Getting Started Guide
Your first week on CapBench
From zero to your first live deal in under an hour. Here's exactly what to do, step by step.
Set up and publish your first deal
Everything you need to go from new account to a live, buyer-ready deal.
Create your account
Sign up with Google, LinkedIn, or email. Pick the Free plan to start — you can upgrade anytime.
Sign Up FreeSet up your firm
Name your organization and invite team members (or skip this if you're a solo advisor or selling FSBO).
Create your first deal
Click "Create Deal" from your dashboard. Enter the business name, industry, location, revenue range, and asking price. Write a headline and teaser description — this becomes your Opportunity Brief.
Build the Deal Book
Add sections for the business overview, financials, operations, growth opportunities, and team. This is the full story buyers see after verification. Use markdown for formatting.
Preview and publish
Preview your deal as a buyer would see it. Check the Opportunity Brief, verification flow, and Deal Book. When it looks right, set the deal to active.
Invite buyers and watch engagement
Your deal is live. Now start moving buyers through the process.
Invite your first buyers
Add buyer contacts and CapBench emails each one a personal invite link. Every view and signature traces back to a specific buyer — no forwarded PDFs.
Watch buyer verification
As buyers open the Opportunity Brief and sign the NDA online, you'll see their progress in real time. You'll get notified the moment a buyer first opens the Deal Book.
Review engagement
Check your dashboard for activity timelines and progression data. See who read the Deal Book, who's still on the brief, and who went quiet.
Follow up where it counts
You can see which buyers are engaged and which have stalled. Spend your follow-up time on the ones actually reading the Deal Book.
Bring over your existing deals and contacts
Whether you're coming from email + Dropbox or a CRM — here's how to bring everything into CapBench.
Buyer contacts
If you have an existing buyer list in a spreadsheet or CRM, you can add them as contacts in CapBench. Each contact gets a personal invite link and starts at the Opportunity Brief.
- Add contacts one at a time from the Buyers tab
- Each buyer gets their own invite link, sent by email
- Existing verifications? Use the manual verify override to skip verification for known buyers
- Buyers who have already seen your Deal Book can be advanced to the appropriate stage
Deal materials
If you have an existing teaser or CIM, use that content to populate the Opportunity Brief and Deal Book on CapBench.
- Copy your teaser headline and description into the deal setup
- Break your Deal Book into sections (overview, financials, operations, growth, team)
- Paste the content into the Deal Book editor — it supports markdown formatting
- Add highlights and key metrics that appear on the Opportunity Brief
In-progress deals
For deals that are already underway, you can set up the deal on CapBench and fast-track existing buyers to their current stage.
- Create the deal and populate materials
- Add known buyers and use manual verification to advance them
- Send each remaining buyer their personal invite link
- Going forward, all new interactions happen through CapBench
Common questions
How long does it take to set up my first deal?
Under an hour for a complete deal with the Opportunity Brief, Buyer Verification, and Deal Book. You can publish a simple deal in 15 minutes and add detail over time.
Can I import contacts from a spreadsheet?
You can add contacts individually from the Buyers tab. For large lists, reach out and we can help with bulk import. Each added contact gets invited into the structured deal progression.
What if buyers are already verified?
Use the manual verification override in the Buyers tab. Click 'Verify' on any buyer to skip the digital verification step and advance them to Deal Book access immediately.
Can I run multiple deals at the same time?
The Free plan includes 1 active deal. Starter supports up to 3 concurrent deals, and Business supports up to 40. You can upgrade at any time.
Do buyers need an account to read the Deal Book?
No. Buyers open the Deal Book from their personal invite link — no account needed. Every page is watermarked with the viewer's identity, and you see exactly which sections they read.
How do buyers access my deal?
Share the deal link directly (each deal gets a unique URL like www.capbench.com/d/your-business-name), or add buyer email addresses and CapBench sends them an invitation. Buyers can also discover your deal through the Browse Opportunities page if you enable public discovery.
For Buyers
Looking to acquire a business?
CapBench is free for buyers. Browse vetted opportunities from advisory firms, complete Buyer Verification, access Deal Books, and manage your acquisition pipeline -- all in one place.
Trusted by M&A advisors
Built for the way deals actually work.
CapBench replaces scattered email chains, shared folders, and manual follow-ups with one structured system advisors actually use.
3
Structured deal stages
100%
Buyer engagement visibility
<1 hr
First deal setup time
Ready to set up your first deal?
The Free plan includes one full deal with all three stages. No credit card required.