When a business valuation is conducted for your firm, its assets will be considered in the overall value. If your business appraiser determines that a strict asset approach is relevant to the overall analysis, they will look to understand the market value of tangible items such as cash, receivables, inventory, machinery & equipment, buildings, and land.
If your business is in an active and operational condition, the value of its intangible assets will also be considered. These can include domain names, patents, copyrights, licenses, customer lists, client relationships, non-compete agreements with prior employees, a trained workforce, guaranteed contracts, leaseholds, and general goodwill.
These intangible assets are generally more challenging to estimate value for, as they are not typically itemized on your balance sheet, and need to be reviewed separately to determine a reasonable approach to appraising. The business appraiser will want to review as much internal data as you can make available so they can consider these intangibles as part of the revenue that continues to drive the business. It’s reasonable to look to carve out a value for these intangible assets based on their particular impact on the overall value of the business. The appraiser can provide guidelines to assist in developing historical data and potential growth in the company as a way to measure this in a finite manner.
>As an example, certain contracts and existing client relationships can likely be attributed directly to consistent and tangible revenue the company has experienced over the years. A newly signed contract may open a pathway to future growth that can be measured based on the terms of the deal.
In summary, when completing a business appraisal under an asset approach, it is important to measure the value of all the assets in the company, both tangible and intangible, to gain a complete perspective of the overall value for your business. Working with your appraiser to develop reasonable measurements to value these assets, will result in a credible and reliable outcome.