---
title: "Methodology: how FirstPass Memo checks listings"
url: https://firstpassmemo.com/methodology/
updated: 2026-10-16
publisher: FirstPass Memo (hello@firstpassmemo.com)
---

About

# Methodology: how FirstPass Memo checks listings and writes its pages

Short answer: the free checker applies 33 fixed, published rules to the listing text you paste, in your browser. Benchmarks come from dated samples of public listings. Memos and teardowns use only public listing data plus your criteria. Nothing here verifies a seller's numbers; it tells you what to verify first.

Updated 16 October 2026

## The red-flag checker

- Rules, not a model. 33 plain rules (for example: payback below one year of profit, revenue concentrated in one source, missing profit figure). Each is explained on its own page under red flags explained (https://firstpassmemo.com/flags/) and published as rules.json (https://firstpassmemo.com/rules.json).

- Inputs. Only the text and numbers you paste. Numbers you type override numbers read from the text.

- Payback is asking price divided by average monthly profit. The asking multiple is compared with a category range taken from Empire Flippers asking multiples recorded on 6 October 2026.

- Privacy. The check runs in your browser; the listing text is never sent to us.

- Limits. A clean result does not mean a listing is sound. A listing can be internally consistent and still false. Rules can fire on honest listings with unusual structures.

## Benchmarks and data

The listing benchmarks (https://firstpassmemo.com/data/) are aggregates of public listings priced $10k–150k from the WebsitesForSaleOnline public API (Empire Flippers listings excluded), each with its sample size and date, under CC BY 4.0. Small samples are labelled as small. We do not extrapolate them to "the market".

## First-pass memos

A memo reads the public listing (or text you send) and your criteria: maximum price, payback target, hours and deal-breakers. It ranks every flag with the listing field it came from, shows how payback moves if profit is lower, and lists the seller questions and the numbers that would change the call. It does not use seller documents, account access or a call with the seller. That is the job of paid diligence, which we point you to when a listing earns it.

## Teardowns and clinics

Teardowns run the same rules on live public listings. Figures come only from the listing; tone is "to verify", never an accusation; owners are not named. Sold or withdrawn listings get a dated note instead of edited figures.

## Guides and answers

Each answer opens with a short answer, then the working. Prices, fees and policies of marketplaces and services are quoted from their own pages with the date we read them. Pages are drafted with software help and checked against those sources before publishing; see the editorial policy (https://firstpassmemo.com/editorial-policy/).

## What we never do

- Invent reviews, testimonials, customer counts or ratings.

- Take money from marketplaces, brokers or sellers, or use affiliate links.

- Present a screen as a verification, valuation or advice.

## Looking at a specific listing? Get a full memo — $79, pay after delivery.

Paste the link; your memo arrives within 24 hours (Mon–Fri). $79, pay after delivery: we send the memo first, then an invoice. Human quick reviews cost $199–$390.

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FirstPass Memo is informational screening, not investment, legal, tax, accounting or valuation advice, and not an audit. Seller figures are not independently verified. HTML version: https://firstpassmemo.com/methodology/