How to use the Business Acquisition Value Calculator
The most common way to price a small business is a multiple of SDE, or seller’s discretionary earnings. SDE is pre-tax net income with owner salary and bonus, depreciation and amortization, interest and genuinely one-time expenses added back, which gets close to the money a hands-on owner can actually take out of the business. Book profit alone is misleading because it changes with how the current owner chose to pay themselves.
This calculator does not supply a multiple. Within a single industry the figure swings with location, revenue size, how dependent the business is on the owner and whether leases and contracts transfer, and a made-up average would only make a wrong number look official. Enter a multiple you have researched or been advised on. Operating value is the SDE shown on screen times that multiple; adding the inventory and equipment included in the deal and subtracting liabilities the buyer assumes gives the estimated purchase price.
One item has no US counterpart: the key money that changes hands between tenants in Korean storefront deals. In a US transaction that kind of goodwill is realized by selling the business itself and is already captured inside the SDE multiple, so there is no separate line for it here. Put only tangible assets in the assets box, or you will count goodwill twice.
This page was written as of September 2026 and is for reference only. Actual prices are settled through negotiation and due diligence, and allocation of the purchase price has real tax consequences, so engage a CPA and an attorney before signing a letter of intent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Even inside one industry, multiples move a long way with location, revenue size, owner dependence and whether the lease and contracts transfer. Pre-filling an average would make a misleading figure look authoritative, so the multiple is yours to research or source from an advisor.
EBITDA leaves owner compensation in as an expense and only adds back interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. SDE also adds back owner pay and one-time costs, which suits owner-operated small businesses where the buyer will replace the owner’s labor.
No. Goodwill is already inside the SDE multiple, so adding it again double counts it. Use the assets box for tangible items transferring with the deal, such as inventory, equipment and fixtures.