Estimate small business valuation using SDE or EBITDA multiple.
Estimated business value
—
Revenue multiple
—
Earnings margin
—
Your breakdown
Updates live as you type| Step | Result |
|---|
Small businesses sell on earnings, not revenue
When a buyer values a Main Street business, they are not really buying the revenue. They are buying the cash flow that revenue throws off after the bills are paid. That is why nearly every small-business sale is priced as a multiple of earnings rather than a multiple of sales. This tool takes the earnings figure you supply, applies the multiple you choose, and returns an enterprise value, then shows you how that value compares against revenue and what your earnings margin looks like.
The earnings number itself depends on the size of the business. For an owner-operated shop, the relevant figure is Seller's Discretionary Earnings, or SDE, which starts from profit and adds back the owner's salary, benefits, and personal perks running through the books. The logic is that a buyer steps into the owner's seat, so that compensation is really available cash. For larger companies where management is hired rather than owner-operated, buyers use EBITDA, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, because there is no single owner's pay to add back.
A 3x multiple on $200,000 of earnings
Use the defaults to see the mechanics. A business with $1,000,000 in annual revenue and $200,000 of SDE, valued at a 3x multiple, is worth $200,000 multiplied by 3, which is $600,000. The tool also computes two sanity checks. The revenue multiple is $600,000 divided by $1,000,000, or 0.6x revenue, which is normal for a healthy small service business. The earnings margin is $200,000 divided by $1,000,000, or 20 percent, telling you how much of every sales dollar survives to the bottom line before owner add-backs.
How the multiple swings the price
The single biggest lever is the multiple, and it is set by the quality of the business, not just its industry. The chart shows the same $200,000 of earnings valued at 1x, 2x, 3x, and 4x. The spread is enormous: a one-turn improvement in the multiple adds $200,000 of value here. That is why sellers invest in clean books, recurring revenue, and reduced owner dependence before going to market.
Where this estimate helps and where it stops
This is a screening tool for owners thinking about selling, buyers sizing up a listing, and advisors running a quick first pass before commissioning a formal valuation. A practical tip from the deal world: normalize your earnings before you ever pick a multiple. Strip out a one-time legal settlement, a windfall contract that will not repeat, or a below-market rent paid to a building you also own. A buyer's accountant will do this in due diligence, so doing it yourself first prevents an ugly surprise that drags the price down.
The honest limit is that a multiple of earnings ignores the balance sheet and the deal structure. It does not tell you whether inventory and equipment convey, whether the price is on a cash-free debt-free basis, or how working capital will be trued up at close. It also says nothing about customer concentration, which is the most common reason a promising multiple gets cut: if one client is 40 percent of revenue, buyers discount hard. Treat the output as a starting point for negotiation, not the number that lands in the purchase agreement. There are also tax consequences to how a sale is allocated between assets and goodwill, which is worth a conversation with a CPA before you sign.
Why do small businesses sell for lower multiples than public companies?
Smaller businesses carry more risk and far less liquidity. Owner dependence, thin management bench, and customer concentration all push multiples down, and there is no public market to sell shares into. Public companies trade at higher multiples precisely because they are larger, more diversified, and instantly sellable.
Should I value my business on SDE or EBITDA?
Use SDE if the owner works in the business and earns a meaningful salary, which describes most companies under roughly $1 million to $2 million in revenue. Switch to EBITDA once the business runs on hired management, because at that scale there is no single owner's compensation to add back and buyers compare you against other professionally managed firms.
Does this number include my cash and debt?
No. An earnings multiple produces an enterprise value, which is the value of the operating business itself. Most deals close on a cash-free, debt-free basis, meaning the seller keeps the cash and pays off the debt at closing, with separate adjustments for working capital. Your eventual proceeds will differ from this figure once those items settle.