I’m working with a private equity firm to find add-on HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or refrigeration companies for their plumbing construction firm in the Seattle area (so if you know of any doing at least $5 million in sales who want an investor let me know). The founder of the PE firm has a distinct term for the earnings/income of a company.
He calls it “real income.” What this means is, it’s the income after allowing for all the expenses required to run a business. This means expenses for:
- A CEO at fair market salary.
- A CFO type, not just a part-time bookkeeper who doesn’t know what a KPI (key performance indicator) is.
- Anticipated capital expenditures.
- Operating interest (a working capital line of credit).
About 15 years ago I started using the term “free cash flow,” which is pretty much the same as what’s above. I would add together profit, owner salary, depreciation, and interest and subtract fair market owner compensation, anticipated capital expenditures, and operating interest.
What I didn’t include was the CFO/controller role and compensation, even though I’ve seen hundreds of businesses with crappy financial systems and crazy financial statements. Not to mention no management reports, no metrics, KPIs, etc. It took a while, but I now understand that’s a role we need to account for when adjusting earnings.
I like the term “real income.” It conveys trust, non-fantasy, and sincerity. It’s now my go-to term.
“The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on trying to put things in it.” (Author) Terry Pratchett
