The Business Valuation and Sale Handbook
Finance · Nº 82
The Business Valuation and Sale Handbook
What Your Business Is Worth and How to Sell It, without Taking the First Offer
You've got a number in your head for your business. Where did it come from?
24 tools, a spreadsheet that runs three valuation methods side by side, and one example company followed from the first idea of selling all the way to the signed contract.
You get 24 tools to clean up your profit, value your business three ways, see what you'd actually keep, make it worth more before you sell, and run the sale step by step. Plus a 6-tab spreadsheet, filled in with the example.
A book explains the method. This handbook puts it to work: the tool, a worked example, and a spreadsheet with your numbers.
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
Somebody at a trade show once told you a business like yours goes for a year of revenue. That number stuck. Then one day a real offer shows up, or you just wake up tired, and suddenly you need to know what the place is worth, what a buyer will dig into, and how a sale even works. Taking the first offer feels risky. Turning everyone down feels risky too.
THE SPREADSHEET
Business value spreadsheet
Use the completed example as a reference and enter your business data in the marked fields. Check the instructions and the calculations before you make a decision.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Three situations this handbook solves
A competitor calls and asks if you'd sell
You don't answer with a number. You ask for the offer in writing, clean up your profit on the adjusted profit worksheet, and work out your value range and your net with your accountant before you call back.
You're three years from wanting out
You run the 30-days-away test, list the tasks only you do, and score the eight levers of the value plan. Now you know what to fix each half-year, whether you end up selling or not.
Two offers are on the table
One has the higher price on paper. The other pays more at closing. You put both on the offer comparison worksheet and see how much of each price is certain and how much depends on targets the buyer controls.
INSIDE
What you'll find in each tool
Five parts, in the order a sale actually happens. Why and when to sell, and who buys a business like yours. The numbers a buyer looks at, starting with normalized profit. Three ways to calculate value and what you keep at the end. How to make the business worth more before you sell. Then the sale itself, from the anonymous teaser to the six months after closing.
WHAT YOU GET
Everything included in your purchase
- The Business Valuation and Sale Handbook in PDF: 24 tools, each with a step by step, a worked example, and an exercise
- The business value spreadsheet in Excel and Google Sheets, with 6 tabs, filled in with the example company
- The Template kit: 12 ready-made texts, including the anonymous teaser, the data room checklist, a letter of intent checklist, and a six-month transition plan
- 2 worksheets to fill in (adjusted profit and offer comparison) and a 30-day plan, one week per stage
- Access to your handbook on the Consylion platform
Full table of contents
The 24 tools, in the order you'll use them
Part 1 · Part 1 · Before the number
- 01Why and when to sellPick your reason, your timing, and your window before life picks them for you
- 02Value, price, and the number in your headWhy the number an owner imagines is rarely what a buyer pays
- 03Who buys a small businessCompetitor, larger group, investor, your own team, or family: what each one pays and why
- 04What the buyer is really buyingCash that comes in without you, the risk they take on, and how long until they earn back what they paid
Part 2 · Part 2 · The numbers the buyer looks at
- 05Cleaned-up profitAdjusted EBITDA, with market-rate owner's pay and without personal or one-time items
- 06From profit to free cash flowWhat still comes out of EBITDA, from equipment upkeep to working capital: the cash that's really left
- 07The small business discount rateThe return a buyer expects for the risk of a small, privately held company
- 08From enterprise value to equity valueDebt, cash, and working capital between the price of the business and what goes to you
Part 3 · Part 3 · Three ways to calculate
- 09Earnings multipleComparable sales, the right multiple for your business, and why the average misleads
- 10Discounted cash flowFive years of cash brought back to today, plus the value after year five
- 11Asset valueThe floor of the conversation: what equipment, inventory, and receivables are worth if the business stops
- 12The value rangeThe three methods side by side and the range you take to the table
- 13What you keepYour net from the sale after debt, fees, and the costs of the sale, checked with your accountant
Part 4 · Part 4 · Raising the value before you sell
- 14Owner dependenceThe 30-days-away test and the list of tasks only you do
- 15Customer and supplier concentrationThe customer who carries too much weight, and how much that takes off the value
- 16Recurring revenueSubscriptions, contracts, and scheduled orders: the revenue buyers pay more for
- 17Getting your house in orderBooks, contracts, licenses, and trademark ready for the buyer to check
- 18The 24-month value planEight levers scored from 1 to 5, and what to work on each half-year
Part 5 · Part 5 · The sale
- 19Confidentiality and sale materialsThe anonymous teaser, the confidentiality agreement, and what to show at each stage
- 20The advisor and the deal teamWho to bring in, when each one joins, and how each one gets paid
- 21Offers and the letter of intentPrice, payment terms, exclusivity, and deadlines in writing before the contract
- 22The buyer's due diligenceThe documents they'll ask for and how to answer without stalling the sale
- 23Payment structureCash at closing, holdback, and earn-out: how much of the price is certain
- 24Contract, closing, and transitionEquity sale or asset sale, non-compete, and the six months after closing
Who it's for
It's for you if
- You're thinking about selling in the next few years and have no idea what the business is worth
- You just got an offer and want to know whether the price and the payment terms make sense
- You want the business to be worth more and depend less on you, whether you sell or not
- You want to run the sale with confidentiality, an advisor, due diligence, and a contract, instead of making it up as you go
It's not for you if
- You want to buy out a partner or agree on their exit. That's The Business Partners Handbook
- You want to hand the business to a son, daughter, or heir. See The Family Business and Succession Handbook
- You want to learn to read your accountant's statements first. Start with The Income Statement and Business Numbers Handbook
- You want someone to hand you a finished valuation. This handbook teaches the method; it doesn't value your business for you
Frequently asked questions
I'm not planning to sell anytime soon. Is this still for me?
