You need a business valuation or a business appraisal.  You might need the business valuation for Estate and Gift business taxes, applying for an SBA loan, ESOP stock value, or a host of other reasons.  How can you make sure that you obtain the most accurate business valuation possible?

The business valuation is going to tell a story about your business.  This story will contain a narrative backed up by statistics, facts, and figures.  This story must make sense when it is complete.   Your job as a business owner obtaining a valuation is to make sure the story, facts, and figures are clear and sensible to the experienced valuation professional appraising the business.

Below are 5 steps business owners should take to make sure your business valuation is as accurate as possible.

THE 5 STEPS

1. Be able to explain why your product or service is so desirable you can continue to make a high profit
   The most important thing in valuing your business is understanding how you create and keep a market of customers that will pay enough for your product or service that you can be expected to continue making a profit. Do you have patents keeping others out?  Do you have a unique distribution channel?  Do you have better internal systems and people?  This is the core of the business valuation.  How your business makes money and how it will continue to do so.  The ability to clearly and succinctly explain that is key to the valuer understanding your business and getting the valuation correct.
2. Have quality financial information.
   You must have quality financial information. A business valuation is, to a large extent, a review of your past financial results and a projection of your future financial expectations.  Without clear data it is very difficult to see the details necessary to make correct assumptions and calculations.  In addition to historic financial information, business plans and useful projections consistently kept will add to the valuer’s understanding of the business.
3. Have leases and major contracts in good order
   Leases, customer contracts, loan documents, and the like may not make a business, but if they are not in good order a business may suffer major losses quickly. These documents in good form reduce risk which increases value.  Have the major legal documents your business relies on updated and accessible, so you can provide them when asked.
4. Have systems outlined and resumes of key people
   Simply put, a business is a series of systems that produce a product or service, hopefully at a profit.  Most businesses have many systems that are run by people.  True high-quality systems are where “normal people obtain extraordinary results every time.”  This requires great systems, great training, and very good people.   Make sure you can document all of these.
5. Hire an experienced valuation professional.
   Clearly, the valuer must have the background to understand how actual businesses on the ground work and how that translates into value. Business valuations are performed for specific purposes – sales, SBA loans, ESOP structuring, divorce, Estate and Gift Tax.  While it might sound crazy, it is a fact that the purpose can often significantly change the correct business value found.  Make sure the valuer understands and has performed valuations for your purpose.  Finally, make sure they have sufficient background and training in the fundamentals of business valuation.

These five steps lead to a consistent well-run business and obtaining a correct business valuation.  Business valuation does have an element of the old saying, “garbage in – garbage out.” As a business owner you do play an important role in obtaining a proper business valuation.