Perspectives on valuation work.
Plain-English writing on methodology, ATO expectations, CGT valuation matters, and the framework that defines how we conclude every engagement.
What "the most supportable valuation position" actually means.
A business has a range of defensible values depending on methodology, evidence weighting and the commercial purpose of the engagement. The most supportable position is the one the methodology and evidence best defend.
ATO market valuation expectations in 2026: what business owners and advisers should know.
The ATO's expectations for tax-purpose business valuations have not fundamentally changed in 2026, but the practical reality of how those expectations apply is shifting. Here is what business owners and advisers should know.
Why retrospective CGT valuations need different evidence standards.
A retrospective valuation can only rely on information reasonably available at the valuation date. That changes everything about how the methodology applies and what the supportable position looks like.
How methodology selection affects related-party transfer values: a worked example.
The same business, valued for the same purpose at the same date, can produce different defensible outcomes depending on the methodology applied. Here is a worked example.
Small business CGT concessions: what evidence the ATO actually wants.
Small business CGT concessions reduce tax materially — but eligibility depends on market values, and the ATO reviews these claims closely. Here is what a defensible position looks like.
Preparing for a CGT valuation: a checklist for business owners.
A CGT valuation typically takes two to five weeks. With the right preparation, the process is smooth. Here is what to gather and think through before you start.
Preparing for a CGT valuation: a checklist for accountants.
When you refer a client for a CGT valuation, the engagement is smoother if a few decisions are clear up front. Here is the checklist we ask accountants to think through.
How much does a business valuation cost in Australia?
A formal business valuation for tax in Australia usually costs between about $1,500 and $9,000 + GST, depending on the size of the business and how the report will be used. Here’s what you pay for, and why.
Accountant's letter vs. valuation report: cost, defensibility and when each works.
An accountant's letter typically costs a few hundred dollars; a formal valuation report typically runs $5,000–$15,000+ at a traditional firm, or from $1,495 + GST fixed-fee. The letter states a number — the report shows methodology, evidence and an independent signature. Use a letter for internal planning; use a report wherever the ATO or another party will test the figure.
Are cheap business valuations worth it? When they work and when they backfire.
Yes, if the low price reflects efficiency rather than missing work. Australian business valuations typically range from $1,495 to $15,000+: fixed-fee reports from roughly $1,495 to $12,995 + GST, traditional firm reports from $5,000 to $15,000 or more. A five-question check — who signs, what methodology, what evidence, what the disclaimer says, who defends it — tells the two apart in about five minutes.
Big-Firm vs Fixed-Fee Specialist: Who Should Value Your Business?
A large advisory firm and a fixed-fee specialist can both produce a defensible valuation of the same business — at prices an order of magnitude apart. The honest answer about when each is right, and the one question that matters more than the letterhead.
Broker appraisal vs formal valuation: what's the difference
A business appraisal vs valuation comparison comes down to one distinction: a broker appraisal is a free, unsigned opinion of likely sale price, while a formal valuation is a signed, methodology-documented report defensible to the ATO or a court. Oliver Group prepares the latter, fixed-fee from $1,495 + GST.
Online business valuation calculators vs a formal valuation: what each is actually good for.
An online business valuation calculator is a compressed version of the same capitalisation-of-earnings logic professional valuers use — and for some purposes it is genuinely enough. The problem is not the arithmetic. It is the inputs the calculator never sees and the evidence it never produces. Here is a fair-minded account of where each tool belongs.
Business valuation for divorce in Australia: how family law values a business.
A business valued for a family law property settlement is not valued the way it would be for a sale. The court's rules push the parties toward a single jointly appointed expert, the basis of value can be value to the owner rather than market value, and personal goodwill is treated differently from an open-market transaction. Here is how the process actually works — and what to do if you disagree with the number.
Business valuation price comparison Australia: what big-4, mid-tier, boutique and online providers charge.
Business valuations in Australia typically range from $1,495 + GST at online fixed-fee providers to $5,000–$50,000 + GST at boutique specialists, with mid-tier and big-4 firms quoting privately, often into the tens of thousands. Oliver Group's fixed tiers run $1,495 to $12,995 + GST, published upfront rather than quoted after a call.
