Business Valuation Services Brisbane | 6 Methods & Fees
BUSINESS
VALUATIONS BRISBANE A division of Asset Valuations Group
1300 778 033 Book a free consult

Not sure which method applies?

Every engagement applies one primary method and at least one cross-check. A 15-minute call settles it.Book a free consult

What multiple applies to you?

Indicative EBITDA bands by sector, and the five factors that move a business within its band.See the multiples

The purpose changes the answer

Standard of value, valuation date and level of documentation all follow from why you need it.Why you need one

Brisbane City office

4/144 Edward St, Brisbane City. Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm AEST. We travel for site inspections.Get in touch

Estimate your value range

A sector multiple applied to your normalised earnings, in about a minute. No email required.Open the calculator
Call now Get a quote
Six services · One defensible conclusion

Business valuation services in Brisbane

We provide six business valuation services in Brisbane: capitalisation of future maintainable earnings, discounted cash flow, market comparables, net asset backing, family law and litigation valuations, and early-stage company valuations. Every engagement applies one primary method and at least one cross-check, is signed by a Certified Practising Valuer, and is quoted at a fixed fee before work begins.

Start here

Which valuation do I need?

The purpose of the valuation determines the standard of value, the method and the level of report. Find your reason for valuing below, or read the full guide for each purpose.

All twelve valuation purposes →

Scroll the table sideways →

Valuation purpose matched to method and report type
Your reason Primary method Report level Turnaround
Selling the business Capitalisation of future maintainable earnings Formal valuation report 10–15 days
Buying a business Capitalisation of earnings + market comparables Formal valuation report 10–15 days
Family law property settlement FME with net asset cross-check Single expert or shadow expert report To court timetable
Shareholder or partner exit FME with minority or control adjustment Expert determination 10–20 days
ATO, CGT or restructure Method appropriate to the asset, documented Market value substantiation report 10–15 days
Bank finance or refinance FME with net asset backing Formal valuation report 10–15 days
Capital raising or share issue Discounted cash flow or early-stage method Formal valuation report 15–20 days
Internal planning or exit prep Capitalisation of earnings Indicative assessment 3–5 days

The services

Six ways to establish what a business is worth

01

Capitalisation of earnings

Future maintainable earnings multiplied by a capitalisation rate derived from comparable Australian transactions. The standard approach for established, profitable trading businesses.

Best for
Stable SMEs with 3+ years of trading
Key input
Normalised EBITDA
How FME is calculated →
02

Discounted cash flow

Forecast free cash flows discounted at a risk-adjusted rate to present value, with a terminal value. Used where history is a poor guide to the future.

Best for
Growth, contracts and finite-life projects
Key input
3–5 year forecast
How the discount rate is set →
03

Market comparables

Benchmarking against observed Australian business sales and listed-company multiples, adjusted for size, liquidity, control and sector.

Best for
Cross-checking every engagement
Key input
Revenue and EBITDA
Where the data comes from →
04

Net asset valuation

Fair value of plant, equipment, stock, property and intangibles less liabilities — with the assets valued in-house rather than taken at book value.

Best for
Asset-heavy and non-trading entities
Key input
Asset register
How assets are valued →
05

Family law & litigation

Single expert and shadow expert reports prepared to the Federal Circuit and Family Court expert evidence rules, with conferral and court attendance where required.

Best for
Property settlements and disputes
Key input
Court instructions
What the court requires →
06

Startup & early-stage

Berkus, Scorecard, Venture Capital and risk-adjusted DCF methods for pre-revenue and growth-stage companies raising capital or issuing equity.

Best for
Pre-revenue and growth companies
Key input
Model and cap table
Which method investors accept →

Side by side

Valuation methods compared

What each method measures, what it needs from you, and the ranges Australian SMEs typically fall within.

Scroll the table sideways →

Business valuation methods used in Australia
Method What it measures Needs from you Typical range Limitation
Capitalisation of earnings Sustainable annual profit, capitalised Three years of financials, add-back detail 2.0×–7.0× EBITDA Assumes the future resembles a normalised past
Discounted cash flow Present value of forecast free cash flow A defensible 3–5 year forecast Sensitive to the discount rate Highly sensitive to forecast and terminal assumptions
Market comparables What similar businesses actually sold for Revenue, EBITDA, sector, size 0.5×–3.0× revenue Private deal data is thin and terms are rarely disclosed
Net asset backing Fair value of assets less liabilities Asset register, leases, stock count Net assets + goodwill Ignores earning capacity above the asset base
Rule of thumb multiples Sector shorthand, used only as a sanity check Revenue or a physical unit measure Sector specific Never sufficient on its own for tax or court purposes
Early-stage methods Risk-adjusted potential rather than history Model, cap table, market size Wide by nature Depends heavily on the credibility of the plan

How it runs

The six-step valuation process

From first call to signed report, most SME engagements run 10 to 15 business days. The clock starts when your information is complete, not when you engage us.

