What this number is
A planning range. It shows how a buyer is likely to build a price from your numbers, and where the money goes between the price and your bank account.
What it is not
An appraisal or an offer. A buyer's accountant will test every input. The cash-at-close figure is before tax, before anything held back, and before any price change once the buyer starts checking. Money tied to targets pays only if the shop hits them. Money paid to you over time depends on the buyer still paying.
Where to focus
Look at the input that swings your number most. For most owners it is one of three:
- Add-backs. A buyer may accept only half of them. Can you live with that number?
- What it costs to replace you. If you still write estimates and run dispatch, someone has to be paid to do it.
- The multiple. Recurring work, a crew that stays, and clean books push it up. Everything running through you pulls it down.
The 4.0x to 5.5x band we start from is where a cleaner shop that runs without its owner plans from. Slide it down if the business still runs through you.
Next step
If the range works, see how to sell an HVAC business or compare broker vs. direct sale. If it depends on numbers you cannot prove yet, prepare your HVAC business for sale. Want to know which buyers pay this way? See who buys HVAC companies, or start at sell my HVAC business.