Business valuation at one fixed fee, for owners and their accountants

What a valuation answers

A business valuation is a reasoned opinion of value, written down. It answers three questions together: what is being valued, at what date, and for what purpose. Change any one of them and the answer can change.

The subject matters more than most owners expect. The whole business is not the same thing as the shares in the company that owns it, and 100% of those shares is not the same as 25% of them. Getting the subject right is the first thing we confirm, because it decides the rest of the work.

Most valuations for tax and ownership purposes are of market value. In plain terms, that is generally the price a willing but not anxious buyer would pay a willing but not anxious seller, both dealing at arm's length and both reasonably informed. It is not what you hope to get, what a competitor sold for, or what you would accept on a bad day.

What makes it independent

Independent means the valuer has no stake in the number. Our fee is fixed in writing before we see the figures and does not move with the result. We are not paid on the outcome of a sale, we do not act as your advocate in a negotiation, and we do not prepare your tax return. That separation is what lets other people, such as your accountant, a buyer or a co-owner, read the report as a reasoned opinion rather than a negotiating position.

For the basics, start with what is a business valuation.

When owners use a valuation

Most owners get a valuation because something is about to change hands, or might. The common occasions:

• Selling the business, or testing an offer before you accept it. See business sale valuation.
• Buying a business, so you know what the earnings support before you sign. See business acquisition valuation.
• A shareholder or partner joining, leaving or being bought out, often under an agreement that sets out how the interest is to be valued. See private company share valuation.
• Succession and estate planning, including passing shares or units to the next generation. See business succession valuation.
• Restructures and transfers between related entities, such as moving a business from a sole trader into a company, or between family entities. Tax and duty rules may look to market value when the parties are not dealing at arm's length, so your adviser may ask for one. See business restructuring valuation.
• Capital gains tax events, including the 1 July 2027 changes, covered below.
• Goodwill questions, such as how much of a practice's value belongs to the business rather than the principal. See business goodwill valuation.
• An annual update, to see whether the value is growing, not just the revenue.

For an owner-run business with one entity, see small business valuation. For a business, shares or units held in a family or unit trust, see trust business valuation. Every service, with what each one covers, is listed on business valuation services.

Family law property settlements are prepared through our dedicated family law practice, Family Law Valuations. Disputes and court matters are a separate engagement, quoted on request, because a court expert report has its own rules.

The 30 June 2027 question

The capital gains tax rules change for CGT events from 1 July 2027. For Australian resident individuals and trusts (including individuals' shares of partnership gains), the 50% CGT discount is generally replaced, for gains that build up from that date, by cost base indexation, and resident individuals generally pay at least 30% tax on those gains. Gains that built up before then can still get the 50% discount when the asset is eventually sold, if the usual conditions are met.

To separate the two periods, Australian resident individuals, and trusts with at least one eligible beneficiary, are automatically treated as if they sold their relevant assets just before 1 July 2027 and bought them back on 1 July 2027, by default at market value. That is why 30 June 2027 is the valuation date people are talking about. No tax falls due then: the gain to that date waits until you later sell.

Three things owners often miss:

• A valuation is one option, not a requirement. The law lets the Government set an apportioning method instead (section 112-185), but that method is still a draft, released for consultation in August 2026 and not yet final, and it is expected to cover only some assets. Any choice is made in the tax return for the year the asset is actually sold. Your tax adviser decides which fits.
• Companies are treated differently. Companies can't use the 50% CGT discount, so the 30 June 2027 rule for individuals and trusts does not apply to a company's own assets, although a company's pre-CGT assets (acquired before 20 September 1985) are separately reset at 1 July 2027. Shares in that company held by an individual or a trust are a different matter.
• The small business CGT concessions continue where the conditions are met.

A valuation as at 30 June 2027 is prepared after that date, once your records to 30 June 2027 are available. You can book your place now. The useful work now is getting your records in order and talking it through with your accountant. The detail is on CGT business valuation 2027.

What drives the value of a private business

Two businesses with the same profit can be worth very different amounts. Value comes down to two things: the earnings a buyer can expect to keep, and how dependable those earnings are. How that plays out sector by sector is on the industries we value.

Maintainable earnings

We start with the profit the business can sustain, not the profit on the tax return. That means adjusting for anything that will not continue or is not at a market rate: an owner paid well below what a manager would cost, rent paid to a related party above or below market, one-off legal costs, a contract that has ended, personal expenses run through the business. These normalisation adjustments are often where two valuations of the same business part ways, so the report shows each one and the reason for it.

Risk

Then we ask how dependable those earnings are, the same questions a careful buyer asks:

• Owner dependence: does the phone keep ringing if you step back for three months?
• Customer concentration: how much revenue comes from the top two or three customers?
• Recurring revenue: how much work arrives without a quote or a sales effort?
• Staff: who holds the relationships and the know-how, and are they likely to stay?
• Lease and premises: how long is left, and on what terms?
• Records: are the accounts timely and reliable, or rebuilt each year at tax time?

