Category Archives: Business Valuation & Appraisal

A discussion of the issues involved in valuation / appraisal of a business by William Bruce, president of the American Business Brokers Association.

Here’s How to Write an Offer to Purchase a Business.

Posted on May 18, 2020 by William Bruce

Let’s say you have looked at several businesses for sale and narrowed it down to the one that you want to pursue. You think you might want to make an offer on this business, but you’re not quite sure. You have a little anxiety about the unknowns. You wish you had more in-depth details on the business. This blog post shows you how to handle the situation like a pro. Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged buy sell agreement to buy business, buying a business, contingent offer to buy a business, how to make offer to buy business, Letter of intent to buy a business, offer to pruchase a business, purchase a business | 179 Comments

What Are the Rules of Thumb for Business Valuation?

Posted on May 11, 2020 by William Bruce

Estimating the value of a business based on appraisal rules of thumb and guidelines using a multiple of cash flow or a percentage of revenue. Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged Business, business appraisal valuation rule of thumb guidelines, business valuation appraisal guideline, business valuation appraisal rule of thumb, business valuation formula, business value as a multiple of cash flow, business worth as a percentage of revenue, business worth guideline formula, cash flow, Discounted cash flow, discretionary cash flow, How to price a business or company, Rule of thumb, rule of thumb business valuation, Small business valuation, William Bruce Business Broker | 209 Comments

Business Broker Training From the American Business Brokers Association

Posted on May 5, 2020 by William Bruce

Do you want to become a professional business broker? If so, there is no better option than the business broker training program offered by the American Business Brokers Association. For individuals considering becoming business brokers, the business broker training seminar … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged Business broker career, business broker training, how to become a business broker | Leave a comment

Here’s How to Value a Restaurant or Bar Business

Posted on April 14, 2020 by William Bruce

Certain situations require a formal, fully documented business appraisal. However, what we’re talking about here is not a formal appraisal but rather the informal methods of quickly approximating the value of the restaurant or bar. All of the guidelines we’ll quote are averages derived from hundreds of completed transactions reported to regional and national databases. There are two methods of quickly approximating the value of a business …
Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Franchises, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged Bar & lounge valuation appraisal, Beef O'Brady's, Chick-Fil-A, dairy queen, Domino's Pizza, fast food franchise valuation appraisal, How much is a bar worth, How to appraise a bar, How to appraise or value a restaurant, How to value a bar, Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC, Panera Bread, Restaurant business appraisal, Restaurant business valuation, Subway Sandwich, What is a bar worth, William Bruce Business Broker | 41 Comments

The 3 Most Critical Issues in Buying or Selling a Business

Posted on April 7, 2020 by William Bruce

More and more individuals are now viewing small business ownership as a viable alternative to the vagaries of corporate America. As the founder of Sunbelt Business Brokers said recently, “There is no more job security. The only job security you’ve got nowadays is the person looking at you in the mirror.” These are the top 3 issues involved in buying or selling a business. Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged 401(k) used for business purchase, American Business Brokers Association, business acquisition loan, business appraisal valuation, business broker, buying a business, IRA 401k used for buying a business, SBA 7a, SBA loan, selling a business, Small Business Administration, Sunbelt Business Brokers, Wells Fargo, William Bruce Business Broker | 24 Comments

Here’s How to Value a Retail Business

Posted on April 4, 2020 by William Bruce

What is a retail business worth? Here are some rule of thumb guidelines to quickly estimate value. Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged Appraisal guidelines for retail business, Retail business appraisal, Retail business valuation, Retail business worth, William Bruce Sunbelt Business Brokers | 16 Comments

What Are the Seller’s Discretionary Earnings of a Business?

Posted on March 23, 2020 by William Bruce

What is discretionary cash flow? It is NOT the profit or loss that you show Uncle Sam on your tax return. It’s important because it provides an accurate picture of the true cash producing ability of the business. In effect, it uncamoflages the bookkeeping praqctices of most business owners. This article exlpains how to compute the important number. Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged Business valuation appraisal, cash flow, discretionary cash flow, how to compute discretionary cash flow, recast, recasting, SDE, seller's discretionary earnings, Small business, William Bruce Business Broker | 32 Comments

What Is a Business Broker? What Does a Business Broker Do?

Posted on March 5, 2020 by William Bruce

What do business brokers do? Very few people know, as the profession usually operates under the radar. Business brokers are intermediaries who facilitate …. Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged ABBA, Accredited Business Intermediary, American Business Brokers Association, business broker, business broker definition, Business broker duties, Business broker obligations, business broker school, business broker training, Business intermediary, Business sales and acquisitions, Business transfer agents, Certified Business Intermediary, definition of business broker, how to become a business broker, How to become business broker, How to Sell a Business, IBBA, International Business Brokers Association, sell my business, William Bruce Business Broker, William Bruce Business Sales & Acquisitions | 13 Comments

The Two Dramatically Different Definitions of “Amortization.”

Posted on February 13, 2018 by William Bruce

The term amortization has two distinctly different meanings. It’s confusing to have such distinctly different meanings attributed to the same word, with both being used in the financial world. We hope this article helps a bit to clear up the misunderstanding we frequently encounter. Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged amortization, amortization as expense, amortization table, depreciation, intellectual property, write-down of intangibles | 2 Comments

The 3 Financial Benchmarks All Small Business Owners Should Monitor.

Posted on September 11, 2015 by William Bruce

These three financial ratios don’t take long to calculate and should be checked frequently to monitor the health and viability of your small business. Continue reading →