Searchers & Independent Sponsors
Senior-associate-level modeling and diligence so you can move on a deal without carrying full-time analyst overhead.
FirmLedge · SMB + LMM Transaction Support
Deal screening, acquisition modeling, and diligence support, from first CIM to close.
FirmLedge gives searchers, independent sponsors, and lean lower-middle-market investment teams senior-associate-level deal support: fixed-fee deal screens, acquisition models, and diligence sprints, each quoted upfront with a defined scope and delivery date. Deal-team capacity without adding headcount.
- Searchers & Independent Sponsors
- Business Buyers & Operators
- Business Owners
- M&A Advisors & Brokers
- Boutique PE / Family Offices
Built by a former private equity senior associate and investment banking analyst · 7 closed M&A transactions · $350MM+ aggregate closed transaction value.
00 · Track Record
A practitioner record, not a pitch.
7
Closed transactions, buy-side and sell-side
$350MM+
Aggregate closed transaction value ($290MM sell-side M&A ·
$60MM buy-side PE)
200+
Platform & add-on opportunities screened / evaluated (EVs up
to ~$250MM)
20+
LOIs supported through diligence
PE + IB
Prior PE Senior Associate and former IB analyst
01 · Who We Help
Built for the people doing the deal.
FirmLedge plugs in as on-demand analytical capacity for the operators, investors, and advisors who need investor-grade work without standing up a full deal team.
Business Buyers & Acquisition Entrepreneurs
Pressure-test the numbers before you sign, finance, or operate the business.
Business Owners Preparing for a Buyer or Lender Process
Organize financials, KPIs, and operating data into clean, buyer-ready analysis ahead of a sale, financing, or advisor-led process.
M&A Advisors & Brokers
Add analytical bandwidth to client engagements without expanding your bench.
CPA Firms & Fractional CFOs
Overflow, deal-specific analytical support when client transactions exceed your in-house capacity.
LMM Investors, Boutique PE & Family Offices
Outsourced deal-team analytics for direct deals, add-ons, and portfolio work.
02 · What We Do
Three engagements mapped to the life of a deal.
Fixed-fee sprints tied to the moments every buyer hits: the first look, the bid, and the data room. We build the analysis; you keep the decision.
48-Hour Deal Screen
"Should I spend more time on this?" A standardized financial spread, EBITDA and cash-conversion read, red flags, and the broker question list, delivered within 48 hours of usable materials.
IOI / LOI Model Package
"Can this bid work?" An acquisition model with return cases, debt capacity, purchase-price sensitivity, and structure scenarios, built to support your bid or pressure-test it.
Under-LOI Diligence Sprint
"What does the data room actually show?" The same model, rebuilt on diligence data: revenue quality, margin bridges, working-capital peg support, and revised deal terms.
Also available: lender / ABL packages, working capital / NWC analysis, seller financial readiness, post-close value-creation analytics, and monthly analyst support for teams with recurring deal flow.
03 · Sector Exposure
Sector exposure across SMB and lower-middle-market operating businesses.
FirmLedge work is built around the same questions across sectors: revenue quality, margin durability, working capital, customer concentration, vendor dynamics, financing support, and post-close value creation. Representative exposure spans the categories below.
Industrials & Specialty Distribution
Distribution and industrial operating models where pricing, inventory, vendor terms, customer concentration, and working capital often drive the diligence agenda.
Representative examples Seafood and specialty food, healthcare distribution, industrial distribution, MRO, electrical, chemicals, grain and meat, electronics / networking / data center, fasteners, and industrial filtration.
Building Products, Materials & Home Services
Cyclical, project-based, and service-heavy markets where mix, backlog, labor utilization, commodity exposure, and cash conversion matter.
Representative examples Building products distribution, construction materials and aggregates, windows and doors, outdoor products, homebuilders, lumber and steel distributors, HVAC, mechanical contractors, electrical services, roofing, waterproofing, mold remediation, and outdoor / garden services.
Tech-Enabled & Business Services
Asset-light and recurring or process-driven services where retention, utilization, contract quality, labor model, service levels, and KPI quality are central.
