Business Valuation Calculator Canada

What can a Canadian business valuation calculator actually tell an owner?

A calculator can give you a directional sense of scale: roughly where your earnings might place you if a typical multiple applied. That is useful for orientation. It is not useful as a number you take into a listing conversation, because it has no way to confirm your inputs or adjust for the things buyers and lenders actually test. The honest answer is that a calculator narrows nothing on its own. It only tells you whether a closer look is worth your time, and for most owners preparing to exit, it is.

What inputs affect a marketable range?

A marketable range moves on owner-confirmed inputs, not guesses. The main drivers are normalized earnings and the defensible add-backs behind them, whether the business is framed on SDE or an EBITDA multiple, owner dependency, customer concentration, recurring revenue, documentation quality, and how a deal might be structured, including buyer financeability and any vendor take-back. Change one of these and the supportable range can move materially, which is why a single multiple rarely reflects reality.

SDE or EBITDA: which one applies to you?

Seller's Discretionary Earnings is typically used for smaller, owner-operated businesses, because it reflects the full financial benefit to one working owner. An EBITDA multiple is used more often for larger or management-led businesses. The mistake to avoid is mixing them: applying an EBITDA multiple to SDE, or the reverse, can produce a number that looks defensible but is not. If you are unsure which fits, read SDE and EBITDA multiple side by side.

Why are free calculators only a starting point?

Free calculators apply a generic multiple to a number you type in. They cannot verify your earnings, separate one-time costs from recurring ones, or weigh the risk a buyer sees in a business that depends heavily on its owner. They also cannot reflect Canadian benchmark assumptions for your sector. That is why two businesses with the same headline earnings can support very different ranges. A calculator is where you begin the question, not where you answer it.

How is ProvenX different from a formal CBV valuation?

A formal valuation from a Chartered Business Valuator is a regulated engagement, often required for tax, legal, or financing purposes, and it carries professional standards and liability that a range finder does not. ProvenX is not that. ProvenX gives an owner an indicative marketable range, built from owner-confirmed inputs and Canadian benchmark assumptions, so you can prepare and avoid being anchored before you are ready. When a formal valuation is required, ProvenX is a way to walk in informed, not a replacement for the engagement.

How does the full Marketable Range Report work?

You confirm your financial inputs and add-backs, answer structured questions about owner dependency, customers, recurring revenue, and documentation, and the report builds a supportable range against Canadian benchmark assumptions for your situation. It explains which factors widen or narrow your range and where your documentation needs work before a buyer or lender tests it. You can also compare a broker's proposed number against what your inputs actually support on the broker number check, and start from how much your business is worth in Canada or the Marketable Range Report overview.

Frequently asked questions