JPAbusiness

When advising clients looking to buy businesses, as well as running businesses, we use a number of different methodologies to assess value.

A business is a dynamic entity – a ‘going concern’ – so you can’t just value it at a point in time. You need to assess the level of cash flow it is generating today, and what you can expect it to generate into the future. You then need to assign a ‘present day value’ to those potential future cash flows. 

One way we do this is by using the discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation method.

Topics: business advice, Business valuation, valuing a business, business basics, Parramatta, Orange NSW, discounted cash flow

Selling a business should not be like exploring an uncharted continent.

When embarking on a business sale you’re not just taking yourself, but you must also bring along your business partners, staff and advisors for the journey. It’s a massive undertaking and not one to be entered into lightly.

Don’t go exploring on a business sale unless you at least know where you want to end up.

This week's infographic is for those just setting out on the business sale journey, and step 1 is about being honest with yourself regarding why you're on this journey to help you determine where you need to go. 

Topics: Selling your business, infographic, selling a business, Business valuation, Business advisor, Business selling, business broker, Parramatta, Orange NSW

The simple answer is ‘no’, you don’t need a valuation to sell a business.

However, in terms of engaging JPAbusiness to sell your business, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’, you do need to get a valuation before you embark on a sale process.

The reason for that is part of our point of difference among business brokers. It’s based on a lesson learned early in the life of JPAbusiness, and backed by years of subsequent experience. 

Topics: business advice, selling a business, Business valuation, Parramatta, Orange NSW

Business market appraisals and valuations are both robust assessments of a business’ worth and are appropriate for use in different circumstances.

In this video I explain the difference between a business market appraisal and a business valuation, and when each should be used.

Topics: Business Value, Advice, Valuations, Video, Business valuation, market appraisal, valuing a business, Parramatta, Orange NSW

There are plenty of good businesses out there, but the key to a successful business purchase is finding a business that will be ‘good’ for you.

Our Buying a Business Planning Sheet is designed to help you find a business that is the right fit for your requirements and risk profile.

When assessing different businesses, the planning sheet prompts you to consider 15 questions, including:

• Why will you succeed in this business?
• How does the asking price compare to a market appraisal of recent sales and market trends?
• Do you fully understand the requirements of the lease relating to your potential business purchase?

If you are considering buying a business, download the free template and work through the questions as a way of bringing some rigour and structure to your preliminary planning.

Topics: Buying a business, Template, business advice, Business valuation, valuing a business

People typically request a valuation of their business in reaction to an event, for example:

• they’ve decided they want to sell or exit, so they want to know how much the business is worth;
• they want to restructure the legal entities in the business and need a valuation for tax and/or statutory purposes;
• there is a relationship breakdown between joint shareholders or spouses and they need to transfer or split the business so one can sell to the other, so they need to know its value;
• they’re seeking finance and the finance company or bank has requested a valuation of the business.

Those are event-orientated valuation requirements and we certainly offer that service on a regular basis.

However, we also advocate using valuation as a proactive management and investment tool and we’ve been very excited to provide this service to more and more business owners over the past 12 months.

Topics: business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, business management, budgeting, valuing a business

When it comes to valuing businesses – listed or private – you will often hear people refer to ‘rules of thumb’. Some will say the value of a business is:

• ‘x times its revenue’ or
• ‘x multiples of its earnings’ or
• ‘a function of its after-tax profit’ or
• ‘a function of its gross profit’ and so on.

These ‘rules of thumb’ tend to be industry based i.e. “a business in Industry A is worth ‘x’ times multiple of earnings” while “a business in Industry B is worth ‘x’ times revenue”. (I won’t repeat the actual ‘rules’ I’ve heard – I don’t want to encourage anyone to use them!) 

Topics: Business Value, business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, business valuer, JPAbusiness

Business valuation is not an exact science and nor is it a simple science. However there are some factors you should always consider when assessing a business’ value.

The following video lists 3 key factors to consider when valuing a business and 3 questions you need to ask to uncover this important information.

Topics: Business Value, Advice, BME, Video, business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, Business maintainable earnings

At JPAbusiness we often say that business valuation is both an ‘art’ and a ‘science’.

In this video I explain just what that means. 

Topics: Business Value, Valuations, Video, business advice, Business valuation, small business

We provide a range of services to business buying clients, from initial review and feasibility, through to business valuations, a preliminary assessment of the strength of the opportunity, full due diligence services if the party has lodged a non-binding offer and is seriously interested in the business, through to merger and acquisition facilitation services.

We have helped some clients find the right business within six months while, for other clients, it has taken over three years.

The key phrase is ‘the right business’; I’m sure we could speed up the process if our aim was just to help our clients buy ‘a’ business, but that’s not our job.

Topics: Buying a business, business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, vendor due diligence