Can you value your own business? A DIY guide — and where DIY fails at review.
Yes — a careful owner can normalise three years of earnings and apply an industry multiple to land a genuinely useful DIY value, at zero cost beyond time. What a DIY figure cannot supply is independence, so once the ATO, a buyer or a lawyer relies on it, a signed independent report is needed — fixed-fee options start from $1,495 + GST.
The cheapest way to value a business in Australia: 7 options from $0 to $15,000+.
The cheapest business valuation in Australia is $0 (a calculator or broker appraisal), but free options carry no methodology or signature and do not survive ATO review. Among options built to hold up under review, signed independent reports start from about $1,495 + GST. Between those points sit an accountant letter (typically $500–$2,000) and boutique firms (typically $5,000–$15,000+).
Choosing the valuation date: why it changes your CGT outcome.
A CGT valuation date is the point in time a business must be valued at for a capital gains tax event — usually the contract date for a sale, not settlement, and it is often fixed by law rather than chosen. Oliver Group identifies the correct date from the underlying legal event before any valuation methodology work begins.
Date-of-death business valuations: when a deceased estate needs one, and why.
A date-of-death business valuation establishes the market value of a deceased person's business, private-company shares or trust units on the exact day they died. It is essential for pre-CGT interests — where section 128-15 ITAA 1997 makes that market value the beneficiary's cost base — and for CGT event K3, estate accounts and family provision claims. Post-CGT interests instead inherit the deceased's own cost base, so a valuation there supports the estate and the later sale rather than a cost-base reset. It is a business valuation, not an API property valuation, and it must be prepared as at the date of death — not back-fitted from the eventual sale price.
Do I need a formal valuation to claim the small business CGT concessions?
Division 152 never says 'obtain a formal valuation' — it says the eligibility tests turn on market value, and the taxpayer must be able to prove it. Whether a reasonable estimate is enough or a formal valuation is essential depends on which gateway you rely on and how much room for error the numbers leave. Here is the decision framework.
Earn-outs in business sales: what they're really worth.
An earn-out in an Australian business sale is deferred, contingent consideration — part of the price paid only if the business hits agreed targets after completion. Oliver Group treats the contingent tranche as a separate risk-adjusted value, not face value added to the cash price, when advising on what an earn-out offer is actually worth.
EBITDA multiples by industry in Australia: what private businesses actually sell for.
Australian private businesses with less than $5m of EBITDA typically change hands at between roughly two and six times normalised earnings — well below the multiples listed companies trade at, and well below the US charts owners find online. Here is the current Australian table, what drives the gap, and how a valuer evidences a multiple rather than asserting one.
The future maintainable earnings method explained: Australia's default business valuation approach.
Most Australian private companies are valued by capitalising future maintainable earnings — yet the method is rarely explained clearly anywhere citable. Here is what maintainable actually means, how normalisation works, how the multiple is selected and evidenced, and when the ATO and courts expect something else.
How long does a business valuation take? Realistic timelines for every purpose.
Most Australian business valuations take two to seven weeks from complete documents to signed report, depending on depth. The analysis is the predictable part — document collection is what moves the timeline. Here are realistic timeframes by report type, and what it takes to finish at the front of the range.
How much does a cafe or restaurant valuation cost? The two drivers that set the fee.
A formal valuation of a single-site cafe or restaurant starts at $1,495 + GST on Oliver Group's fixed fees, with most owner-operated venues landing at the Comprehensive tier from $3,995 + GST; full reports at traditional firms typically run $5,000–$15,000+. Two things move the fee in hospitality more than anything else: how much owner add-back work the books need, and how much lease there is to analyse.
How much does a childcare centre valuation cost in Australia?
A single-centre childcare valuation in Australia typically starts at the Comprehensive tier, from $3,995 + GST, while full valuation reports at traditional firms typically run $5,000–$15,000 or more. What sets childcare apart from a generic small business is what's actually being valued: a licence, an approved-places cap and a Child Care Subsidy-dependent revenue stream regulated by government — closer to a regulated annuity than a shopfront.
