How to value a business for sale formula?

Asked by: Prof. Archibald Hills DVM  |  Last update: May 24, 2025
Score: 4.2/5 (18 votes)

Current Value = (Asset Value) / (1 – Debt Ratio) To quickly value a business, find its total liabilities and subtract them from the total assets. This will give you an idea of its book value. This formula estimates the worth of a business by looking at its assets and subtracting any liabilities.

How do you calculate the value of a business to sell?

Tally the value of assets.

Add up the value of everything the business owns, including all equipment and inventory. Subtract any debts or liabilities. The value of the business's balance sheet is at least a starting point for determining the business's worth.

How much is a business worth with $1 million in sales?

The Revenue Multiple (times revenue) Method

A venture that earns $1 million per year in revenue, for example, could have a multiple of 2 or 3 applied to it, resulting in a $2 or $3 million valuation. Another business might earn just $500,000 per year and earn a multiple of 0.5, yielding a valuation of $250,000.

What is the formula for valuing a business?

For a simple business asset valuation, add up the assets of a business and subtract the liabilities. You might want to use a business value calculator to do this. So, if a business has $500,000 in machinery and equipment, and owes $50,000 in outstanding invoices, the asset value of the business is $450,000.

How to calculate the true value of a business?

Asset-Based Valuation is a method used in company valuations to determine a company's worth based on its tangible assets. This approach calculates the company's value by summing up the value of its assets and subtracting its liabilities. Tangible assets may include property, equipment, inventory, and investments.

How to Value a Small Business (Key Factors You Should Consider Before You Buy or Sell)

18 related questions found

How much is a business worth with $500,000 in sales?

To find the fair market value, it is then necessary to divide that figure by the capitalization rate. Therefore, the income approach would reveal the following calculations. Projected sales are $500,000, and the capitalization rate is 25%, so the fair market value is $125,000.

How many times revenue is a business worth?

The Revenue Multiple Method

This rule attaches a value to several types of businesses based on their annual revenue or sales. The revenue multiple used often falls between 0.5 to 5 times yearly revenue depending on the industry.

What is the quick calculation to value a business?

The Net Book Value (NBV) of your business is calculated by deducting the costs of your business liabilities, including debt and outstanding credit, from the total value of your tangible and intangible assets.

What is the rule of thumb for valuing a business?

As mentioned, the most typical rules of thumb are based on a multiple of sales or earnings that other similar businesses have sold for. For example, an accounting firm generating $200,000 in revenues that should sell at 1.25 times (125% of) annual sales would have an asking price of $250,000.

How much can I sell my business for?

A business in California might sell 2 to 3 times the seller's discretionary earnings. The fair market value is what the business would sell for on the free market.

How much is a typical small business worth?

Companies with under $3m in sales will typically sell for 2.5 – 3.5 X their discretionary earnings (total cash the owner could take out of the company). Smaller companies that are even more owner-reliant will even be lower than that.

How to calculate the value of a company?

Methods Of Valuation Of A Company
  1. Net Asset Value or NAV= Fair Value of all the Assets of the Company – Sum of all the outstanding Liabilities of the Company.
  2. PE Ratio= Stock Price / Earnings per Share.
  3. PS Ratio= Stock Price / Net Annual Sales of the Company per share.
  4. PBV Ratio= Stock Price / Book Value of the stock.

What multiple is my business worth?

Multiply the SDE or EBITDA of the business by a multiple. Common multiples for most small businesses are two to four times SDE. Common multiples for mid-sized businesses are three to six times EBITDA.

What is the formula for fair value of a business?

It is calculated by subtracting depreciation from the cost of the asset. Fair value represents the current market price that both buyer and seller agree upon. Carrying value reflects the firm's equity. This transaction benefits both parties.

How do you determine the price to sell your business?

There are four elements involved in calculating your business's value:
  1. Establish your net income. To establish your net income, take your small business's gross profit and subtract all expenses. ...
  2. Look at multiples. ...
  3. Figure out your market. ...
  4. Determine your potential market growth rate. ...
  5. Add growth projections.

How do you value a private company?

Using findings from a private company's closest public competitors, you would determine its value by using the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), also known as enterprise value multiple.

How to price a small business for sale?

Determining business value when selling

A business worth generally speaking is determined in a large way by two primary factors. The first is the net income or really the profitability of the business. The second, often overlooked, is the ability for potential buyers to get business loans against the asset.

How do I value my business to sell?

In short, this method is all about calculating the multiples of net income. To calculate multiple net income, multiply your net operating income (NOI) by the net income multiplier (NIM) to calculate multiple net income. You'll arrive at your business's market value at which you'll sell. = NIM X NOI.

Is there a formula to value a business?

Current Value = (Asset Value) / (1 – Debt Ratio)

When it comes to determining the worth of a business, business owners often struggle with undervaluing or overvaluing their company.

How many times turnover is a business worth?

The times-revenue method determines the maximum value of a company as a multiple of its revenue for a set period of time. The multiple varies by industry and other factors but is typically one or two. In some industries, the multiple might be less than one.

What is the formula for selling a small business?

To quickly value a business, find its total liabilities and subtract them from the total assets. This will give you an idea of its book value. This formula estimates the worth of a business by looking at its assets and subtracting any liabilities.

How do you calculate expected value of a business?

The Expected Value (EV) shows the weighted average of a given choice; to calculate this multiply the probability of each given outcome by its expected value and add them together eg EV Launch new product = [0.4 x 30] + [0.6 x -8] = 12 - 4.8 = £7.2m.

How much is a business worth that makes $1 million a year?

Using this basic formula, a company doing $1 million a year, making around $200,000 EBITDA, is worth between $600,000 and $1 million. Some people make it even more basic, and moderate profits earn a value of one times revenue: A business doing $1 million is worth $1 million.

What determines how much a business is worth?

Key factors influencing value include financial performance, market conditions, tangible and intangible assets, and growth potential. Different valuation methods exist, including asset-based, market-based, income-based, and earnings multiplier approaches.

How much profit should a $2 million dollar business make?

So as an example, a company doing $2 million in real revenue (I'll explain below) should target a profit of 10 percent of that $2 million, owner's pay of 10 percent, taxes of 15 percent and operating expenses of 65 percent. Take a couple of seconds to study the chart.