Yes. Part 4 is about making the business worth more and less dependent on you, and that helps whether you sell or not. A good place to start is Tools 05, 14, and 18.
I just got an offer. What do I do first?
Don't answer with a number. Ask for the offer in writing, clean up your profit, and work out your value range and your net with your accountant. The handbook walks you through each of those steps.
Is my business too small to sell?
A business whose profit keeps coming without the owner has buyers: a competitor, an employee, a colleague. If the profit depends on your own work, what you're really selling is your customer base, usually paid in installments. The handbook shows how to tell which one you have.
Do I need to know finance to use the spreadsheet?
No, but this is an intermediate-level handbook. Terms like EBITDA, discount rate, and earn-out are explained in plain English, and there's a glossary at the back. You enter your numbers and the spreadsheet does the math.
Should I tell my team?
Only near the end, when the contract is close to signing. The exception is whoever will stay in charge, like a general manager, who can know earlier under a confidentiality agreement.
Will this replace my accountant, lawyer, or deal advisor?
No. It helps you know what to ask them, what each one does, and when to bring them in. The rules that apply to a sale in your country are something to check with them before you sign.
What do I get, and in what formats?
Each handbook is a PDF of about 100 pages with 24 to 27 tools. Every tool has step-by-step instructions and a worked example. You also get the handbook's spreadsheet in Excel (.xlsx), which opens in Google Sheets too, with the example already filled in. The message, policy, and clause templates are in the Template Kit inside the PDF, ready to copy and adapt. Read it in the member area or download the files.
How do I know if it fits my business?
Each handbook's page shows the problem it solves, who it is for and who it is not for, the full table of contents, sample pages, and the company used in the examples. The examples come from small businesses in several industries, with illustrative numbers. If it is not a fit, you can ask for a full refund within 14 days of your purchase, as described in the Refund Policy.
What is the difference between a handbook, an area set, and the Series?
A handbook solves one problem. An area set brings together every handbook and spreadsheet in one of the 6 areas, for less than the price of 5 single handbooks. The Consylion Handbook Series brings together all 100 handbooks and 100 spreadsheets, for less than the price of 8 single handbooks, and includes the next handbooks in the Series. Products outside the Series, from Consylion Life or Consylion Business, have their own price. They are sold separately and are not part of an area set or the Series.
Do I need to read everything before I start?
No. Each tool works on its own. Open the table of contents, pick the tool for today's problem, and start there. You can also read it cover to cover.
Do I need to know Excel?
The basics are enough: open the file and fill in the marked fields. The formulas are already built, and the handbook's example is filled in for reference.
How do I pay, and when do I get access?
By card or bank transfer, as a one-time payment with no subscription. Once your payment is confirmed, you get access to the member area by email. Approved card payments are confirmed right away. Bank transfers are confirmed when the funds clear. If access does not arrive within 24 hours of confirmation, check your spam folder and write to team@consylion.org.
How long do I have access, and how can I use the files?
Access does not expire, and you can download the files for offline use. The license is individual. You may read the handbooks, print them for your own use, and fill in and adapt the spreadsheet and templates with your company's data. If you are a consultant, accountant, or manager, you may apply the tools with your clients and deliver the result of your work, not the files. You may not share, resell, or distribute the files or the access.
How do support and refunds work?
Support is by email at team@consylion.org, on business days, with a reply within 5 business days. It covers questions about access, files, and payment. It does not include consulting or advice on applying the material to your case. You can cancel within 14 days of your purchase, without giving a reason, and get the full amount back through the payment method you used. Send the request to the same email. The details are in the Refund Policy.
CONSYLION HANDBOOK SERIES
The 6 departments of your business, for less than the price of 8 single handbooks.
This handbook solves today's problem. The Series solves the next one, and the one after that, with nothing more to pay.
- 100 handbooks with 2,403 ready-made tools, to read on screen and download as PDFs
- 100 spreadsheets for Excel and Google Sheets
- 6 business areas
- Lifetime access, unlocked once payment is confirmed
One-time payment of $197.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
Finance · Nº 82
Walk into the negotiation with a range, not a hunch
A buyer pays for the cash your business will generate without you, adjusted for risk. This handbook gives you the tools, the spreadsheet, and a worked example to calculate that, make it stronger, and run the sale, so the first offer is one you can judge instead of just react to.
See all 100 handbooks · $197.00
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.