What is your business worth? WETYR provides three free valuation tools: the 60-second Instant Valuation, the 4-minute Exit Score diagnostic, and the full business-valuation calculator. Pick the depth that fits your situation.
Which Valuation Tool Should You Use?
The right tool depends on what decision you are making. For a fast numeric range, use the Instant Valuation. For a value-driver diagnostic that tells you what to fix before going to market, use the Exit Score. For court-defensible or transaction-grade valuation, engage WETYR for a full written valuation report.
Instant Valuation
6 inputs, instant range. Free, no signup to see the number. Covers all 72 industries.
Exit Score
20-question scored sellability diagnostic. Ranks you across 8 value drivers. Free PDF report.
Full Written Valuation
Transaction or court-grade. Engage WETYR for a full valuation report. Book a call to scope.
How Business Valuation Actually Works
Most businesses are valued on a multiple of cash flow. Owner-operator businesses under $2M cash flow use SDE (Seller's Discretionary Earnings) × industry multiple. Businesses above $2M use EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization) × industry multiple. The industry sets the baseline; company-specific value drivers set the premium or discount within the range.
The 8 Value Drivers That Move Multiples
- Recurring revenue percentage — single biggest multiple driver across most service categories
- Customer concentration — top customer above 30% halves the multiple
- Owner dependency — businesses that run without the owner sell for 25-40% more
- Growth trajectory — growing businesses trade at premium
- Team retention probability — buyers price the risk of key staff leaving
- Financial hygiene — clean QoE-ready books vs cleanup-required
- Market position — category leadership commands pricing power
- Systems & technology maturity — operational defensibility
Start With The Instant Valuation
60 seconds, 6 inputs, your number — free.
Authoritative Sources & Further Reading
WETYR works alongside primary sources, regulators, and industry data providers when advising owners and operators. The references below are the same sources our advisory team uses when modeling deals, benchmarking multiples, and stress-testing assumptions. We encourage every owner, buyer, and operator to verify any data point that materially affects their decision against the underlying primary source.
Primary Federal Sources
- U.S. SBA — 7(a) Loan Program for acquisition financing eligibility, terms, and lender list.
- SEC EDGAR for public-company comparables, 10-K disclosures, and recent strategic acquirer filings.
- IRS — Sale of a Business on Section 1060 asset-allocation reporting and tax treatment of asset vs stock sales.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Industries at a Glance for wage, employment, and growth data by NAICS code.
- U.S. Census Economic Census for industry size, firm counts, and revenue distributions.
- Federal Reserve Economic Data for prevailing rate environment underwriting.
Standards & Reference Bodies
- AICPA for Quality of Earnings methodology and CPA standards governing transaction-related financial work.
- FINRA Rules and Guidance for understanding when a transaction crosses into broker-dealer territory.
- NACVA business valuation credentialing body and standards (CVA designation).
- USPAP — Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice for valuation engagement standards.
- Investopedia — EBITDA reference page for definitional alignment with our glossary.
- Harvard Business Review — Mergers and Acquisitions archive on integration and post-close value creation.
For deeper transaction-specific data, the GF Data and PitchBook private-company transaction databases publish quarterly multiple ranges by industry size band that we cross-reference against our own pipeline benchmarks. Owners considering a sale should also review the Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Report (free, annual) for current cost-of-capital and lender appetite data across the lower middle market. Buyers underwriting search-fund or holdco theses commonly pair Stanford GSB's Search Fund Study with the IBBA Market Pulse report, which tracks multiples for sub-$50M transactions quarterly. None of these sources replace deal-specific advisory, but they give owners and operators the same reference points professional acquirers are using on the other side of the table.
Related WETYR Resources
Every WETYR resource ladders into a structured engagement framework. Whether you are diagnosing readiness, modeling a number, or preparing for a specific transaction phase, the resources below cover the most common owner and operator workflows. All tools are free; all guides are operator-written; all engagements start with a confidential conversation.
Engagement Pillars
Decision Tools
Operator-Written
Glossary & FAQ
Checklists & Templates
Niche Coverage
If you are not sure where to start, the Exit Readiness Score takes about four minutes and produces a one-page diagnostic on the value drivers most likely to compress your multiple. From there the natural next step is either a long-form guide covering your specific situation, a focused glossary term lookup, or a confidential introductory call with our team to discuss whether WETYR's advisory or operator-buyer engagement is a fit. Our team responds to every inbound inquiry within one business day.