist: the liabilities that price and the people that decide the plan

  HR due diligence splits into liabilities and people. Classification is the most common finding, and it prices rather than blocks.

• Investment banking software: the five things a desk runs on, and which one it is usually missing

  Investment banking software is 5 categories. A boutique already has 4 of them, and the missing 1 is the mandate record.

• Mergers and acquisitions advisory firms: four bands, and finding the mergers and acquisitions advisory firm for your size

  Mergers and acquisitions advisory firms fall in 4 bands by deal size. A $600,000 fee decides which band takes you seriously.

• The deal management process: five obligations, and a named owner for each

  The deal management process is 5 obligations. Software makes them visible; a named owner is what discharges them.

• Operational due diligence checklist: whether the business can deliver what the plan assumes

  Operational due diligence asks whether the business can deliver the plan. 4 areas, and capacity is the one that stops growth.

• A due diligence checklist template is a memory aid, and sending one whole costs $228 an item

  A due diligence checklist template should be cut before sending. An item left open 6 weeks costs $228 of your own analyst time.

• Due diligence report template: a structure that separates findings from narrative

  A due diligence report template needs 4 parts. Each finding needs an impact and an owner, or the committee cannot act on it.

• A boutique advisory firm from the inside: lumpy revenue, and capacity as the real constraint

  A boutique advisory firm earns $712,500 on a closed mandate and nothing on two thirds of them. Capacity, not demand, is the constraint.

• Sell side advisory services and sell side m&a advisory: what the engagement letter should actually list

  Sell side advisory services are 5 deliverables worth $712,500 on a $12,000,000 sale. Listing them makes the engagement letter easier.

• The transition service agreement: schedules, price and exit, and why each service needs its own

  A transition service agreement is a schedule per service. 7 services at $4,200 a month with an 8% markup is $381,024 a year.

• Deal sourcing platforms and what a deal sourcing platform can and cannot do for a fund

  Deal sourcing platforms are marketplaces or databases. Neither produces proprietary flow, and 1 field tells you if they are paying.