How to Verify the Financials of a FedEx Route for Sale

To verify a FedEx route's financials, rebuild the revenue from FedEx's own weekly settlement statements, then check that those statements match the seller's bank deposits and tax returns. Settlements are the one record neither the seller nor the broker writes: FedEx produces them, and they are what the business is actually paid on. Revenue that ties out across all three sources is verified. Anything that exists only in the seller's spreadsheet, including most cash-flow figures, is a claim until you trace it to a document.

How to verify them, step by step

1. Ask for the settlement statements, not a summary. 24 months of weekly statements for every CSA in the deal, downloaded from the seller's FedEx portal. A summary spreadsheet built from them is not a substitute.
2. Build one row per FedEx week. Weeks run Saturday through Friday, one statement per week per CSA. Check that no week is missing: a gap is either a missing document or a week the route didn't run, and you need to know which.
3. Check the CSA code on every statement. Each statement names its contracted service area. Make sure every statement belongs to a CSA you're actually buying.
4. Total the revenue yourself. Add up 52 weeks of total charges and compare it with the listing's trailing-twelve-month revenue. Small differences have reasons. Big ones need an answer in writing.
5. Tie the statements to the bank. Each statement's net amount due should match a deposit in the business bank account. Ask for the bank statements and check a sample of weeks, including a few from Peak.
6. Tie the statements to the tax returns. A year of settlement revenue should line up with the gross receipts on that year's return, with any difference explained.
7. Separate recurring revenue from one-time money. Transition payments, one-time payments, incentives and peak pay sit on the statement next to the everyday charges. Count them, but don't value the business as if they recur.
8. Check the rates against the contract. Compare what the statements paid per stop and per package with the current Schedule C rate card, and find out whether a MESO or renewal is about to change those rates.
9. Verify the costs one by one. Labor against the payroll register, trucks against the fleet list and loan statements, insurance against the policies. Every add-back in the seller's cash flow needs a document behind it.
10. Rebuild the cash flow yourself. Start from the verified revenue, subtract the verified costs, and compare your number with the seller's. The price should rest on yours.

A worked example

These are made-up numbers, chosen to show how the checks work. They are not typical figures for any route.

• The listing says: $1,200,000 trailing-twelve-month revenue.
• 52 weeks of settlements total: $1,180,000.
• Inside that total: $60,000 of one-time transition payments from when the seller took over a neighboring area.
• Bank deposits: every sampled week's deposit matches that statement's net amount due.

The settlements and the bank agree, so $1,180,000 is the real revenue, not $1,200,000. And the recurring revenue, the part a buyer is paying for, is $1,180,000 − $60,000 = $1,120,000. The $80,000 gap between the listing and the recurring number is the kind of difference that moves a price.

Warning signs

• The seller won't share settlement statements, or only shares a few hand-picked weeks.
• Missing weeks that nobody can explain.
• Revenue that only exists in a spreadsheet and can't be traced to a statement or a deposit.
• Cash flow with large add-backs and no documents behind them.
• Statements from a CSA that isn't in the deal mixed into the totals.

More in our list of red flags in FedEx route listings.

Common questions

What does "settlement-verified" mean on a route listing?

That a figure was computed from the seller's weekly FedEx settlement statements rather than typed in. It covers revenue, stops and packages. It can't cover cash flow, which depends on costs that settlements don't show. See what a settlement-verified listing looks like.

How many months of settlements should I ask for?

24 months for every CSA in the deal. Two Peaks and two slow seasons tell you far more than one year does.

Can tax returns replace settlement statements?

No. A return gives you one number a year. Settlements show every week, every CSA and what each kind of work paid. Use the returns to check the settlements, not instead of them.

How do I verify cash flow (SDE)?

From the profit and loss statement, the bank statements and the documents behind each add-back. Settlements prove the revenue side only.

Who should check the numbers with me?

An accountant who has worked on FedEx route purchases, and an attorney for the purchase agreement. Your own reconciliation tells them where to look.

Checking a statement in minutes

If a seller sends you a recent settlement statement, run it through Route Impact's free teardown: it breaks the week into its revenue mix and points out anything worth asking about, with no account required. Listings on routeimpact.ai/listings mark which figures were read from settlements and which came from the seller's books, so you know which numbers still need the steps above.