QoE stands for quality of earnings. You will also see QofE, Q of E and, less often, QoE report used to mean the document rather than the exercise. They all describe the same thing: an analysis of how much of a company's reported profit is real, repeatable and transferable.
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QofE or Q of E meaning: why the spellings vary
Quality of Earnings shortens naturally to QoE, and some firms include the of, producing QofE. Both appear in engagement letters and in conversation, and neither means anything different. A seller encountering the term for the first time in a buyer's email is not missing a distinction.
QoE meaning in practice: what the exercise does to your number
It moves reported profit to an adjusted figure by separating one off items from recurring ones, replacing owner compensation with a market cost, removing unevidenced add backs, and normalising anything that flattered a particular period. That adjusted figure is what the multiple is applied to, which is why a small change here is a large change in price.
When the QoE report appears in the timetable
Usually in the first weeks after a letter of intent is signed, as the opening move of financial diligence. Occasionally before marketing, where the seller commissions a vendor version. Either way it arrives early, which is why the add back evidence should exist before you go to market rather than being assembled in response.
Questions people ask about qoe
Is a QoE the same as an audit?
No. An audit tests compliance with a reporting framework; a QoE tests what the business really earns and whether that continues.
Who pays for it?
Whoever commissions it. In most private sales that is the buyer; in a competitive process the seller sometimes commissions a vendor version.
Can I dispute the adjustments?
Yes, with evidence and quickly. Most disputed adjustments turn out to be documents that were never provided.