Representative examples Managed IT services / MSPs, staffing solutions, staffing technology, employment screening, employment services and benefits, BPO / procurement, inspection services, vehicle registration and licensing services, supply chain services, and credit reporting / bureau services.
Healthcare & Specialty Services
Healthcare-adjacent and specialty service models where referral dynamics, reimbursement or payor considerations, capacity, utilization, and compliance-aware diligence matter.
Representative examples Value-add medical equipment distribution, fertility services, healthcare services, and related specialty service models.
Transportation, Franchise & Consumer Services
Service and consumer models where unit economics, location-level performance, customer demand, labor, and operating consistency are key diligence questions.
Representative examples Truck brokerage, transportation and freight services, franchise concepts, trampoline parks, fitness chains, and other multi-site or repeatable service models.
See full sector exposure map →
Representative exposure shown at the industry level only. No client names, target names, or confidential transaction details are shown.
04 · How Engagements Work
Scoped, senior, and fast to start.
Every engagement is a fixed-fee sprint: scope, delivery date, and fee quoted upfront before any work begins. Most engagements move from first call to delivered analysis in days, not weeks.
Scope
We define the deliverable, delivery date, and fixed fee before work starts, scoped to deal stage, data quality, and required outputs.
Review
You send the financials, model, or data room; we review inputs and confirm scope.
Build
We build the model, diligence analysis, or financial package to investor-grade standards.
Deliver
You receive decision-ready files plus the supporting workings, ready to use with buyers, lenders, or your IC.
FirmLedge works through fixed-fee project sprints scoped around deal stage, data quality, timeline, and required deliverables. After a short fit call and a review of available materials, each engagement is quoted upfront with a defined scope, delivery date, and fixed fee. No success fees. No open-ended hourly meter.
Project Sprint
Fixed-fee scoped analysis for a live deal, model review, lender package, or portfolio issue.
Monthly Support Retainer
Ongoing analytical capacity for active searchers, sponsors, or lean PE teams reviewing recurring deal flow.
Portfolio / Value-Creation Support
Recurring or project-based KPI, margin, working-capital, and reporting support.
05 · Scope & Boundaries
Analytical support, not regulated transaction services.
FirmLedge provides fixed-fee analytical work product. We are not a fractional CFO shop, an accounting or audit firm, a QoE or valuation-opinion provider, an investment bank, a broker-dealer, or a securities or capital-raising advisor. Clear lines keep engagements clean.
What we do
- Acquisition and operating model support, builds, and pressure-testing
- Financial and commercial diligence support and IC-memo input
- Net working capital and peg analysis
- Lender-package, borrowing-base, and covenant support
- Buyer-ready financial packaging and adjusted-EBITDA support
- KPI, margin, and value-creation analytics
- Management, investor, and lender materials support
What we don't do
- Legal, tax, audit, or assurance services
- Formal Quality of Earnings (QoE) reports
- Fairness or valuation opinions
- Investment advice or securities advisory
- Broker-dealer services, capital raising, or investor solicitation
- Transaction negotiation or success-fee-based deal services
FirmLedge delivers analysis and supporting materials. Decisions, opinions, attestations, and regulated services remain with your own legal, tax, audit, banking, and advisory professionals.
06 · Who's Behind It
Built by a practitioner, not an outsourcer.
Andrew Gallagher
Founder · FirmLedge
FirmLedge is led by Andrew Gallagher, a private equity investor and former investment banking analyst, most recently a Senior Associate at a lower-middle-market private equity firm. He brings that same senior-associate-level analytical capacity, built across buy-side and sell-side deals, directly to your transaction.
- Former PE Senior Associate
- Former IB Analyst (Industrials)
- 3 buy-side PE acquisitions
- 4 sell-side M&A / carve-outs
- Multi-billion-dollar strategic M&A analysis
Andrew is also the creator of UpLevered, a practitioner desk reference for middle-market private equity.
07 · Start a Conversation
Have a live deal, overloaded diligence workstream, or a model that needs pressure-testing?
Tell us the situation and the timeline. We'll tell you whether it's a fit, how we'd scope it, and what it costs: a fixed fee, quoted upfront.
Please do not include confidential, MNPI, or sensitive transaction materials in the initial email. If the project is a fit, FirmLedge will coordinate a secure intake process.