What would your business sell for?
Tell us three things: annual revenue, industry, and where to send it. Within two business days you'll have a CPA-prepared value range and the two or three items a buyer's accountant would raise first. It's free, it's confidential, and there is nothing to sign.
What a value range is, and what it isn't.
Owners ask how this compares with the calculator they found online, the number a broker quoted them, and a formal appraisal. Each one answers a different question. Here is the honest version.
| Who prepares it | What it uses | Time | Cost | What it's for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeshore value range | A CPA who spent fifteen years auditing businesses for the IRS | Your revenue and industry, set against comparable Chicagoland transactions and current multiple bands | Two business days | Free. Nothing to sign. | Knowing where you stand before you talk to any broker or buyer. A starting point, not a listing price. |
| Online calculator | Software | Revenue or profit multiplied by a national average for your industry | Instant | Free, usually in exchange for your email | A rough order of magnitude. It doesn't know your customer mix, your add-backs, or how much of the business runs through you. |
| A broker's opinion of value | The broker who would like the listing | Your numbers, a rule of thumb, and a judgment about what price will win the listing | A few days to two weeks | Free, tied to a listing agreement | A listing price. Sometimes right. Sometimes set high to get your signature and cut later. |
| Formal appraisal | A credentialed appraiser (ASA, ABV, or CVA) | Full financials, a site visit, three valuation approaches, and a written report | Three to eight weeks | Typically $3,000 to $15,000, more for a complex company | Litigation, estate and gift tax, a buy-sell agreement, an SBA lender. Not needed to decide whether to sell. |
If you want the step between a range and an appraisal, the Exit-Readiness Review is two weeks with your real numbers, $4,500 flat, credited against our success fee if we later sell the business.
Before you type in your revenue.
Is the value range really free?
Yes. Revenue, industry, and an email, and a CPA prepares the range and the gaps within two business days. No fee, no listing agreement, and no sales call unless you leave a phone number and ask for one. If you want more than that, the Exit-Readiness Review is $4,500 flat. That is the next paid step, if you want one.
Who sees my information?
The Lakeshore team, and nobody else. Nothing is listed or marketed, and we don't sell or rent your information. If you later decide to sell, buyers see a blind profile and sign an NDA before they learn your name.
What if I'm two to five years from selling?
Then this is the right time to ask. Most of the price is decided in the years before the sale, in the books, the customer mix, and how much of the business still runs through you. The range tells you where you stand today and what would move the number. There is no pressure to list, and sometimes our advice is to wait.
How accurate can a range from three inputs be?
It's a range, and we say so. Three inputs get you the multiple band for your industry and size and a working low and high. If you reply with last year's owner earnings (SDE or EBITDA), it gets sharper. A defended figure, the kind that holds up in diligence, takes the two-week Review.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call (312) 278-2109, weekdays 9 to 5. A person answers. Or book a 30-minute consult and an advisor will call you.