Walk me through a debt schedule from free cash flow to ending debt balances. Name each step in order.

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I start with the free cash flow the business generated that year, which is EBITDA minus cash interest, cash taxes, capex, and the change in working capital.
I use that free cash flow first to pay any mandatory amortization on the term loans, typically 1% a year on a TLB.
Whatever cash remains above the minimum operating cash balance is the excess cash flow sweep, and I apply it to prepayable debt in strict order of seniority: revolver first, then term loans.
High-yield bonds are not prepayable because of call protection, so the sweep skips them entirely, and any cash beyond the term loans just builds on the balance sheet.
If free cash flow was negative, I do the reverse and draw on the revolver to cover the shortfall and keep the minimum cash balance intact.
I roll each debt tranche forward: beginning balance minus mandatory amortization minus any sweep prepayment, then plus any PIK interest that accrued to principal.
The new ending balances feed back into the interest calculation for the next year, which creates a circular reference I handle either by using beginning balances or by enabling iterative calculations for average balances.
Those exit-year ending balances flow straight into returns as net debt, so every dollar swept during the hold transfers directly to exit equity.

Sources & uses

Sources
Term Loan B	400
Senior notes	250
Sponsor equity	370
Total sources	1,020

Uses
Purchase of equity	900
Refinance existing debt	100
Financing & advisory fees	20
Total uses	1,020

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Also asked as

What is a cash sweep, which tranches does it apply to, and in what order? Why are high-yield bonds excluded?
A company has $40M of FCF before debt paydown, a $250M TLB with 1% mandatory amortization, and a 100% sweep. What is the ending TLB balance?
What role does the revolver play in an LBO model, and what happens to it in a year of negative free cash flow?
Explain why an LBO model contains a circular reference and describe two ways to resolve it, including the trade-off of each.
A mezzanine note has a 6% cash / 6% PIK coupon on a $100M balance. Walk through the impact on the income statement, cash flow available for debt paydown, and the debt rollforward this year.
A credit agreement sets the excess cash flow sweep at 50% above 4.0x net leverage, 25% between 3.0x and 4.0x, and 0% below 3.0x. Why do lenders structure step-downs this way, and how does it change late-year deleveraging in your model?
Year 3: EBITDA $90M, cash interest $28M, cash taxes $12M, capex $22M, working capital build $8M. Mandatory amortization is $5M and minimum cash is already funded, with a 100% sweep and $15M drawn on the revolver. Compute the sweep and allocate it across the revolver and a $310M TLB.
A $120M holdco note PIKs at 11% while consolidated EBITDA grows 4% per year and the opco TLB is swept with all excess cash. Under what condition does total leverage still rise, and roughly how many years until the PIK note doubles? What does this imply for the exit equity check?
Your model computes TLB interest on beginning-of-period balances. The TLB starts the year at $500M and ends at $380M with an 8% rate. Quantify the interest overstatement versus the average-balance method, trace its effect through taxes (25% rate) to FCF, and state the direction of the error in the sweep and in exit equity.

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The rest of this topic

Building an LBO, start to finish

Walk me through an LBO in under a minute: what happens, why leverage amplifies returns, and the three drivers of the sponsor's return.The Critical Path of a Timed LBO, Explained Why must total sources equal total uses in an LBO, and is this an accounting identity or a real economic constraint? Explain the difference.The Revolver as an LBO Cash Plug, Explained Management Rollover as a Funding Source, Explained Management Equity Rollover, Explained

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