# Instilus small-business decision tools (remote · www.instilus.com)

Valuation, EBITDA, break-even, margin, rates, acquisition, competitor research, store audit.

- Trust score: 68/100 (medium)
- Change this week: +4
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-10-18

## Components

- remote · `www.instilus.com`: 68/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-instilus-www-business-tools/mcp-v1.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-instilus-www-business-tools/mcp-v1)

## Channel facts

- Endpoint: `https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1`
- Transports: `streamable-http`
- Auth: `none`
- Version: `1.3.0`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically against the live server, and we only credit what we can confirm. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-10-18.

- **Endpoint Security**: 57/100
  - The endpoint's TLS certificate is valid, in date, and uses a strong key.
  - Authorisation not fully verified: no authorisation is required to call this server, and 8 tool(s) never declared a destructiveHint. The MCP spec treats an absent hint as destructive by default, so we cannot call this surface safe.
  - HTTPS is enforced; there's no plaintext access path.
  - HSTS check failed: the Strict-Transport-Security header is absent.
  - DNSSEC check failed: this domain isn't protected by DNSSEC.
- **Transport & Reachability**: 100/100
  - Verified streamable-http transport via a live MCP handshake.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 75/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (excellent).
  - Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 1078 tokens (~134/item across 8 items; 8 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 37/100
  - Stability observed for 11 of 30 days with no destabilising changes; credit accrues until the full window elapses.
- **Tool Coverage**: 100/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 100% of tool parameters carry a description.
- **Tool Safety**: 100/100
  - No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.
  - We read all 8 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 8 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.
- **Capabilities**: 60/100
  - Spec-recency check failed: implements MCP spec 2025-06-18; the latest is 2026-07-28.