The balance sheet

Finally, the value of the operations is adjusted for debt, surplus cash, working capital above or below normal, and assets the business does not need to trade. This step turns a business value into a share or unit value.

The full picture is in what drives the value of a private business.

Valuation methods, in brief

There is no single formula. The valuer chooses the method that suits the business and the purpose, then tests the result against another view.

Sales of similar businesses are useful evidence, but private sales are rarely public and rarely truly comparable, so they inform the judgement rather than replace it. Business valuation methods explains each method, and how to value a business walks through the steps.

Part interests

Valuing 30% of a company is not simply 30% of the company's value. Whether the interest is valued as a minority or a controlling stake, and whether any discount applies, depends on the purpose, the shareholder agreement and the rights attached to the shares. We set out the basis in the report so nobody has to guess. Valuing a minority interest in a private company goes further.

What you receive

A full valuation report, prepared and signed by a suitably qualified business valuer at Valuation Group. It sets out:

• The subject, purpose and valuation date, agreed in writing before we start
• The standard of value applied, usually market value
• The information we relied on, and anything we asked for and could not obtain
• Each normalisation adjustment, with the reason for it
• The method chosen, why it suits, and the cross-checks
• The key assumptions, and what would change the answer
• The conclusion of value, and the limits on how the report can be used

Guided by APES 225 Valuation Services. Software helps us organise and check information; the valuer makes every valuation judgement and signs every report. Before the final report, you sign a representation letter confirming that the information you supplied is complete and accurate.

A full valuation, not a calculation

A calculation or limited-scope engagement is a narrower piece of work. It has its uses, but it is not a full valuation report and should not be relied on as one. We tell you which you are getting before you engage us. The difference is explained in what is the difference between a valuation and a calculation engagement.

How it works and how long it takes

1. Tell us about the business: the purpose, structure, interest, turnover and valuation date. The quote form takes a few minutes.
2. We agree the subject, the valuation date and the purpose with you. Fixed fee, confirmed in writing before we start. No hourly billing and no surprises.
3. You upload documents through the secure link on your matter. Financial documents never travel by email or through this website.
4. We work through the records and call you with questions, usually about the adjustments and the risks only you can explain.
5. You sign the representation letter and receive the final report.

Delivery is 2 business days for turnover under $2 million and 3 business days for turnover $2 million to $10 million. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received, and pauses while we wait for answers to our questions or your signed representation letter. Complex engagements have a timetable agreed in writing before we start. Tell us your deadline and we will tell you on the call whether we can meet it.

Missing information is what slows a valuation down. Typically we ask for:

• Three years of financial statements and tax returns for the entity
• Year-to-date management accounts
• Owner salaries, related-party transactions and one-off items
• The lease and key customer and supplier contracts
• The shareholder agreement, partnership agreement or trust deed
• Loan and finance details, and an asset register

See what information is needed for a business valuation and how long does a business valuation take.

What it costs

We charge one fixed fee of $999 + GST for a full valuation report on one business or ownership interest with annual turnover under $10 million, never billed by the hour. Larger and more complex matters are quoted in writing:

Each additional valuation date is $495 + GST and each additional entity or interest is $795 + GST. The fixed fee applies once we confirm the interest, purpose, structure and records fit the fixed-fee scope. Anything outside it is quoted in writing before we start. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received, and pauses while we wait for answers to our questions or your signed representation letter.

The full breakdown, including what moves a quote up or down, is on business valuation cost. Accountants who refer clients regularly should look at the Accountant Partner Program.

Independent, national, and clear about our role

We value businesses and business interests. We do not give tax, legal or financial advice, and we do not replace your accountant. Your accountant or tax adviser decides how a value is used in your tax affairs; we establish the value for the agreed subject, date and purpose, and show how we got there.

No valuer can promise how the ATO or a court will treat a valuation. The ATO's guidance on market valuation looks at the process and evidence behind a valuation, not only at who prepared it.

Australia-wide

Independent Business Valuation works with owners in every state and territory, including regional areas. We do not have offices in every city and do not pretend to: the work runs on secure document upload, phone and video calls, so a business in Townsville is valued the same way as one in Hobart. The fee is set by the scope, not the postcode.

For accountants

You can come to us directly or through your accountant. You keep the client relationship and the tax advice; we provide the independent value and a report you can put on file. A referring accountant sees a client's matter only with that client's written consent. More on For Accountants.

Independent Business Valuation is operated by Valuation Group Pty Ltd (ABN 48 702 469 252). It is not a separate legal entity. Questions first? Call 0433 475 518 or email valuations@valuationgroup.au.