Business valuation timing: what sets the start and finish

Turnaround by type of engagement

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 count is in business days, so weekends and public holidays are not included.

These times are for a full valuation report covering the subject, date, method, analysis, key assumptions and a review. The work is quick because it starts only once everything the valuer needs is on file, not because steps are skipped. A limited-scope calculation is a different product, and we say which one you are getting before you engage us: see valuation or calculation.

When the clock starts

1. 01Tell us about the businessThe quote form or a call covers purpose, structure, the interest, turnover and the valuation date.
2. 02Scope and fee in writingFixed fee, confirmed in writing before we start. No hourly billing and no surprises.
3. 03Payment and documentsYou pay and upload your records through the secure link on your matter. The delivery time starts once both are complete.
4. 04The valuation workThe work is done by a suitably qualified business valuer at Valuation Group, who may send you questions as it goes.
5. 05Final reportYou sign a representation letter confirming the information supplied, then the report is issued.

The first three steps are in your hands as much as ours. An owner with the accounts and registers ready can get through them in a day or two. An owner chasing last year's financials can spend weeks there, before the valuation has started. More on our process.

What slows a valuation down

Missing or late records

Accounts not finalised, tax returns not lodged, a balance sheet that does not reconcile. The valuer cannot assess earnings nobody has reported. If the latest year is still with your accountant, that is often the biggest single delay.

More than one entity

Many family businesses are a group in practice: a company that trades, a trust that owns the equipment, another entity that owns the premises. Each has its own accounts and dealings with the others, and the valuer has to see how they fit together.

An unclear interest

"Value the business" can mean the whole enterprise, all the shares, a 30% shareholding, trust units or goodwill alone. Each is a different question. If the share register or trust deed is missing or out of date, that gets fixed first. See what exactly is being valued.

Unexplained adjustments and related parties

Personal costs run through the books, owners paid above or below a market wage, a lease from a family trust at an old rent, a shareholder loan. All common, but each needs a document or a short explanation before the valuer can work out the earnings a buyer would actually get.

Slow answers or a change of purpose

A day waiting on an answer or a signature is a day added. If a planned sale turns into a shareholder dispute, the scope changes: court or tribunal work is a separate engagement with its own fee, and family law matters are prepared through our dedicated family law practice, Family Law Valuations.

Complex matters: timetable agreed first

Turnover over $10 million, a group of entities, several interests at once or specialist analysis: these cannot honestly get a fixed turnaround before anyone has looked at them. We review the structure and records first, then quote the fee and agree the delivery date in writing together.

Each additional valuation date is $495 + GST and each additional entity or interest is $795 + GST. Both add time as well as fee. Fixed fee, confirmed in writing before we start. No hourly billing and no surprises. If you have a fixed date, such as a settlement, raise it at the start. Tell us your deadline and we will tell you on the call whether we can meet it.

What to have ready

• Financial statements and tax returns for the last three years for each entity, plus year-to-date management accounts
• Constitution and share register, trust deed and unit register, or partnership agreement
• Any shareholders' or unitholders' agreement covering transfers or valuation
• The premises lease, key contracts and any loans with owners or related entities
• A short note of owner and family wages, personal costs and one-off items
• Your accountant's details, so the valuer can check figures with them, with your written consent

The full list is in what information is needed for a business valuation.

Valuations as at 30 June 2027: book early, report after the date

Under the CGT changes starting 1 July 2027, Australian resident individuals and trusts with at least one eligible beneficiary are generally treated as if they sold relevant CGT assets, which can include a business or private company shares, at market value just before that date and bought them back. The valuation date for that purpose is 30 June 2027.

Not everyone needs a valuation for this. The Government is preparing an apportionment method that some owners may be able to choose instead; it was still a draft in October 2026. Companies are outside the rule for individuals and trusts, although assets held since before 20 September 1985 are reset under a separate rule. Your tax adviser decides what suits you. See the CGT 2027 valuation page.

A valuation as at 30 June 2027 cannot be finished before 30 June 2027, because it needs your records to that date. 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.

We expect requests to bunch up in the second half of 2027, while accountants are also busy with tax returns. Booking early reserves capacity and lets the preliminaries happen first: confirming the structure and the interest, agreeing scope, gathering prior years' accounts. The law sets no separate date for completing the valuation, since the choice of method is generally made with the return for the year the asset is later sold. The practical reason to move early is evidence, which is easiest to gather close to the date. See preparing your records.

Get a timetable for your matter

The quote form asks the questions that set the timetable. Straightforward matters inside the fixed-fee scope see the fixed fee straight away; complex ones are quoted in writing. Or call 0433 475 518 (Mon to Fri, 9am to 5:30pm AEST).