## Install

### How do I install the Instilus small-business decision tools MCP server?

Instilus small-business decision tools is a hosted endpoint at https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1, so there is nothing to install locally. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http com-instilus-www-business-tools 'https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1'
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "com-instilus-www-business-tools": {
      "url": "https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1"
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "com-instilus-www-business-tools": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1"
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```toml
[mcp_servers.com-instilus-www-business-tools]
url = "https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1"
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "com-instilus-www-business-tools": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add com-instilus-www-business-tools --url 'https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1' --transport streamable-http
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  com-instilus-www-business-tools:
    url: "https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1"
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "com-instilus-www-business-tools": {
      "Transport": "http",
      "Url": "https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1"
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add com-instilus-www-business-tools -t streamable-http -u 'https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1'
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "com-instilus-www-business-tools": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1"
    }
  }
}
```

The mcpServers block is a cross-client convention. Remote transports vary, so check your client's docs.

## Changelog

Every change recorded for this component, newest first. Days that predate change tracking, or that we cannot explain, say so: "we were watching and nothing happened" and "we were not watching" are different claims.

### 2026-10-18 (score 68, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 33 to 37. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 10 days of observed history at the previous scan, 11 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-16 (score 67, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 27 to 30. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 8 days of observed history at the previous scan, 9 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-13 (score 66, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 17 to 20. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 5 days of observed history at the previous scan, 6 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-12 (score 65, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 10 to 17. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 3 days of observed history at the previous scan, 5 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-10 (score 64, +1)

- [functional improvement] Stability: unverified → 0.10

### 2026-10-07 (score 63)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (8)

### `forge_business_valuation_estimate` (~162 tokens)

Estimate what a small business is worth using Normalised EBITDA and typical small-business earnings multiples. Answers "how much is my business worth?" from real figures — revenue, cost of goods sold, operating expenses, owner pay and a fair-market salary for the owner role — rather than a generic rule of thumb. Produces an indicative enterprise value range, not a professional appraisal.

Input parameters:

- `annualRevenue` (number, required): Annual revenue.
- `costOfGoodsSold` (number, required): Annual cost of goods sold.
- `fairMarketSalary` (number, required): What it would cost to hire someone to do the owner role.
- `operatingExpenses` (number, required): Annual operating expenses, excluding owner pay.
- `ownerPay` (number, required): Total owner compensation taken from the business.

### `forge_ebitda` (~144 tokens)

Calculate EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA for a small business. Answers "what is my EBITDA?" and "what is my adjusted EBITDA after add-backs?" from real figures — revenue, cost of goods sold, operating expenses, and add-backs such as owner pay above a market salary, one-off costs and personal expenses run through the business.

Input parameters:

- `addBacks` (number): Total add-backs: owner pay above market, one-offs, personal expenses. Optional.
- `annualRevenue` (number, required): Annual revenue.
- `costOfGoodsSold` (number, required): Annual cost of goods sold.
- `operatingExpenses` (number, required): Annual operating expenses, including owner pay.

### `forge_break_even` (~132 tokens)

Work out how many sales a month a business needs to cover its costs, and how many to hit a target profit. Answers "what is my break-even point?" from fixed monthly costs, price per sale and variable cost per sale.

Input parameters:

- `fixedCostsPerMonth` (number, required): Monthly fixed costs: rent, salaries, software, anything paid whether or not you sell.
- `pricePerSale` (number, required): What one sale brings in.
- `targetProfitPerMonth` (number): Monthly profit to aim past break-even. Optional.
- `variableCostPerSale` (number, required): What one sale costs to deliver.

### `forge_profit_margin` (~113 tokens)

Convert between profit margin and markup, and work out the price a target margin requires. Answers "what is my profit margin?", "what is the difference between margin and markup?" and "what should I charge for a 40% margin?" from cost and price.

Input parameters:

- `cost` (number, required): What the item costs you.
- `price` (number): What you sell it for. Optional if targetMarginPercent is given.
- `targetMarginPercent` (number): The margin you want, as a percentage. Optional.

### `forge_freelance_rate` (~140 tokens)

Work out the hourly or day rate a freelancer or consultant needs to charge, once unbillable time is accounted for. Answers "what should I charge per hour?" from target annual income, business costs, working weeks and realistic billable hours.

Input parameters:

- `annualBusinessCosts` (number): Annual business costs: software, insurance, accountant, equipment.
- `billableHoursPerWeek` (number, required): Hours a week genuinely billed, not hours worked.
- `targetAnnualIncome` (number, required): What you want to earn in a year, before tax.
- `workingWeeksPerYear` (number, required): Weeks worked a year, after holiday and illness.

### `forge_acquisition_affordability` (~132 tokens)

Check whether a business being bought can pay for its own purchase out of profit, and what happens if it underperforms. Answers "can I afford to buy this business?" from asking price, deposit, loan terms and the annual profit of the business being bought.

Input parameters:

- `annualProfit` (number, required): Annual profit of the business being bought, before financing.
- `askingPrice` (number, required): The asking price.
- `deposit` (number, required): Cash paid up front.
- `interestRatePercent` (number, required): Annual interest rate on the borrowed balance.
- `loanYears` (number, required): Years to repay.

### `forge_competitor_research_method` (~138 tokens)

The method for researching competitors or a market before committing money, and what each finding is worth. Answers "how do I do a competitor analysis?", "how do I research a market before entering it?" and "what will an investor ask me about competitors?" — returns the steps, the six things a competitor publicly reveals, and how to turn a finding into a decision rather than a grid.

Input parameters:

- `competitorCount` (number): How many competitors are being considered. Optional.
- `question` (string, required): Which decision this is for: researching competitors, deciding whether to enter a market, or answering the competition question in a raise.

### `forge_shopify_store_audit` (~117 tokens)

Audit a real Shopify store from its public pages and score it out of 100 for speed, SEO, trust and product pages. Answers "why is my Shopify store not converting?", "how fast is my store?" and "what should I fix on my Shopify store first?" — reads only what a shopper can see, needs no login or app install, and returns the fixes in the order worth doing them.

Input parameters:

- `domain` (string, required): The storefront address, for example mystore.com or mystore.myshopify.com.

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: TLS, DNSSEC, Authorisation, Transports. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-instilus-www-business-tools/mcp-v1#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-10-18: 68
- 2026-10-17: 67
- 2026-10-16: 67
- 2026-10-15: 66
- 2026-10-14: 66
- 2026-10-13: 66
- 2026-10-12: 65
- 2026-10-10: 64
- 2026-10-07: 63

## Common questions

### What is the Instilus small-business decision tools MCP server?

Instilus small-business decision tools is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as com.instilus.www/business-tools. Valuation, EBITDA, break-even, margin, rates, acquisition, competitor research, store audit. This page covers its hosted endpoint (https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1).

### Is the Instilus small-business decision tools MCP server safe to use?

Instilus small-business decision tools scores 68 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. That is a record of what we were able to check automatically, not an endorsement. The category breakdown on this page shows every signal behind the number, including the ones we could not confirm.

### What tools does the Instilus small-business decision tools MCP server expose?

Instilus small-business decision tools exposes 8 tools: forge_business_valuation_estimate, forge_ebitda, forge_break_even, forge_profit_margin, forge_freelance_rate, and 3 more. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 1,078 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Does the Instilus small-business decision tools MCP server require authentication?

No. We connected to Instilus small-business decision tools without credentials and it answered, so anything it exposes is reachable by anyone who knows the address.

### Is the Instilus small-business decision tools MCP server still maintained?

Instilus small-business decision tools is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 18 October 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.

## Links

- Remote endpoint: https://www.instilus.com/mcp/v1
- Repository: https://github.com/astarsupply-hub/forge
- Website: https://www.instilus.com/
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-instilus-www-business-tools/mcp-v1.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-instilus-www-business-tools/mcp-v1.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-instilus-www-business-tools/mcp-v1