How much does a dental practice valuation cost in Australia?
A dental practice valuation in Australia typically starts at the Comprehensive tier, from $3,995 + GST, while full valuation reports at traditional firms commonly run $5,000–$15,000 or more. Dentistry sits above a generic small-business fee for a structural reason distinct from medicine: real depreciating plant on the balance sheet, chair-by-chair utilisation economics, and a principal-dependency question that active consolidator buying makes both easier and harder to price.
How much does a gym or fitness business valuation cost in Australia?
A formal valuation of an independent gym or studio starts at $1,495 + GST on Oliver Group's fixed fees, with most trading clubs landing at the Comprehensive tier from $3,995 + GST; full reports at traditional firms typically run $5,000–$15,000+. The single biggest variable is not the industry — it is the quality of the membership book behind the revenue line.
How much does a medical practice valuation cost in Australia?
A medical practice valuation in Australia typically starts from $3,995 + GST at fixed-fee providers, rising to $8,995 + GST for multi-practitioner practices needing a defensible file. Traditional firms commonly charge $5,000–$15,000 or more for the same report. The fee mainly buys one thing: the goodwill-split analysis separating what transfers to a buyer from what leaves with the doctor.
How much does a pharmacy valuation cost in Australia?
A pharmacy valuation in Australia typically costs $5,000–$15,000+ at traditional firms, landing at the higher end due to location-approval and PBS-dispensary analysis. Oliver Group's fixed fees start from $1,495 + GST (Essential), $3,995 + GST (Comprehensive) and $8,995 + GST (Defensible), with most trading pharmacies needing Comprehensive or above.
How much does a trades or construction business valuation cost in Australia.
A trades or construction business valuation in Australia typically starts at Oliver Group's Essential tier, from $1,495 + GST, for a straightforward sole-trade licence holder, rising to $8,995 + GST or more where the business carries work-in-progress, retentions or multiple entities. Traditional firms commonly charge $5,000–$15,000+ for a comparable full report.
How much does a transport business valuation cost in Australia?
A transport or logistics business valuation in Australia typically starts at Oliver Group's Essential tier, from $1,495 + GST, for a small owner-driver fleet, rising to Comprehensive from $3,995 + GST for a contracted operator needing dual earnings-and-fleet methodology. Traditional firms typically charge $5,000–$15,000+ for a comparable full report.
How much does an accounting firm valuation cost in Australia?
In Australia, a fixed-fee accounting firm valuation typically starts from $1,495 + GST for a single-methodology report on a clean single-principal practice. Multi-partner firms needing dual-methodology analysis (cents-in-the-dollar reconciled against maintainable earnings, plus WIP and lockup review) typically run from $3,995 + GST, rising to $8,995 + GST or $12,995 + GST for contested or bolt-on-acquisition matters.
How much does an e-commerce business valuation cost in Australia?
A single-platform online store typically starts at Oliver Group's Essential tier, from $1,495 + GST. Stores with material paid and organic traffic usually sit at the Comprehensive tier, from $3,995 + GST, and multi-marketplace or private-label operations typically reach $8,995 + GST or above. Traditional firms typically charge $5,000–$15,000+ for a full report.
How much is a cafe or restaurant worth? Realistic multiples for Australian hospitality.
Most Australian cafes and restaurants change hands at between about 1.5 and 2.5 times their adjusted annual earnings — after a market wage for the owner's work has been deducted. That is lower than most broker appraisals suggest, and the gap is almost always in the earnings base, not the multiple.
How much is a childcare centre worth? Benchmarks and value drivers for Australian centres.
Most Australian childcare centres are valued on 3–5 times normalised EBITDA — rising toward 4.5–5x for a strong, high-occupancy metro centre and sitting nearer 3–4x regionally — with a per-licensed-place cross-check of roughly $30,000–$45,000 metro and $15,000–$25,000 regional. Those figures value the operating business; the freehold, if owned, is a separate property valuation on top.
How much is a dental practice worth in Australia? Valuation multiples and what actually drives them.
