How this business valuation calculator works

The calculator follows the same order a buyer’s math does, and the result screen shows you every step with your own numbers.

  1. Start with your profit. If you leave it blank, we estimate it from your revenue and typical margins for your subsector.
  2. Work out your owner earnings. That is your profit with your own pay in it (SDE). If you already took your pay out, we add a typical owner’s salary back. If you leave profit blank and revenue is under $1 million, we estimate it from typical margins plus a typical salary, capped at 35% of revenue.
  3. Pick the method. Below $300,000 of owner earnings, a business usually sells to someone who will run it, so we price the SDE itself. From $750,000, buyers usually hire a manager, so we set aside a market salary for whoever replaces you, scaled to company size from $65,000 under $1 million of revenue up to $200,000 at $15 million and above, and price what is left as EBITDA. In between, we blend the two in proportion, so there is no cliff where the method changes.
  4. Pick the starting multiple. We use the published multiple range for your industry and subsector, on SDE, EBITDA, or both. The low end reflects a typical negotiated sale; the high end, a strong business in a competitive process. Where these come from is listed below.
  5. Adjust for your business. Both ends move up or down for your size, owner involvement, growth, largest customer, and revenue type. On the SDE path each answer counts for 40% of its full weight, because SDE multiples are smaller numbers. For a profitable business the tool never goes below 2.0x at the low end or 2.5x at the high end on EBITDA, or 1.0x and 1.5x on SDE.
  6. Multiply and round. Earnings times each end of the multiple, rounded to the nearest $25,000 under $1 million, $100,000 under $10 million, and $500,000 above that, so the range never looks more precise than an estimate can be. We show the midpoint too.

Your state, the timing question and the real estate question do not change the number. Very large businesses, with about $12 million or more of profit or $120 million or more of revenue, get a conversation instead of a number, because a calculator range is not useful at that scale.

What moves your multiple

Five things move the multiple in this calculator. Each is measured in turns, where one turn is one times your earnings: on $1 million of earnings, +0.5x adds about $500,000 to both ends of your range. Size changes gradually rather than in steps, so a dollar more of earnings never jumps the multiple.

FactorWhat we askEffect in this toolWhy buyers care
SizeYour profit: after a manager’s pay on EBITDA, with your own pay in on SDE−1.0x to +1.5x on EBITDA; −0.4x to none on SDEBigger earnings attract more buyers, and more buyers compete harder.
Owner involvementHow the business runs without you−0.8x to +0.5xA buyer is paying for what keeps working after you leave.
GrowthRevenue over the last few years−0.8x to +0.55xBuyers pay for the trend they expect to continue.
Largest customerIts share of your revenue−1.0x to +0.3xOne customer leaving can take the earnings with it.
Revenue typeContracts, repeat customers, or one-time work−0.4x to +0.55xRevenue that renews is easier for a buyer to count on.

These are the adjustments this tool uses, not market statistics. On the SDE path the four answers count for 40% of the figures shown. They follow the same questions buyers work through in diligence. For what that looks like in practice, see what buyers look for in an acquisition target and how to reduce owner dependence before you sell.

A worked example

An illustrative business, not a client: a precision machine shop with $6 million in revenue reports $900,000 of profit, with the owner’s pay still inside it. The owner is still the main salesperson, revenue has grown a steady 3–10% a year, the largest customer is 25–40% of revenue, and most customers come back without contracts. With $900,000 of owner earnings the shop is past the small-business window, so it is priced on EBITDA. Here is the breakdown the calculator shows for those answers.

StepFigureWhere it comes from
Profit you reported$900,000Your own pay is still inside this number.
Set aside to replace your role−$115,000A buyer has to pay someone to do your job, so a market manager’s salary comes out first.
Earnings a buyer prices$785,000What is left to put a multiple on.
Starting multiple for precision machining and metal fabrication shops4.5x – 7.0xFrom published industry transaction multiple ranges. The low end is a typical negotiated sale; the high end is a quality business in a competitive process.
Your size+0.01x$785,000 in earnings
Owner involvement−0.18xTeam runs operations; you are the main salesperson
Revenue trend+0.18xGrowing about 3–10% a year
Largest customer−0.3x25–40% of revenue
Revenue type+0.17xRepeat customers, no formal contracts
Your multiple4.38x – 6.88xYour starting range, moved by your answers.
Earnings × multiple$3,438,300 – $5,400,800$785,000 times each end of your multiple.
Your range, rounded$3,400,000 – $5,400,000Rounded to the nearest $100,000, so it does not look more precise than an estimate can be.
Midpoint$4,400,000Halfway between the two ends.

