Business valuation tips, updates and advice. Pick up a few suggestions on how to value a business. Feel free to browse the contents or share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

S corporations are so-called pass through entities. The company itself pays no income taxes. Instead, the shareholders pick up their share of business earnings and put them on their own tax returns. This is big savings compared to the double taxation common with the C corporations. Pre-tax or after-tax earnings for your business valuation? When… Continue Reading


Are you considering valuation of a commercial building contractor firm? Check out these industry statistics: There are some 38,000 commercial and institutional construction companies, classified under the SIC code 1541 and NAICS 236220. These construction firms generate a combined $372.5B in annual revenues. The industry sector employs an impressive 654,178 of professional and administrative staff,… Continue Reading


When it comes to business valuation using the income-based methods, you need a reliable business earnings forecast. Now all forecasts are at best educated guesses. So which one should you choose to improve the accuracy of your business valuation? Two obvious alternatives are to either adopt the financial projections created by the business management or… Continue Reading


One of the most important things you can do in a business valuation is to determine the earnings basis. Most income and market-based business valuation methods take some form of cash flow as its earnings input. Since accounting measures of business earnings usually require adjustments, calculating the earnings basis right can make a major difference… Continue Reading


One of the most important choices you can make when valuing a company is the proper selection of earnings basis. The idea is to capture the true earning power of the company. In virtually all professionally done business appraisals the earnings basis is some measure of cash flow. Net cash flow – the choice of… Continue Reading


If you need to value a tour operator company, here are some key industry statistics to consider: Classified under the SIC code 4725 and NAICS 561520, there are 2,993 firms in the US alone. These tour operators generate a combined annual revenue of $4,397M with 32,125 staff. Yet the average tour operator business is a… Continue Reading


How do you reach a business value conclusion? Given all the various business valuation approaches and methods, you have quite a choice of tools to calculate business value. However, each valuation method you use produces a result that may differ from others. When it comes time to state the subject business value, how can you… Continue Reading


Why choosing the earnings basis in your valuation important? Consider this: Whatever methods you choose for your business valuation, proper selection of the inputs is critical to the accuracy of your results. This is especially important if you are working with the income-based valuation methods such as the Discounted Cash Flow. Why picking the right… Continue Reading


Why should you consider making a number of cash flow projections in your valuation? A related question: Do you plan to value a business using methods under the income approach? Then the discounted cash flow technique is likely to be high on the list. Using this venerable business valuation method requires that you forecast the… Continue Reading


Looking back at the first decade of the 21st century, you can see the investor psychology at work in setting the valuations of businesses and other income producing assets. Once the frenzy sets in, business valuations can rise to lofty levels rather quickly, at least in the short term. This is often driven by market… Continue Reading


Curiosity aside, business appraisals are almost always triggered by a pressing need. Business people generally are interested in what the business is worth for these reasons: Business sale transaction, including sale of the entire company or offering a block of stock for sale. The need to raise additional debt or equity capital. Gift or estate… Continue Reading



Valuation of specialized assets is among the hardest tasks a business appraiser may undertake. Just about all businesses have such assets on hand. Imagine a technology company with specialized lab space and equipment. Or a manufacturing firm with its own set of machinery and factory floor layout. In each case the managers have adapted the… Continue Reading