Free business valuation for U.S. small-business owners.
Get a practical, confidential review based on your company’s earnings, industry, size, revenue quality, owner involvement, and the factors buyers examine.
What can a buyer reasonably inherit?
A defensible range begins with earnings, then tests the quality and transferability of those earnings.
- 01Normalized earnings
Separate maintainable operations from owner-specific and unusual items. - 02Market evidence
Use relevant sold-business benchmarks with clear definitions and dates. - 03Company-specific risk
Account for concentration, staff, contracts, licenses, assets, and owner dependence.
Go beyond the first valuation formula.
Detailed research on the financial and transaction issues that change earnings quality, cash at closing, and buyer confidence.
Should I Sell My Business to Private Equity?
Private-equity interest is a buyer-type fact, not a reason to accept a letter. Read cash, rollover, control, and process before you treat the headline as a yes.
Read the article →Federal tax-character education for ownersCapital Gains Tax When Selling a Business
Federal tax on a sale is a character, basis, allocation, and timing problem. Every number belongs with the owner’s CPA. This is education, not a legal opinion or a tax computation.
Read the article →Financing constraints as a valuation boundHow SOP 50 10 8.1 Changes What a Financed Buyer Can Pay
SOP 50 10 8.1 does not publish a sale-price formula. It bounds what a financed buyer can pay through coverage, QoE, injection, and valuation caps.
Read the article →Clarity before a major decision.
The useful first question is not “Can I get one number?” It is “What range can the facts support, and what would move it?”
Considering a sale
Understand a preliminary range, likely buyer concerns, and the difference between price and net proceeds.
Planning retirement
Identify owner dependence, management gaps, and value-building work while there is still time to show results.
Approached by a buyer
Pressure-test an unsolicited indication without assuming that a headline multiple reflects the full deal.
A practical preliminary review.
Schedule a private conversation
Share the purpose, timing, industry, and the questions you want the review to answer.
Discuss high-level information
Review revenue, earnings, owner role, customers, staff, recurring income, assets, and material risks.
Discuss a preliminary range
Understand the assumptions, evidence gaps, value drivers, and whether formal professional work is needed.
Your business model matters.
Buyer questions differ by industry. A laundromat turns on lease and machine economics; an MSP on contracted recurring revenue and churn; a contractor on licenses, backlog, and working capital.
HVAC company
An HVAC company is usually worth more when service and maintenance revenue is repeatable, technicians stay after a transition, and the owner is not the only person who can sell, estimate, or hold required licenses.
Read the valuation guide →Home servicesPlumbing company
A plumbing company’s value depends on who answers the call, who holds the license, how work is dispatched, and whether demand comes from recurring service or volatile project work.
Read the valuation guide →Home servicesElectrical contractor
Electrical contractors trade on the durability of service demand, licensed labor, backlog quality, and the company’s ability to estimate work without the owner.
Read the valuation guide →Home servicesRoofing company
Roofing value can change sharply with storm exposure, lead sources, insurance-claim practices, subcontractor reliance, and warranty history.
Read the valuation guide →Route and property servicesLandscaping company
Landscaping businesses are easier to underwrite when recurring maintenance contracts, route density, crew leadership, and equipment condition are documented.
Read the valuation guide →Route and property servicesPest control company
Pest control buyers focus closely on recurring monthly or quarterly service, customer retention, route density, technician licensing, and service-call economics.
Read the valuation guide →Route and property servicesCommercial cleaning company
Commercial cleaning value rests on contract durability, customer concentration, supervisor coverage, labor stability, and documented site-level margins.
Read the valuation guide →Home servicesRestoration company
Restoration companies can produce strong earnings, but buyers scrutinize referral sources, insurance receivables, emergency response, estimator credentials, equipment readiness, and claim volatility.
Read the valuation guide →AutomotiveAuto repair shop
An auto repair shop’s value depends on technician depth, service-advisor performance, bay utilization, customer retention, parts margin, reputation, and the real estate or lease.
Read the valuation guide →The multiple is only the last visible step.
A reported profit becomes useful only after the reviewer reconciles it, documents supportable adjustments, accounts for required replacement labor, and selects relevant market evidence.
Then reconcile debt, cash, real estate, working capital, capital needs, and transaction terms.
Understand the number—and what sits behind it.
What Is My Business Worth?
A practical framework for turning reported profit into a realistic preliminary range without mistaking a formula for a sale price.
Read guide →Informational and commercial investigationHow a Small Business Valuation Works
The practical sequence from defining the purpose to reconciling earnings, selecting methods, and explaining a range.
Read guide →InformationalBusiness Valuation Methods Explained
A plain-language comparison of the market, income, and asset approaches used for closely held companies.
Read guide →Commercial investigationBusiness Valuation Multiples: How to Use Them
How earnings and revenue multiples work, what belongs in the numerator and denominator, and why comparability matters.
Read guide →Commercial investigation and owner intentBusiness Valuation Multiples by Industry
How to read national sold-business benchmarks without turning an industry table into a one-line valuation.
Read guide →Informational and calculator supportSDE Versus EBITDA
Choose the earnings measure that fits the likely buyer and the owner’s real operating role.
Read guide →Clear answers before you share details.
Is this a certified business appraisal?
No. The free review and calculator provide preliminary educational guidance. Formal tax, legal, lending, litigation, divorce, estate, and other assignments may require a qualified appraiser and a purpose-specific report.
Do I need to be ready to sell?
No. Owners can use a preliminary value discussion for long-range exit planning, succession, a partner conversation, or simply to understand which factors buyers would examine.
What information is helpful?
Recent revenue and earnings, owner compensation, documented add-backs, customer concentration, recurring revenue, owner involvement, key staff, assets, debt, and major operating risks are a useful starting point.
Does the calculator send my financial information anywhere?
No. The calculator runs in your browser, does not submit financial inputs to a server, and does not place them in local storage.
A preliminary business value estimate is intended for educational and planning purposes. It is not a certified appraisal, fairness opinion, tax valuation, legal opinion, or guarantee of sale price.