Business Valuation Blog | Understanding Buying / Selling a Company

If ever there was a light at the end of the COVID tunnel, it may be at its brightest today, however, the topic of broad-based remote employees becoming a permanent way of life has been discussed for a while now. Do you find your business in the middle of this challenging issue or is your company fully reliant on in-person employment to operate

Businesses involved in markets such as manufacturing, packaging, and logistics will always need certain employees on the “factory floor”, while service providers such as advertising agencies and accounting firms are finding it easier to allow a majority of their workers to have the option for remote or home offices, either part or full time. So many things we used to do in person can now be conducted remotely and virtually.

The fact is that the in-office, in-person dynamic is becoming a thing of the past, and while many employers are compelled to increase full-time remote workers, there are many challenges for both business owners and employees with this shift in the workplace.

From personal experience, I can confidently say that, for some people, it takes a long time to effectively and efficiently work from home, or in a remote office setting, with no hands-on supervision. There are dozens of ways to waste time and become distracted by influences completely outside of your job responsibilities. Working remotely can also hinder the ability to develop the kind of camaraderie many office environments afforded people in the past, which can be beneficial to creating a team dynamic and improving the business social skills of your employees.

That said, this shifting workforce dynamic is now considered the new normal and will continue to trend this way for many businesses in the foreseeable future. Employers will need to be more diligent in their hiring practices and employees should consider ways to eliminate distractions and develop habits which to balance home office work with some level of in-person company interaction.

Many business experts believe employees have all the leverage in the current market and that likely holds true for certain qualified skilled candidates. Most employers however are not naïve or desperate enough to allow their new hires to call all the shots. Career success inevitably comes down to overall work ethic, open-mindedness, and the ability to develop leadership skills while working in a team environment and ultimately becoming more effective than your peers. Employers now more than ever, should look to hire those with strong social skills, work ethic, and flexibility to go along with the technical skills necessary to do the work.

It will be interesting to see how the remote office shift in the workforce further evolves and how employers and their staff continue to adjust without sacrificing quality and efficiency and avoid a loss in overall business value.

Though you know that business valuation companies provide valuable information that helps you determine the financial health and well being of your business, the valuation of a company is a complex process that often leaves business owners scratching their heads in confusion. Business valuations typically go through a number of steps before the calculations are complete, each of which are vital in their own way to the final figure. In this article, we'll discuss the basic steps business valuation companies take in determining the final value of your company.

How Business Valuation Companies Work

1. The first point where we start gathering information is through our first contact with a prospective new client. We'll chat about what your business does, where its strengths and weaknesses are, and the industry it's in. We'll also talk about the reason you need a valuation, as it will be approached differently based on the circumstances. 
2. Based on the information gathered, we'll provide an initial quote for the cost of our services, so you know what to expect once we've completed the valuation of a company. The valuations we provide can serve as proof of company value to interested buyers or financial institutions you're working with.
3. An agreement is signed and the fees paid for the business appraisal. By having a contract written out specifying what type of appraisal is being performed and the fees laid out ahead of time, both parties know exactly what to expect and what is expected of them in the company valuation.
4. We'll send you a questionnaire about your business. Once you've had a chance to complete it, you'll return it to us for evaluation, along with 3-5 years of tax returns or financial statements. Though it may seem like a great deal of information at first, having that information helps us provide an accurate valuation.
5. After carefully analyzing the questionnaire and financial statements or tax returns, we'll perform an in-depth analysis of your industry and business. The approach we use towards valuing your business will depend on specifics related to your business. 
6. The analysis will be written up in a valuation report that covers everything that was considered during the appraisal process. Because our appraisers have been trained to national standards, the written report will stand up to scrutiny.
7. The report is sent to you in PDF format and will schedule a follow-up telephone call to discuss the results, if you wish. This gives you a chance to ensure that everything in the appraisal is accurate and that you can discuss possible discrepancies with the appraiser so that corrections can be made if necessary.

Now that you have a better idea of what business appraisals entail, it's easy to ensure you have the right documentation ready ahead of time, saving you and the appraiser valuable time in the process.