The Business
Sets the base multiple. Buyers price different models very differently.
Total revenue, before any costs.
Profit plus your salary, benefits, and personal expenses run through the business. This is the number buyers price.
Negative numbers allowed. Buyers pay for trajectory, not history.
Value Drivers
Subscriptions, retainers, contracts that renew without a new sale.
One dominant client is the buyer's risk, and they price it.
The single biggest small-business discount. Buyers buy systems, not you.
Buyers now price AI in both directions: premium for AI-driven margins, discount for AI-replaceable work.
Leave blank to use the multiple we build from your drivers. Enter your own to see exactly how the multiple moves the valuation.
How the multiple is built
| Base multiple (agency / client services) | 2.4x |
| Growth adjustment | +0.0x |
| Recurring revenue adjustment | +0.0x |
| Customer concentration adjustment | +0.0x |
| Owner dependence adjustment | +0.0x |
| AI position adjustment | +0.0x |
| Effective multiple × your SDE | $0 |
Get your full value driver report
The number above is the output. The report shows the inputs: which drivers are dragging your multiple, what each one is costing you in dollars at your current SDE, and the one move worth making first. Enter your email and it unlocks right here.
- Driver-by-driver breakdown with the dollar impact of each
- Your single highest-leverage move, based on your inputs
- The three questions that matter more than the multiple if you are thinking about selling
- Printable as a PDF once unlocked
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No spam. A short series on what moves business value, then occasional Signelo tool updates. Unsubscribe anytime.
Your Value Driver Report
| Driver | Where you stand | Impact on value |
|---|
If you are thinking about selling: three questions that matter more than the multiple
- Would you buy this business at this price? Not as the founder. As a stranger with the cash, looking at the books, the customer list, and how much of the machine is actually you.
- What does the next owner get on day one? If the honest answer is "me, for a long transition," you are selling a job, not a business. The drivers above are how you change that answer.
- What would two more years of driver work be worth? Compare today's estimate against the same SDE with the top two drivers fixed. If the gap is large, the real decision might not be sell versus keep. It might be sell now versus sell well.
How this calculator works. Businesses under roughly $5M in revenue trade on a multiple of SDE - seller's discretionary earnings. That is profit plus everything the business pays its owner: salary, benefits, personal expenses run through the books. The calculator starts with a market-typical base multiple for your business type, then adjusts it for the five drivers buyers actually negotiate on: growth, recurring revenue, customer concentration, owner dependence, and AI position.
The AI adjustment is real, and it cuts both ways. Acquirers in 2026 pay premiums for businesses with AI-native products or AI-driven margins, and discount businesses whose core service a buyer believes AI will erode. The question they ask is simple: does AI make this business harder to replace, or easier?
This is a planning estimate, not an appraisal. Real deals move on diligence, deal structure, working capital, and negotiation. Use this to see your drivers clearly and roughly where you stand. If you are actually transacting, get a professional valuation.
The calculator tells you the number. The Value Builder moves it.
The Signelo Value Builder is a quarterly scorecard for the drivers on this page: score them, track them, and watch what each point of improvement is worth at your SDE. Part of the For Founders collection.