Buyers generally price a small, owner-operated business as a multiple of what it actually pays its owner each year — not its revenue. This tool walks through that math using sourced industry averages, so you have a rough starting figure before you talk to anyone.
Pick the closest industry, then edit any number — revenue, expenses, owner add-back and the multiple are all yours to change. The range updates instantly, no email required.
A value range is a starting point, not a deal structure. See how a sale price might split across inventory, equipment and goodwill → once you have a number to work with.
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The short version — the calculator above does the actual math for you.
Say a restaurant does $650,000 in annual revenue, its expenses match the sourced restaurant preset, and $55,000 of the labour line was the owner's own pay:
Run your own revenue, expenses and multiple in the calculator above — it uses the exact same math.
Expense percentages are of revenue, from Statistics Canada tax-return data. The multiple is one sourced overall figure (see below) — not separately benchmarked per industry.
| Industry | Goods/materials | Labour | Rent | Other | SDE multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant / café | 36.6% | 31.8% | 8.4% | 20.7% | 1.9x–2.7x–3.5x |
| Convenience / grocery store | 71.6% | 12.2% | 3.8% | 9.6% | 1.9x–2.7x–3.5x |
| Salon / spa / personal care | 13.9% | 34.5% | 12.7% | 20.9% | 1.9x–2.7x–3.5x |
| Auto repair | 41.4% | 25.8% | 5.2% | 17.7% | 1.9x–2.7x–3.5x |
| Trades / contracting | 37.6% | 28.7% | 2.2% | 18.8% | 1.9x–2.7x–3.5x |
| Cleaning services | 24.8% | 31.8% | 3.1% | 24.9% | 1.9x–2.7x–3.5x |
Expense ratios: Statistics Canada / ISED Canadian Industry Statistics, Financial Performance Data (whole-industry averages, 2024, the most recent year available when checked 23 Sept 2026) — NAICS 7225 (restaurants), 4451 (grocery stores), 8121 (personal care services), 8111 (automotive repair & maintenance), 238 (specialty trade contractors), 5617 (services to buildings & dwellings). Each industry's four buckets are computed directly from that page's own dollar figures and foot exactly to its reported “Total expenses.” Multiple: BizBuySell Insight Report, Q2 2026 — the report's own overall average cash-flow (SDE) multiple across all industries sold, 2.7x. bizbuysell.com blocks automated fetching, so this comes from the report's publicly reported headline figure rather than a page we could open and read directly ourselves; a secondary summary of the same report corroborates 2.65x for the same quarter. No industry-by-industry multiple table survived an independent check, so every preset uses this one sourced figure as its Mid multiple, with Low (1.9x) and High (3.5x) as an explicit, clearly-labelled ±30% illustrative spread around it — not a second published benchmark. All three numbers are editable in the calculator above.
Dropped: “professional practice,” “retail shop” and “e-commerce” don't appear above — no citable Statistics Canada figures were available at those industry levels when checked. Pick Custom in the calculator for any business that doesn't fit one of the six presets.
No. It's a rough, first-pass range using a sourced industry expense profile and one sourced overall earnings multiple. A real valuation looks at your specific lease, assets, financial statements and the market for businesses like yours — this tool only does the arithmetic.
Because the right multiple for your specific business depends on things this calculator can't see — trend, owner-dependence, lease terms, customer concentration. The Low/Mid/High range reflects that uncertainty honestly rather than manufacturing false precision.
Pick Custom and enter your own revenue and expense lines — nothing is pre-filled, and every field in every preset is editable anyway. “Professional practice,” “retail” and “e-commerce” aren't offered as presets because no citable Statistics Canada figures were available for them when this page was checked.
It's the BizBuySell Insight Report's own overall average cash-flow multiple for Q2 2026 (2.7x) — a real, dated, sourced figure, but not broken out by industry anywhere we could independently verify. Rather than publish invented per-industry numbers, every preset uses this one sourced figure, with an explicitly-labelled illustrative spread either side of it. If you know a better-sourced multiple for your specific industry, replace it.
No — this assumes the business leases its space, which is the case for most small businesses the presets are drawn from. If real property is part of the sale, it's valued separately and added on top of the range this tool gives you.
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Book a 20-minute call with a business lawyer — $150, HST included, credited in full toward your file once payment is received.
This is a 20-minute call. We cover as much as we can and stop at twenty minutes. If more is needed, we will say what the next step is and what it would cost.
“I was buying into an existing franchise system, and getting the franchise agreement explained before I signed made me feel prepared.”
E.C. · Franchise purchase · Simcoe County
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Read more reviews →These are estimates for planning. They are not legal advice and they do not create a solicitor-client relationship. Last reviewed 23 September 2026.