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    ValuationUnderstand what changes a valuation range before relying on a multiple or estimate.Earnings qualityBuild an earnings picture that a buyer can trace from financial statements to operating reality.
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Business valuation

Business Valuation: How to Value a Private Company for Sale

A credible range starts with adjusted earnings and a valuation method that fits the company. Customer concentration, margins, management depth, owner dependence, debt, working capital, and the proposed sale terms can then widen the range or change what the seller may receive.

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Desk 0104Published guides
Featured guideValuationGuideUpdated Aug 7, 2026

What Is My Business Worth? How to Build a Sale-Planning Range

Use four record-based questions to frame a preliminary business sale-planning range without mistaking a calculator output for a company value.

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In Valuation

More valuation guides

  1. 01ValuationComparisonWhich Business Valuation Method Fits the Evidence?Learn what market, income, and asset-based valuation approaches need before their results can be compared for a private company.→
  2. 02ValuationComparisonSDE vs. EBITDA and the Cost of Replacing the OwnerCompare SDE and EBITDA from the same period, reconcile the owner-pay difference, and test what the owner's work will cost to cover after a sale.→
  3. 03ValuationReferenceRevenue Ruling 59-60: 8 Valuation Factors and RecordsRevenue Ruling 59-60 lists eight business valuation factors, plus the appraisal date, financial statements, schedules, and owner-manager facts that give them context.→
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Related topics

Earnings qualityReconcile SDE, EBITDA, add-backs, revenue quality, and the records a buyer will test.→Sale readinessPrepare the company, sequence outreach, and protect confidential information before a process begins.→DiligenceOrganize the documents, explanations, and issue ownership that make buyer review manageable.→
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