💰 What Is My Business Worth?

Answer a few plain questions. Get a plain answer — what your business would likely sell for, where money is leaking, and where it's headed.

Talk-back
When this is ON, the tool reads questions and results out loud. Tap the 🎤 buttons to answer by voice where your phone allows it.

1. Your business

Just the basics to start.

Business name

What kind of business is it? How many years has it been running?

2. The money last year

Use last year's numbers. Best guess is fine — you can change them and run it again.

How should we measure the earnings? Small business the owner runs day to day → owner's pocket (SDE). Bigger business, or one a manager runs → EBITDA, the way buyers of larger businesses measure it. Money that came in (total sales last year)

Profit left over (after all the bills, before your own pay if it's counted separately)

Profit the year before that — and the year before that (optional) One year can be a fluke. Give earlier years and we average them, so the price rides on the recurring earnings, not one year's weather. Leave blank to use last year only.

What you paid yourself (salary or draws for the year)

Personal extras the business paid for you Truck, insurance, phone, retirement — things a new owner wouldn't get.

One-time or unusual costs last year A big repair, a legal bill, a one-off project — costs that won't repeat every year.

Depreciation written off last year The wear-and-tear deduction on equipment and vehicles from the tax return. It is not cash out of the till, so buyers add it back.

Interest the business paid on loans last year (mainly for EBITDA) Just the interest part of loan payments, not the whole payment. EBITDA adds it back — skip it on the owner's-pocket path if you like.

Income taxes the business paid last year (mainly for EBITDA) Business income tax only — not sales tax or payroll tax. EBITDA adds it back too.

Take-backs — real costs the books make look free The other side of add-backs. Is the owner paid way under market, family working unpaid, rent under market? Add up what a buyer would really have to pay for those. It comes OFF the earnings — honest numbers price better.

What a manager would cost per year (EBITDA path only) If the owner steps away, somebody has to run the place. On the EBITDA path this comes off the earnings, because the buyer does not get the owner's work for free.

3. What it owns and what it owes

What the gear and property would sell for today — not what you paid.

Equipment, trucks & tools (worth today)

Inventory / stock on hand (worth today)

Land or buildings the business owns (worth today, 0 if none)

Money the business owes (loans, cards, everything)

Rent each month (0 if you own the spot)

4. Where the money goes

Optional — but this is how we spot money leaks. Skip any you don't know.

Wages for your crew for the year (not counting your own pay)

Cost of goods / materials for the year Food, parts, stock, supplies — what you buy to sell or to do the work.

Advertising & marketing for the year

Utilities for the year Electric, water, gas, phone, internet.

Insurance for the year

Card processing fees for the year What the card processor takes — Square, Stripe, your merchant account.

Repairs & maintenance for the year

Everything else for the year The truly miscellaneous pile — not insurance, utilities, card fees or repairs; those have their own lines above.

5. Which way is it headed?

Sales compared to the year before.

📈 Growing ➡️ About flat 📉 Shrinking

By about how much each year? (% — rough is fine)

6. Why they're selling & how the deal is shaped

The price is only half the story. How it gets paid — and why they're selling — changes what a deal is really worth.

Why are they really selling? Retiring? Burned out? Health, divorce, a new venture? Be honest — it changes the read on the number.

How fast do they need out?

Score the seller (optional, 0–10 each). Most sellers decide on non-money grounds — in one survey of about 2,100 sellers, roughly 4 in 5 did not name money as the main driver. Score all three pressure scores (or all four relationship scores) and the landing spot below is figured from the scores instead of a rough guess. Leave them blank and nothing is assumed.

Pressure: how much do they want to sell? (0–10)

Pressure: how urgent is it? (0–10)

Pressure: how much distress are they in? (0–10) Burnout, health, money trouble, a partnership breaking up.

Relationship: how strong is the bond with the buyer? (0–10)

Relationship: how much do they care about their legacy? (0–10)

Relationship: how much do they care about their staff being looked after? (0–10)

Relationship: how aligned are buyer and seller on values? (0–10)

Would the seller finance part of the price? (% of the price, 0 if it's all cash) Seller financing = the buyer pays the seller in installments instead of paying it all at closing.

Financing: over how many years, at what interest? (years / %)

Any of the price tied to future results? (% earn-out, 0 if none) An earn-out = part of the price is only paid if the business hits targets after the sale. It's a promise, not cash.

Earn-out: paid over how many years?

7. What actually hands over to a buyer

Value only counts if it transfers. Tick everything that truly hands over on day one — leave unticked whatever lives only in the owner's head. The last three questions are the concentration risks: value hanging on one customer, one pipe, or a shaky name.

Saved runs on this device

No runs saved yet.

1. Your business 🔊 Hear it

2. The money last year 🔊 Hear it

3. What it owns and what it owes 🔊 Hear it

4. Where the money goes 🔊 Hear it

5. Which way is it headed? 🔊 Hear it

6. Why they're selling & how the deal is shaped 🔊 Hear it

7. What actually hands over to a buyer 🔊 Hear it

Saved runs on this device

1. Your business

2. The money last year

3. What it owns and what it owes

4. Where the money goes

5. Which way is it headed?

6. Why they're selling & how the deal is shaped

7. What actually hands over to a buyer