  1. 01 Day 0

    Free scoping call

    We establish the purpose, the standard of value, the entities involved and your deadline — then issue a fixed-fee quote and engagement letter the same day.

  2. 02 Days 1–3

    Information gathering

    You send financials, tax returns, management accounts, the asset register, leases and contracts. We come back with one consolidated list of anything missing, not a drip feed.

  3. 03 Days 3–6

    Normalisation

    Owner salaries, related-party rent, one-off items and personal expenses are adjusted to market so the earnings reflect the business, not the owner.

  4. 04 Days 6–10

    Method and analysis

    The primary method is selected and applied, with the multiple or discount rate derived from market evidence and documented so it can be traced.

  5. 05 Days 10–13

    Cross-check and sensitivity

    A second method tests the conclusion, and sensitivities are run on the assumptions that move the number most.

  6. 06 Days 13–15

    Report and debrief

    You receive the signed report, then a call to walk through the conclusion, the assumptions and what would change the number.

The deliverable

What is in a valuation report

A formal report runs 30 to 60 pages depending on complexity. It is written so that a third party — an ATO officer, a bank credit team, an opposing expert or a judge — can follow the reasoning from the raw financials to the concluded value without asking you a single question.

A valuation that cannot be followed cannot be defended. That is the difference between a report and a number.

  • Instructions and purpose Who engaged us, for what, and on what basis — the frame everything else sits in
  • Standard of value Market value, fair value or equitable value, and why that basis applies
  • Business and industry overview Operations, history, market position and the sector conditions at the valuation date
  • Financial analysis Three-year trend analysis, margin review and working capital assessment
  • Normalisation schedule Every add-back listed and justified, line by line
  • Method selection Why the primary method was chosen and why the alternatives were not
  • Valuation calculation The full working, including how the multiple or discount rate was derived
  • Cross-check A second method applied independently, with any variance explained
  • Assumptions and limitations What we relied on, what we did not verify, and what would change the answer
  • Valuer’s declaration Qualifications, independence and — where required — the expert’s duty to the court

Standards

Written to be accepted, not argued with

Reports are prepared with reference to the frameworks the recipient will measure them against.

ATO market value guidance

Market value substantiation for CGT events, small business concessions, restructures and Division 7A, with the evidence trail the ATO expects.

Family Court expert evidence rules

The expert’s declaration, the instructions received, assumptions relied on and the duty to the court, as required of single experts.

International Valuation Standards

Standard of value, valuation date, premise of value and disclosure requirements consistent with IVS practice.

Australian Valuers Institute

Every report is prepared and signed by a Certified Practising Valuer accredited in business, property and asset valuation.

Service questions

Method and scope, answered

Broader questions about cost, documents and timing are on the full FAQ page.

Ask a valuer directly

Profitable businesses with three or more years of consistent trading are usually valued on capitalisation of future maintainable earnings. Businesses with contracted or rapidly changing cash flows use discounted cash flow. Asset-heavy or unprofitable businesses are valued on net asset backing. Market comparables are used as a cross-check in almost every engagement rather than as a standalone method.

EBITDA is a reported accounting figure. Future maintainable earnings is a valuation judgment: EBITDA adjusted for a market salary for the owner, related-party rent brought to market, one-off and non-recurring items removed, then weighted across several years to reflect what a new owner could reasonably sustain. In an owner-operated business the gap between the two is often 20 to 40 per cent.

Every engagement applies one primary method and at least one cross-check. A single-method valuation is easy to attack in a dispute and is generally not sufficient for court or ATO purposes.

Fees are fixed and quoted in writing before work starts. An indicative assessment sits in the low four figures, a formal valuation report for an established SME sits in the mid four figures, and multi-entity or court-appointed engagements move into five figures. The fee never depends on the value we conclude.

An indicative assessment takes 3 to 5 business days. A formal valuation report takes 10 to 15 business days from receipt of complete information. Court-directed single expert reports are scheduled to the court timetable, typically 4 to 8 weeks.

Yes. Trading companies, asset-holding trusts, service entities and self-managed superannuation fund holdings are commonly valued together, with intercompany balances and related-party arrangements normalised so the group is not double counted.

Yes. Asset Valuations Group values property, plant and equipment in-house, so an asset-heavy business does not need a second firm and the asset schedule is evidenced rather than taken from the depreciation register at book value.

The report concludes a market value on a defined basis — what a knowledgeable, willing but not anxious buyer and seller would agree at the valuation date. Actual sale prices vary with deal structure, earn-outs, restraints and buyer synergies, and the report explains which of those could move the price.

Keep reading

Tell us the purpose. We will tell you the method and the fee.

A free 15-minute scoping call, then a fixed fee in writing. No obligation, and nothing you send leaves our office.

1300 778 033