The result screen then ranks the owner’s answers by how much each one moves the range:

  • Largest customer: 25–40% of revenue. Costs about $236,000.
  • Owner involvement: Team runs operations; you are the main salesperson. Costs about $141,000.
  • Revenue trend: Growing about 3–10% a year. Adds about $141,000.
  • Revenue type: Repeat customers, no formal contracts. Adds about $133,000.
  • Your size: $785,000 in earnings. Adds about $8,000.

That ranking is where the useful questions start. Bring the largest customer down to 10–25% of revenue and the range becomes about $3.7 million to $5.6 million. Hand the day-to-day running of the shop to a general manager instead, and it becomes about $3.8 million to $5.8 million.

Run the calculator with your own numbers

SDE vs. EBITDA: which number is yours?

If your profit figure still includes what you pay yourself, it is seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE), the number smaller businesses are usually priced on. A business that size usually sells to someone who will run it, so the buyer is paying for everything the business pays its owner. Larger businesses usually sell to buyers who will hire a manager, so they are priced on EBITDA, after a market salary for that manager. That is why the tool asks whether your pay is still in the number: it decides which figure we start from.

The difference is not a technicality. A multiple of SDE and a multiple of EBITDA are different units: 3x of one is not 3x of the other. In the example above, the owner’s $900,000 includes their pay and puts the shop on the EBITDA path, so a $115,000 salary comes out first. Treating the $900,000 as if it were already EBITDA would have produced $4.0 million to $6.2 million, about $600,000 too high at the low end and $800,000 at the high end. Below $300,000 of owner earnings the tool prices SDE alone, and between $300,000 and $750,000 it blends the two methods, leaning further toward EBITDA as earnings grow. For more, see EBITDA and business valuation basics and which EBITDA add-backs hold up.

Business valuation multiples by industry

These are the starting multiple ranges this calculator uses, before any adjustment for your answers: EBITDA ranges for businesses priced on EBITDA, and SDE ranges for smaller businesses priced on owner earnings. Picking your subsector replaces the industry range with the one for your niche, which is why the third column is wider. Three industries have niches with their own SDE range, so their last column spans those too: dental practices (2.5x – 4.0x) in healthcare, car washes (3.0x – 5.0x) in auto services, and pet care’s four niches.

IndustryStarting EBITDA rangeEBITDA range across its subsectorsSmall-business SDE range
Early Childhood Education / Preschool3.5x – 6.0x3.0x – 6.5x2.4x – 3.8x
Business Services4.5x – 7.0x3.5x – 8.5x2.0x – 3.1x
Home Services (HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical)4.5x – 7.5x4.0x – 9.0x2.0x – 3.3x
Facility Services / Landscaping4.0x – 6.5x3.5x – 6.5x2.0x – 3.1x
Manufacturing4.5x – 6.5x4.0x – 7.5x2.3x – 3.6x
Distribution / Logistics4.5x – 6.5x4.0x – 7.5x2.2x – 3.5x
Construction / Specialty Contractors3.5x – 5.5x3.0x – 6.0x2.0x – 3.1x
Healthcare Services5.0x – 7.5x4.5x – 9.0x1.8x – 4.0x
Insurance Agency7.0x – 11.0x6.0x – 11.5x2.0x – 3.1x
IT Services / MSP5.0x – 8.0x5.0x – 9.5x2.3x – 3.8x
Software / Technology6.0x – 10.0x4.5x – 11.0x2.5x – 3.9x
Professional Services (Accounting, Engineering, Consulting)4.0x – 6.5x3.5x – 7.5x1.8x – 3.1x
Marketing / Creative Agency4.0x – 6.0x3.5x – 6.5x2.0x – 3.1x
Transportation / Trucking3.5x – 5.5x3.0x – 6.5x2.0x – 3.3x
Auto Services / Car Wash4.5x – 7.0x4.0x – 9.0x2.2x – 5.0x
Consumer / Retail3.0x – 4.5x3.0x – 6.5x1.8x – 2.9x
Restaurants / Food Service2.5x – 4.0x2.5x – 6.0x1.6x – 2.7x
E-Commerce3.0x – 5.0x3.0x – 7.0x2.6x – 4.1x
Pet Care (Daycare, Boarding, Grooming, Walking)3.5x – 5.5x2.5x – 5.5x1.7x – 3.8x
Other3.5x – 5.5xNo subsectors2.0x – 3.1x

Before adjustments. These are the tool’s starting points, drawn from published industry multiple ranges listed in full below, not Salt Creek Advisory quotes. For a closer look at one sector, see our guides to valuation multiples for business services, HVAC and plumbing, manufacturing, MSPs and IT services, dental practices, childcare and daycare, dog daycare and pet care, and accounting and CPA firms.

