Pre-Sale Prep  •  Free Tool

SBA Business Valuation Calculator

Most Main Street businesses are bought with an SBA loan. Enter your profit and see the purchase price a buyer could realistically finance for a business like yours — and whether that price would actually clear a lender.

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Seller's Discretionary Earnings — profit plus the owner's salary, perks, interest, depreciation and one-time costs. Not sure what your SDE really is? That gap is exactly what Pre-Sale Prep fixes.
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A buyer has to pay themselves. Lenders almost always require at least $100,000 — we don't recommend going lower.
The lender's cushion. SBA allows as low as 1.2×, but 1.4× is the safer planning assumption.
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How much of the price you carry as a note. Expect to carry at least 10%; 20% is the norm and 30% is common.
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Auto-set to the WSJ Prime Rate + 2.75%, the typical SBA 7(a) rate. Adjust if your lender differs.
Cash flow available for debt service (SDE − salary)
Annual debt service the loan can carry (÷ DSCR)
SBA loan size (10-yr term, present value)
+ Seller note & ~5% closing/SBA fees

Financeable purchase price

The most a buyer could pay and still get the loan approved on these terms.

That's a multiple of SDE of

healthy 3.25–3.75×

A buyer agreeing to a price isn't the same as a deal closing.

It's common for a buyer to want to pay a certain price — but the bank orders its own valuation, and the loan still has to cover its payments (the DSCR). If the appraisal comes back lower, or the cash flow won't service the debt, the deal won't close on those terms. It's great that you believe your business is worth a number, and great if a buyer agrees — but the financing has to agree too.

Where you land in that range isn't luck.

Size and sell-readiness decide whether you're at the top of the range or below it — and both are fixable before you go to market. Book a free Exit Readiness Call → to see where your business really stands.

For general education only — not a business valuation, appraisal, financing commitment, or offer. Applies standard SBA 7(a) acquisition math (10-yr term; ~5% allowance for closing costs and the SBA guaranty fee) to the figures you enter; it does not verify your SDE and is not a lending decision. The "healthy" 3.25–3.75× band reflects Pre-Sale Prep's market analysis and typical lender valuations; deals above it carry more appraisal risk. Confirm everything with a qualified advisor and SBA lender.