Australian general dental practices commonly change hands at three to five times normalised EBITDA, or roughly 50–80 per cent of annual gross fees — but the benchmarks conceal more than they reveal. Chair utilisation, single-operator dependency and the principal’s clinical wage move the answer more than the multiple does, and a corporate consolidator’s offer is answering a different question entirely.
How much is a financial planning book worth in Australia?
An Australian financial planning book is typically valued as a multiple of ongoing recurring revenue, with well-engaged, consent-compliant books trading toward the upper end of a sub-two-times range and weaker books at well under one times. Oliver Group builds the figure from consent and renewal history, client concentration, licensee transfer terms and client age and FUM profile, not a flat industry rule of thumb.
How much is a gym worth in Australia? The membership book, not the equipment, sets the price.
Oliver Group's gym business valuation guidance shows Australian gyms commonly priced at roughly 1.5 to 2.5 times adjusted owner earnings, with facilities run under management priced higher. A gym is a direct-debit membership annuity, not an equipment or fit-out asset, so churn, tenure and contract quality in the membership book drive the price more than the gear on the floor.
How much is a hair or beauty salon worth in Australia? It depends what happens when the owner stops cutting hair.
Hair salon business valuation in Australia commonly places owner-operated salons somewhere between about 1 and 2.5 times adjusted owner earnings (SDE), with employed-team salons at the upper end and one-chair owner-stylist businesses at the lower end. Oliver Group explains why that range is wide: the real driver of value is not the multiple but what survives, provably, the day the owner-stylist stops cutting hair.
How much is a law firm worth in Australia?
An Australian law firm is typically worth a multiple of maintainable earnings after paying every working principal a market salary, cross-checked against a fee-based rule of thumb — not a fixed percentage of billings. Oliver Group builds the figure from normalised earnings, WIP and lock-up quality, and how much goodwill is personal versus institutional. Most practices land in a range, not a single number.
How much is a manufacturing business worth in Australia?
An Australian manufacturing business's value is set by reconciling two figures: an EBITDA multiple that varies by subsector, customer concentration and certification, against the market value of its plant and equipment — not depreciated book value. A generic 3x–4x private-company multiple, applied without that reconciliation, routinely misprices manufacturers in both directions. Oliver Group tests both methods side by side on every manufacturing engagement.
How much is a medical practice worth in Australia? Multiples, methods and the goodwill problem.
An Australian general practice typically changes hands at a multiple of its normalised earnings — but the multiple, and whether the earnings survive once the owner's clinical work is priced at market, vary more than most owner-doctors expect. Personal goodwill and payroll tax exposure on contractor doctors do most of the damage. Here is how the number is actually built.
How much is a pharmacy worth in Australia? Multiples, the regulatory moat and the PBS problem.
Oliver Group, an Australian valuation firm, benchmarks community pharmacies at roughly three to five times normalised EBITDA plus stock at valuation, with strong assets trading toward the top of that band. The multiple is propped up by location rules and pharmacist-only ownership, which protect earnings from new competition, while PBS reimbursement settings and dispensing reforms determine most of the earnings the multiple is applied to.
How much is a physiotherapy clinic worth in Australia? The multiple turns on whose caseload it is.
A physiotherapy clinic valuation in Australia typically lands between two and four times normalised EBITDA. Owner-treated solo clinics sit near the bottom; multi-practitioner clinics with low principal dependence and a spread payor mix support three and a half to five times. Oliver Group is an independent valuation firm that builds the supportable number from practitioner dependence, payor mix and documented normalisation.
How much is a rent roll worth in Australia?
Oliver Group's rent roll valuation guidance shows most Australian residential rent rolls sell for roughly $2.50 to $3.50 per dollar of annual agency management income (AAMI), with premium metropolitan books above that range. Retention clauses holding back part of the price mean the contract figure is rarely the amount the seller actually keeps.
How much is a transport or logistics business worth in Australia?
Oliver Group's transport and logistics valuation guidance shows Australian operators typically valued by reconciling two figures: an earnings multiple, commonly cited in a broad 3x–6x EBITDA range, against the fleet's net asset value from secondhand market evidence. The gap between them, not either figure alone, is the evidence a defensible valuation is built on.
How much is a vet clinic worth in Australia?