Where these multiples come from

Every starting range above, EBITDA and SDE, was checked in October 2026 against the published sources below, grouped by industry with the newest first. Each link goes to the publisher’s own page. Where a range changed, at least two independent publishers, or one plus our own sector guide, supported the change. The SDE ranges are set at roughly three-quarters to one and a fifth times the average SDE multiple published for each industry. Dental practices and car washes are the exceptions: their ranges follow the specific sold-practice and adviser figures listed under Healthcare and Auto.

  • Mostly published averages, not closed-deal databases. Most figures come from M&A advisers, business brokers and valuation firms describing the market. They are a good guide to its shape, not a quote for your business.
  • BizBuySell. Its industry multiples cover businesses sold on its marketplace from Q1 2021 to Q4 2025. BizBuySell blocks automated reading, so we read its pages from copies saved on the Internet Archive. Each entry links the live page and the archived copy we read.
  • First Page Sage. Its tables were published in January and February 2025 and cover deals through the first quarter of 2025. Their “High” and “Low” columns separate firms by key-employee turnover, not by growth.
  • Asking prices and public companies. A few sources report what sellers ask (Fulkerson Advisors, Acquire Scout) or what large public companies trade at or pay (Multiples.vc, company SEC filings, some adviser reports). We use them only as a cross-check or a ceiling, never as the basis for a range, and each is labelled in the list. Where a source publishes a higher figure we did not adopt, it is labelled too.
  • Dates. Every source shows its publication date, and its update date where the publisher gives one, so older figures are easy to spot.
  • Thin evidence. Where we found too little recent, independent data to move a niche’s range either way, it is labelled “limited published evidence” and left as it was.
All industries and small businesses (8 sources)
Early Childhood Education / Preschool (12 sources)

Limited published evidence: Franchise-Affiliated Childcare Center. We found too little recent, independent data to move this range either way, so it is unchanged until better data appears.

Business Services (15 sources)

Limited published evidence: Outsourced Back-Office (Payroll, HR, BPO). We found too little recent, independent data to move this range either way, so it is unchanged until better data appears.

Home Services (HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical) (19 sources)

Limited published evidence: Multi-Trade / Combo Shop. We found too little recent, independent data to move this range either way, so it is unchanged until better data appears.

Facility Services / Landscaping (12 sources)
Manufacturing (17 sources)
Distribution / Logistics (15 sources)
Construction / Specialty Contractors (16 sources)
Healthcare Services (38 sources)
Insurance Agency (11 sources)

Limited published evidence: MGA / Specialty Program. We found too little recent, independent data to move this range either way, so it is unchanged until better data appears.

IT Services / MSP (13 sources)

Aventis Advisors' IT services table, rebuilt July 30, 2026, shows a 6.7x median EV/EBITDA for deals under $5 million.

Software / Technology (11 sources)

Limited published evidence: Dev Tools / Infrastructure Software. We found too little recent, independent data to move this range either way, so it is unchanged until better data appears.

Professional Services (Accounting, Engineering, Consulting) (17 sources)

Limited published evidence: Engineering Firm. We found too little recent, independent data to move this range either way, so it is unchanged until better data appears.

Marketing / Creative Agency (10 sources)
Transportation / Trucking (14 sources)

Limited published evidence: LTL / Regional Carrier. We found too little recent, independent data to move this range either way, so it is unchanged until better data appears.

Auto Services / Car Wash (17 sources)
Pet Care (Daycare, Boarding, Grooming, Walking) (14 sources)
Consumer / Retail (18 sources)
Restaurants / Food Service (14 sources)
E-Commerce (12 sources)
Other (8 sources)

What a calculator can’t see

A range from eight answers leaves out most of what decides a real price. The biggest gaps:

Who is actively buying right now

Buyer demand varies significantly by industry. Here is a sample of named, active acquirers in three of our core sectors, based on publicly reported transaction activity:

  • Early Childhood Education: Cadence Education (PE-backed national platform with 300+ schools across 30 states; has acquired more than 100 preschools), KinderCare Learning Companies, and Busy Bees / BrightPath (backed by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan).
  • Business Services: Springdale Industries (375+ partner businesses nationwide, buys majority stakes and keeps management in place), Alpine Investors (backs Apex, Ascend, Trilon, and Evergreen), and Shore Capital Partners (ranked #1 in U.S. private equity deal volume 2015–2024 per PitchBook).
  • Manufacturing / Industrials: Marmon Holdings, a Berkshire Hathaway company and long-time home for family-owned niche manufacturers with more than 100 autonomous businesses, plus a deep field of PE-backed manufacturing platforms actively acquiring precision, specialty, and contract manufacturers.

