Business Acquisition Deal Pipeline Tracker (Template for Australian Buyers)

The Business Acquisition Deal Pipeline Template

Use one record per business opportunity. Copy the template for each new listing. The scoring rubric in Stage 2 helps you prioritise where to spend time.

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How to use this template

For each business you're evaluating, create a new record using the structure below. Keep all records in a single document or spreadsheet tab (one row per business, with columns for each key field). Update it after every broker call, site visit, or document received.

The scoring rubric (Stage 2) gives each listing a score out of 25. Anything under 12 gets passed; anything 18 or above gets active attention. The middle zone (12–17) stays in the pipeline but isn't a priority until something changes.

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Stage 1: Prospecting Record

Complete this when you first identify a listing or receive a broker introduction.

Business name or code: _____________ (use a code if the business is confidential)

Source: Where did you find it? Seek Business / Bsale / Broker direct / Referral / Off-market outreach / Other

Broker name and firm: _____________

Broker contact details (phone/email): _____________

Industry: _____________ (plumbing / electrical / landscaping / cleaning / HVAC / other)

Location: _____________ (suburb, city, state)

Asking price: $_____________

Stated revenue: $_____________

Stated EBITDA or SDE: $_____________

Implied multiple: ____x EBITDA

Date first identified: _____________

Date NDA signed (if applicable): _____________

Initial impression (1–3 sentences): _____________

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Stage 2: Initial Screening Scorecard

Complete after your first substantive broker call and initial review of the IM or teaser. Score each factor 1–5 (1 = poor fit, 5 = strong fit). No passing grade for any single factor — this is a portfolio score.

Factor 1: Industry and geography fit Score ___ / 5

• 5 = Exactly the industry and location I'm targeting
• 3 = Close to my criteria with one minor deviation
• 1 = Outside my target industry or geography, considering anyway

Factor 2: Price and multiple Score ___ / 5

• 5 = Within budget, multiple is at or below sector average
• 3 = Slightly over budget or multiple is at the high end of reasonable
• 1 = Significantly over budget or multiple is hard to justify

Factor 3: Revenue quality Score ___ / 5

• 5 = Recurring revenue, diversified customer base, no single customer over 20% of revenue
• 3 = Mostly recurring, moderate concentration
• 1 = Project-based or highly concentrated revenue

Factor 4: Owner dependency Score ___ / 5

• 5 = Business operates without the owner; strong management team in place
• 3 = Owner involved but has capable staff; could step back with a transition plan
• 1 = Owner is the business; no handover seems feasible

Factor 5: Seller motivation and handover Score ___ / 5

• 5 = Clear genuine motivation (retirement, illness, relocation); willing to stay 6+ months
• 3 = Motivation is plausible; willing to stay 2–3 months
• 1 = Motivation unclear or vague; reluctant to commit to handover

Total score: ___ / 25

Decision: Pass (under 12) / Hold (12–17) / Progress (18 or above)

Reason for decision (1–2 sentences): _____________

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Stage 3: Active Evaluation Log

Complete once you're doing substantive analysis. Update after each significant touchpoint.

Documents received:

• Information memorandum
• Last 3 years' financial statements (tax returns or accountant-prepared)
• BAS statements (last 12 months)
• Customer list (or anonymised customer concentration data)
• Employee list with roles and tenure
• Lease agreement(s)
• Equipment/asset list
• Key contracts (customers, suppliers, subcontractors)
• Any existing due diligence reports

Site visit completed: Yes / No — Date: ________

Site visit notes (key observations): _____________

Accountant review initiated: Yes / No — Accountant name: _____________

Accountant preliminary findings: _____________

Solicitor review initiated: Yes / No — Solicitor name: _____________

Key concerns identified at this stage:

1. _____________
2. _____________
3. _____________

Revised valuation estimate: $_____________ (your estimate, based on normalised financials)

Normalised EBITDA or SDE: $_____________

Your target multiple: ____x

Your offer target: $_____________

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Stage 4: Offer and Negotiation Tracker

Complete once you're working on a letter of intent or heads of agreement.

