LETS GET STARTED WITH YOUR Opinion of Value

Capstone's Opinion of Values are based on preliminary financial and operational information you provide. Determining value is much more than just looking at your financial statements and tax returns. We know the factors that determine value. We look at areas such as organization, customers, technology, industry potential, and more in order to qualify and determine value.

The selling price for most businesses is often calculated on a multiple of a company’s past earnings using SDE or EBITDA methods. We will determine the most appropriate method and multiple ranges to use for your business type and size. The multiples of SDE or EBITDA are determined by the strength of the business, looking at comparable sold businesses, industry norms, as well as current market conditions.

• SDE (Seller’s Discretionary Earnings) = Adjusted EBITDA + Owner Compensation (one owner)
• EBITDA = net Earnings + Interest + Taxes + Depreciation + Amortization

To prepare the most accurate Opinion of Value for your business, we will need access to the following financial documents.    

• Three years Federal Income Tax Returns for the business
• Three years profit and loss statements (accrual basis, yearly with monthly columns, exported to excel format 
• Three years balance statements
• List of assets (fixtures and equipment) that you plan to sell with the business - This does not include inventory

Add-Backs 

We also need to know any personal or one-time expenses that may be within categories of your Profit and Loss statements. i.e., personal car insurance, personal cell phones, family vacations, roof addition in 2018, etc. We are looking for any expenses that a new owner would not necessarily incur.  Please make a note about any potential add-backs including the year, category it is in on your P&L, name of expense, and the dollar amount. These are very important and can increase the value of your business substantially. 

Please contact us at  727-592-8711 as soon as you begin collecting these items; depending on the size of your company and industry, we may need additional items to achieve optimum value for your business.