A vet clinic valuation in Australia typically supports 2.5x-4x EBITDA for a solo owner-vet practice, rising to roughly 5.5x-8x for a multi-vet, associate-driven clinic; consolidator platform deals run higher but price scale, not a single clinic. Oliver Group builds the supportable multiple from goodwill transfer, practitioner capacity and revenue mix.
How much is an ecommerce business worth in Australia?
An Australian ecommerce business is typically worth 2.0x–3.5x Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) below $1m revenue, moving to 4.0x–8.0x EBITDA above $5m, with the exact position set mainly by marketplace dependence, inventory quality and owned-audience assets rather than profit alone. Oliver Group prepares independent, fixed-fee ecommerce business valuations documented to ATO market valuation expectations.
How much is an IT services or MSP business worth in Australia?
Oliver Group values Australian IT services and MSP businesses on normalised EBITDA, applying indicative multiples of roughly 3.0–6.5x depending on size band, weighted toward the top where managed-services contract revenue dominates the mix and toward the bottom where break-fix billing does.
How Much Is My Business Worth? The Honest Australian Answer
For most Australian private businesses, the honest answer is a range — and the evidence behind the range is worth more than the number. This guide explains what decides where you sit in that range, how valuers actually work the number out, and the most cost-effective way to find out: from a free indicative tool, to a decision-grade Snapshot from $990 +GST, to signed reports from $1,495 +GST.
How to increase the value of your business before sale.
To increase a business's value before selling, reduce the risk a buyer sees rather than only growing earnings: cut owner dependence, lower customer concentration, convert informal relationships to written contracts, and clean up add-backs and financial records. Oliver Group explains why this moves the valuation multiple — which applies to every dollar of earnings, not just new growth — and what is realistically fixable in a two-to-three-year pre-sale runway.
How to reduce the cost of a business valuation: nine preparation steps that cut scope.
Nine preparation steps — clean financials, documented add-backs, a lease, an org chart — cut a valuation fee by shrinking reconstruction hours, on fixed fees from $1,495 +GST or hourly billing alike. Engaging four to six weeks early avoids Oliver Group's +30% rush loading; the one cost never worth cutting is the methodology itself.
How to value a business for sale in Australia: a step-by-step guide for owners.
A business is worth what the evidence supports, not what the owner needs it to be. Here are the seven steps a valuer takes to reach a defensible sale value — normalising earnings, proving the add-backs, choosing a method, testing the multiple — and the two situations where a formal pre-sale valuation pays for itself.
How to value a loss-making business.
Oliver Group values a loss-making business by testing three evidence-based methods: net realisable asset value as the floor, a turnaround DCF only where the recovery is already evidenced (not forecast), and strategic value to a specific identified buyer. A loss-making business is not automatically worth nothing — nor worth whatever a hopeful forecast claims.
How to value shares in a private company in Australia.
A parcel of shares in a private company is not a pro-rata slice of the headline business value. Getting to a defensible per-share figure means bridging from enterprise value to equity value, then asking what a buyer would actually pay for that specific parcel — with its rights, its restrictions and its lack of control.
How WIP and lock-up affect professional firm value.
Work in progress (WIP) affects a professional firm's value because buyers price it as a separate, discounted asset, not an afterthought to the earnings multiple: aged and unbilled time is written down for recoverability risk, lock-up days (WIP days plus debtor days) signal billing discipline, and WIP transferred on sale is taxed as revenue, not capital. Oliver Group values WIP and lock-up as their own asset class in professional-practice valuations.
Is a business valuation tax deductible? The two paths, explained.
Often yes: a valuation fee is deductible under s 25-5 ITAA 1997 when obtained to manage your tax affairs, or it forms part of the asset's CGT cost base when tied to a sale — never both. At the 25% small-company tax rate, a $3,995 + GST Comprehensive report deducted in full nets to roughly $2,996 after tax, plus any GST credit.
Key person risk: how it cuts business value, and how to fix it.
Key person risk is the reduction in business value that occurs when earnings depend materially on one individual who is not contractually bound to stay. Oliver Group values this as a discount to maintainable earnings or the selected multiple, sized from evidence, not a standard percentage — and, unlike most discounts, it is largely fixable within 12 months through documentation and succession planning.