Offer price submitted: $_____________

Date submitted: _____________

Offer type: Unconditional / Conditional (list conditions below)

Key conditions:

• Satisfactory due diligence
• Finance approval (bank/lender name: ________)
• Lease assignment or new lease in acceptable terms
• Vendor remaining for handover period of _____ months
• ATO clearance certificate
• Other: _____________

Negotiation history:

Date ____: Offered $____. Seller response: _________

Date ____: Counter-offered $____. Our response: _________

Vendor finance requested: Yes / No

If yes — Amount: $_____ / Term: ____ months / Interest rate: _____% / Security: ________

Earn-out included: Yes / No

If yes — Amount: $_____ / KPIs: ________ / Duration: ____ months

LOI/Heads of Agreement signed: Yes / No — Date: ________

Exclusivity period: ____ days from ________

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Stage 5: Due Diligence Status

Complete once you're in conditional due diligence under a signed contract.

Accountant DD status: Not started / In progress / Complete

Key findings from accountant:

• _____________
• _____________

Solicitor DD status: Not started / In progress / Complete

Key findings from solicitor:

• _____________
• _____________

Finance approval status: Pending / Conditional approval / Formal approval / Declined

Lender: _____________

Loan amount approved: $_____________

Price renegotiation after DD: Yes / No

If yes — Revised price: $__________ — Reason: _____________

Settlement date: _____________

Outcome: Completed / Fell over at DD / Withdrew / Other

Reason if not completed: _____________

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Broker Conversation Log

Keep a running log for each broker contact. Add a new entry after every call or meeting.

Broker name: _____________

Firm: _____________

Date: _________ — Method: Phone / Email / In-person

Topics covered:

• _____________

Key information received:

• _____________

Questions I asked and responses:

• Q: _________ A: ___________
• Q: _________ A: ___________

Anything I want to follow up:

• _____________

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Pipeline summary (monthly review)

Review your full pipeline at the end of each month. Ask:

1. How many opportunities are at each stage right now?

• Prospecting: ____ opportunities
• Initial screening: ____ opportunities
• Active evaluation: ____ opportunities
• Offer stage: ____ opportunities
• Due diligence: ____ opportunities

2. Have I passed on anything in the last 30 days? What was the reason?

3. Am I applying my criteria consistently, or am I relaxing them for deals I like the look of?

4. What's my conversion rate from IM received to site visit? (Target: roughly 1 in 4 to 1 in 5.)

5. What's missing from my pipeline — industry, geography, price range?

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How to use this with the Acquisition Criteria Template

This deal pipeline works best alongside the Acquisition Criteria Template. The criteria template defines what you're looking for before you start; the pipeline records what you're actually seeing and how each opportunity measures against those criteria.

Before you add any opportunity to Stage 1, check it quickly against your criteria template. If it fails two or more criteria before you've even spoken to the broker, remove it from the pipeline — your time is better spent on opportunities that fit. The brokers will still be there when you have room in your pipeline for a stretch opportunity.

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Australian-specific notes

State-based stamp duty: When tracking deals, note the state — Victoria, NSW, and Queensland each have different duty treatment for asset vs share acquisitions. This affects your true cost-to-acquire and should be factored into your offer price. See Module 6 of the Playbook for deal structure considerations.

ATO clearance certificate: Add this as a Stage 5 condition on every deal. It confirms the vendor has no outstanding ATO debts that could become yours on settlement.

ASIC searches: Your solicitor should run ASIC searches on the vendor entity as part of legal DD. Flag it early if there are any historical deregistrations, court orders, or security interests registered against the business assets (check PPSR — the Personal Property Securities Register).

GST going concern: If the business qualifies as a going concern under s38-325 of the GST Act, the sale may be GST-free. This is worth confirming early — it affects the purchase price calculation by up to 10% on the GST-applicable portion.