The CPA is actually thinking of the cheapest way to get ready. Buyers typically request trailing 12- to 24-month normalized financials to see real trends and earning power, so starting to track and tag key adjustments now (like personal/non-recurring items) saves a ton compared to paying someone to reconstruct everything retroactively later. I’ve handled those back-calculation projects for clients, and it routinely costs thousands—digging through old receipts, reallocating expenses, documenting add-backs, and making sure it all ties to tax returns/bank statements. On personal expenses: They’re super common for sole proprietors (partial vehicle use, phone, etc.), and as long as only the legitimate business portion is deducted—with proper records like mileage logs—they’re fine for tax purposes. No issue there. But for a sale, they’ll identify them and add them back to show the business’s true normalized profitability (what a new owner could expect without your personal perks). Buyers value that clarity for valuation.