Answer the questions in the calculator to see buyer activity specific to your industry. If you would rather see the whole picture first, here is how a sale actually runs and how to choose an advisor.

Business valuation methodology FAQ

It depends mostly on industry and size. In this calculator, starting EBITDA ranges run from 2.5x to 3.5x for single-location independent restaurants up to 7.5x to 11.5x for commercial insurance agencies, before any adjustment for your answers. Smaller businesses priced on SDE start lower, from 1.6x to 2.7x for restaurants up to 3.0x to 5.0x for car washes. The table above lists the starting ranges for every industry the tool covers. For how the multiple works, start with EBITDA and business valuation basics.

Because buyers pay for earnings, not sales. Two businesses with the same revenue can keep very different amounts of it as profit, and the one that keeps more is worth more. The calculator uses revenue for only four things: to estimate profit from typical margins if you leave profit blank, to estimate owner earnings for a small business that does the same, to size the manager’s salary it sets aside or adds back, and to recognize a business large enough that a calculator range would not be useful.

Seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE) is profit with the owner’s own pay and perks still in it. EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, adjusted so it reflects paying a market salary to whoever runs the business. Smaller businesses are usually priced on SDE and larger ones on EBITDA, and a multiple of one is not a multiple of the other. This calculator uses SDE below $300,000 of owner earnings, EBITDA from $750,000, and a weighted blend of the two in between. On the EBITDA path, if your profit still includes your pay, it sets aside a manager’s salary first.

Mostly on owner earnings. A business with less than about $300,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE) usually sells to an individual who will run it, so buyers price everything the business pays its owner rather than subtracting a manager. The calculator does the same, starting from published average SDE multiples for your industry, and between $300,000 and $750,000 it blends that with the EBITDA method. Smaller businesses are harder to sell: most buyers are individuals, and financing is tighter. We’d still love to talk, and if we’re not the right fit, we work with referral partners and are glad to point you somewhere good.

From published sources, listed by industry on this page with their dates and links: advisers, brokers and valuation firms such as First Page Sage, Peak Business Valuation, FISART, CT Acquisitions and Capstone Partners, summaries of GF Data, and BizBuySell’s averages for small businesses sold from 2021 to 2025, alongside our own sector guides. Most are published ranges and averages, not a database of closed deals, so treat them as the shape of the market rather than a quote for your business.

Not the range. The calculator values the business. If you own the real estate it operates from, that is valued separately, on top of the range, and it could add meaningful value. If the business pays you below-market rent, or none, a buyer will adjust profit for market rent.

Yes. Pick Pet Care, then dog daycare and boarding, grooming and training, dog walking and pet sitting, or pet retail. Most pet care businesses are small enough to be priced on owner earnings. Veterinary practices are priced as healthcare: pick Healthcare Services, then Veterinary. For more, see our guide to dog daycare and pet care valuation multiples.

Usually for one of three reasons. Some tools multiply SDE, with your own pay still in it, and that multiple is not comparable to an EBITDA multiple. Some quote asking prices, which are what sellers hope for rather than what buyers paid. And some apply one industry average where this tool adjusts for your size and your answers. Any estimate is a starting point; the real price comes from what buyers actually offer.

Work on the things buyers discount for. In this calculator, those are the four answers that move your multiple: how much the business depends on you, your revenue trend, how much of your revenue comes from your largest customer, and how dependable your revenue is. The result screen ranks your own answers by how much each one moves your range, which shows where to start. Most of these take time to change, so it pays to start early. See how to reduce owner dependence before you sell and when to start exit planning.

Your industry and state, annual revenue, a rough annual profit figure (or leave it blank and we will estimate it), whether your own pay is still inside that profit, and four multiple-choice questions about the business, plus an optional question about whether you own your building. No financial statements and no account. We ask for your name and email before showing your range because your answers go to Jack and Connor, who personally review every submission.

No. Your state does not change the number, and neither do the optional questions about when you are thinking of selling or whether you own your real estate. They help us when we review your submission.

No. The range estimates what a buyer might pay for the business as a whole. What you keep depends on debt paid off at closing, taxes, deal structure such as earnouts or seller notes, working capital, and fees. See what you keep after selling a business.

No. This is a directional estimate for planning purposes, not a formal valuation, fairness opinion, or offer. A real valuation requires a review of your actual financial statements and a conversation about your business. That conversation is free.