Keep a search fund's deal decisions tied to evidence
Make the next reviewer able to see what you know and why you chose to act.
A teammate or investor needs to understand why a deal advanced. Give them a decision record they can inspect, with the evidence and the unanswered question still attached.
State the mandate
Write the criteria that matter to this decision. A traditional search fund, micro-PE team, or independent sponsor may have a different mandate. Record the version you used so a later change does not rewrite the original reason.
Separate claims from assumptions
For an earnings claim, retain the document version, page or sheet, period, and exact earnings label. Put your assumption on a separate line. Keep any missing support beside the claim.
A polished summary is useful only when its reader can inspect what supports it. A source citation shows where a figure came from, not whether the seller's accounts are correct.
Show what changed the decision
Synthetic example. All criteria, documents, and figures below are invented.
Mandate: this team's maximum single-customer concentration is 25% of revenue. This is a sample criterion, not an industry benchmark.
Source claim: CIM v1, page 11, reports 2025 adjusted EBITDA of $740,000. Page 14 reports the largest customer at 18% of revenue for the same year. The seller's adjustment schedule remains unreviewed.
Assumption: the customer remains at a similar share this year. The team has not confirmed that assumption.
Question: what does the current customer schedule show?
Decision and owner: Ask first. The deal lead requests the schedule before advancing the opportunity.
New evidence: the broker supplies a current-year schedule, v2, page 3. It reports the same customer at 31% of revenue for that period.
Revised decision: Pass under this mandate. The deal lead dates the update and retains the earlier decision and both source periods.
The record explains why the decision changed. Another reviewer can challenge the criterion, check the periods, or ask for better evidence without reconstructing the conversation.
Give the reviewer a bounded request
Ask one question the reviewer can answer. Name the owner and the date you need a response. For example, ask an advisor to review the earnings reconciliation rather than to "take a look at the deal."
Before sharing, check the confidentiality terms and broker instructions. Send only material authorized for that recipient and purpose. Keep the response with the decision it informs.
Use the same record for the next opportunity. It gives your team a consistent way to compare reasons, including when the right decision is to pass.