38
/ 100
Equity Gap Score
Critical Gap
High owner dependency. Strong revenue, but currently priced as a job, not an asset. A buyer will discount significantly based on findings in this assessment.
8 Operational Dimensions
Pillar Scores
Founder Dependency
Owner approves all jobs over $3K
CRITICAL2/10
Knowledge Security
No SOPs; pricing logic in owner's head
CRITICAL1/10
Financial Clarity
ServiceTitan not synced to QuickBooks
DEVELOPING4/10
Growth Engine
90% of leads via owner referrals
CRITICAL2/10
Data Integrity
No automated job-level P&L reporting
CRITICAL3/10
Sales Playbooks
Close rate drops 60% without owner on call
CRITICAL3/10
Tech Infrastructure
ServiceTitan not integrated with back office
DEVELOPING5/10
Predictability
No 12-month forecast; bank-balance decisions
STRONG8/10
Highest Impact Items
Top 3 Priority Gaps
Gap 1 — Owner is the estimating bottleneck
Valuation impact: -0.8x EBITDA multiple
Every job over $3K requires owner approval. A buyer sees this as direct revenue risk — if the owner leaves, so does the close rate.
Gap 2 — No documented pricing or sales logic
Valuation impact: -0.5x EBITDA multiple
Pricing logic lives entirely in the owner's head. A buyer cannot verify revenue holds without him — the #1 cause of discounted sale prices.
Gap 3 — Lead gen is not owner-independent
Valuation impact: -0.4x EBITDA multiple
90% of leads come through owner relationships. A buyer pays a premium for a system that generates leads and discounts heavily when it depends on a person.
Valuation Analysis
Equity Gap
Equity Gap
Current State
$1,036,000
$470K EBITDA × 2.2x multiple
High owner dependency — priced as a job, not an asset
+$985,000
equity gap
After TrueUp
$2,021,000
+$985,000 projected equity unlocked
Systematized, owner-independent, buyer-ready
Based on industry exit multiples for systematized trade businesses · See path forward below
Pillar Notes & Assessment Summary
Findings from the Assessment Conversation
Pillar-by-Pillar Notes
Founder Dependency2/10 CRITICAL
Owner is present on every estimate above $3K and personally approves all bids. Field crew cannot close without him. When asked what would happen if he took two weeks off, he acknowledged new project intake would stop. No delegation framework exists.
Knowledge Security1/10 CRITICAL
Zero documented SOPs. Pricing logic, vendor relationships, and quality standards exist entirely in the owner's head. One key employee has partial knowledge but no written reference. If owner became incapacitated, the business would functionally stop within 30 days.
Financial Clarity4/10 DEVELOPING
ServiceTitan is used for job tracking but does not sync automatically with QuickBooks. Month-end reconciliation is done manually and takes 3–4 days. Job-level profitability cannot be pulled on demand. Owner cannot produce an accurate P&L by job in under 60 seconds.
Growth Engine2/10 CRITICAL
90% of new business comes from the owner's personal network and referrals. No paid lead generation, no SEO presence, no structured referral program. Google Business Profile exists but has not been actively managed. Owner is the entire growth engine.
Data Integrity3/10 CRITICAL
No automated reporting exists. Owner pulls numbers from memory or manually from ServiceTitan. Cannot produce a job-level P&L on demand. Financial decisions are made based on bank balance rather than margin data — a significant red flag for any buyer doing due diligence.
Sales Playbooks3/10 CRITICAL
Close rate drops 60% when owner is not on the sales call. No written sales process exists. New hires have no reference material. One crew lead handles smaller estimates but uses no formal framework. A buyer will see this as a direct threat to revenue continuity post-acquisition.
Tech Infrastructure5/10 DEVELOPING
ServiceTitan is in use and the team is comfortable with it. However it is not integrated with back-office tools. No single source of truth exists. Owner uses ServiceTitan, QuickBooks, and spreadsheets that do not communicate. Integration work is feasible but has not been prioritized.
Predictability8/10 STRONG
Owner has a strong intuitive sense of revenue patterns and seasonal trends. With 11 years of operation, the underlying data and performance history are the strongest pillar — the best foundation to build on.
Overall Assessment Summary
Pinnacle HVAC has loyal clients, consistent revenue, and real staying power. The challenge: almost none of it transfers without the owner. The gap between what this business is worth today versus after 90 days of structured work is nearly $1M in equity — and the window to act is still open.
Engagement Model
Path Forward
Step 1
Succession Readiness Audit
$10,000
Full diagnostic across all 8 pillars. Written report, readiness score, and prioritized roadmap to a premium exit.
Step 2
Succession Architecture
Custom engagement
90-day implementation of your Infrastructure of Independence. Systems built, owner removed from critical paths, valuation documented.
Optional
Guardian Retainer
$1,500–$5,500/mo
Ongoing fractional COO support to maintain systems, deploy new automations, and protect valuation through to exit.
Ready to close the gap?
Schedule your Succession Readiness Audit at trueupsystems.com
[email protected] · (801) 821-1558
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