Kilgour's Case: When 'Market Value' Is the Price You Actually Got
Two family trusts sold their 20% stakes in Punters Paradise as part of a $31 million, 100% sale to News Corp Investments — then argued each parcel's market value was lower than the $6.2 million received. The Full Federal Court said no, and the High Court refused special leave. Kilgour is the sharpest recent lesson that you cannot value away from a real price struck in your own transaction.
M&A Adviser vs Independent Valuer: Which Do You Actually Need?
Owners thinking about an exit usually call the wrong professional first. An M&A adviser and an independent valuer do different jobs, are paid in opposite ways, and the order you engage them changes what you learn — and what it costs to learn it.
Minority interest discounts in Australia: DLOM and DLOC explained, with typical ranges.
A minority parcel in a private company is rarely worth its pro-rata share of the whole. Discounts for lack of control and lack of marketability explain the gap — but the ranges are wide, the case law cuts both ways, and the discount a file can defend depends entirely on the evidence behind it.
Moloney's Case: When the ATO's $10.6m Valuation Lost to the Taxpayer's $3m
The ATO substituted a valuation nearly three times the sale price and the small business CGT concessions looked gone. The tribunal sided with the taxpayer's expert — because of how the valuation was built. What Moloney's case teaches anyone relying on the $6m net asset value test.
Personal vs transferable goodwill: why your business may be worth less than you think.
Not all goodwill can be sold. When profits depend on the owner's licence, relationships or reputation, part of the value walks out the door with them — and a valuation that ignores this overstates what a buyer would pay. Here is how valuers separate personal from transferable goodwill, and why the answer differs in a sale, in family law and for tax.
Revenue multiples vs profit multiples: which applies to your business?
A revenue multiple prices enterprise value per dollar of turnover; an EBITDA multiple prices it per dollar of normalised earnings. Oliver Group treats EBITDA multiples as the default for trading businesses and revenue multiples as legitimate only for recurring-revenue, rent-roll or pre-profit businesses, linked by the margin bridge: revenue multiple = EBITDA multiple × EBITDA margin.
Valuing a business for family succession: getting the price right when you're not really selling.
Handing a business to the next generation is not a sale in any commercial sense — but the tax law treats it as one. The market value substitution rule, Division 7A and stamp duty all apply market value to family transfers, and a defensible valuation is what keeps the succession fair between children and the position defensible if reviewed.
Vendor finance and the real price of a business.
Vendor finance business sale price in Australia means the headline figure is not what the vendor actually receives: Oliver Group defines the effective price as the cash-at-completion tranche plus the vendor finance tranche discounted for credit risk, time value and default risk — a number usually lower than the advertised price, and worth calculating before terms are agreed.
Why do business valuations cost so much? The 8 fee drivers explained.
Business valuations typically cost $1,495 to $12,995+ at fixed-fee providers, or $5,000–$15,000+ at traditional firms, because the fee pays for skilled analyst hours plus a qualified signatory's professional accountability. Eight identifiable drivers move the price — entity structure, record quality, purpose and stakes among them — and roughly half sit within your control.
Why two valuers can get different numbers for the same business.
Business valuations differ between valuers because a business is worth a defensible range, not one fixed figure — and two competent valuers can reach different points in that range through different bases of value, purpose, information access, valuation dates, and judgment calls on earnings, multiples and discounts. Oliver Group explains what makes a gap legitimate versus a sign the report is defective.
Working capital adjustments in a business sale: the completion-accounts true-up, explained.
A working capital adjustment trues up the sale price after settlement: the buyer pays the agreed enterprise value on a cash-free, debt-free basis assuming a normal (target) level of working capital, then draft completion accounts measure the actual working capital 30-90 days later and settle the difference dollar-for-dollar — a surplus is paid to the seller, a deficit is refunded to the buyer. Because GST, PAYG withholding and superannuation accrue and are paid on a BAS cycle, the completion date alone can move the number by $50,000-$200,000. Oliver Group models the target peg and its sensitivity as a neutral scenario review, taking no referral fee from either side.
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