Business Valuation San Diego California
Assessing Business Value in San Diego
Have you ever assessed the value of your San Diego business? There are a number of intricate details that you have to evaluate in order to find your business’ fair market value. While the precise “value” of a business is a somewhat nebulous concept, there are consistent methods of assessment that can set you on the right track if you’re trying to find the value of your business. This might seem complicated, but we can help. At Redwood Valuation, we built our foundation on years of experience that we leverage to assist our customers seeking business valuations.
409A Valuation in San Diego, CA plus IRC 409A Valuation, and Purchase Price Allocation
Call Redwood Valuation Partners for your next business valuation (206) 660-1295
Top Reasons to Seek a Business Valuation
If you want to know exactly how much your business may be worth if you sold it, you should seek a business valuation. Anyone hoping to sell a business will be better positioned during negotiations if they have gotten a thorough business valuation before any talks began.
A business valuation shows not just overall worth, but also where that value originates from. The value of any one business could come from entirely different sources than a different business. A local business that is important to the community in San Diego may have a high value for that particular community, but not for a potential buyer. Likewise, a business that seems like a tiny startup could have a ton of hidden value for the right buyer. It comes down to the details.
Therefore, getting experienced accountants to do a valuation is critical. In addition to understanding your business, an accountant doing a valuation should know the ins and outs of finance, venture capital, tax law and other fields. If you are interested in stock compensation, expenses or selling price, you will see a lot of benefits from a well-done business valuation. However, any advantages of doing a valuation are up to you and your business. A free consultation from Redwood may help you clarify the reasons for your valuation and the best approach for your particular business.
Different Ways of Approaching Business Valuation
When assessing the value of any business, there are three broad approaches that are considered standard. There could be other approaches to business valuation, but the three described here encompass the most common methods. These approaches to business valuation are applicable whether your business is located in San Diego or not. The best approach for your business depends on your reason for getting a valuation and your long-term goals for your company.
Asset-Based Approach
Finding the value of a business based on its assets isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. The aim of an asset-based approach is to total the investments of a business. An accountant going forward with an asset-based mindset is theoretically attempting to imagine what it would cost to set up another, identical business. This exercise can reveal a lot of information about a business, including its liabilities and assets. The next step involves balancing the assets and liabilities in order to calculate how much value the business holds.
Of course, this approach is deceptively simple. In practice, determining which assets and liabilities to include, and how, is a tricky process. A going concern asset-based approach or a liquidation asset-based approach will help you move forward with this appraisal.
The first option is a going concern asset-based approach. Simply put, the accountant can subtract the value of any liabilities from the assets that the business has. In a liquidiation focused approach to valuation, it is important to imagine the business is liquidated before determining its value. After a real liquidation, the business would receive cash; this now becomes the business’s value in a valuation.
The type of asset-based approach you choose depends on your business. Asset-based approaches are not appropriate for all business. There are certainly some businesses, such as those that are in a sole proprietorship, that would be well-advised to take a different approach. A corporation, however, could find value in an assessment that is asset-based, as its assets are owned by the entire company and not one person.
Market-Based Approach
A market-based approach looks at the market as a whole and not solely at your business. The value of other businesses in San Diego could provide insight on your own. The goal is to see what your business would be worth by comparing it to other similar businesses.
This approach has the benefit of viewing overall market conditions rather than having a more narrow focus. In this approach, it is also very important to consider what a buyer in the market would currently pay for your business and what the fair market value would be.
It would be great if the sort of information necessary for this approach was easy to obtain, but it is not always the case that competing businesses will divulge the necessary figures. Non-competition clauses and private information can hinder this approach, making it difficult or potentially even impossible to get the information necessary for this type of valuation.
Making a Valuation Based on Income or Earnings
This approach to business valuation looks at potential and future value in order to draw conclusions. However, this method starts in the present, looking at the earnings of the business today to try to predict its future earnings.
Of course, assessing value this way comes along with the risk of assumptions and predictions that invite uncertainty. However, they can use hard data to back up this prediction. Often, a valuator will “normalize” current earnings, removing abnormal costs and windfalls, to try to get a reliable set of figures to work with. The market itself can produce spikes and dips that require an additional capitalization factor to be figured into the assessment.
There are, as with other methods, additional considerations here, such as the type of business you run. How customers view a business is a factor that is not captured in income figures or market values but that can impact a business’s value.
Types of Valuations
A valuation has benefits beyond just figuring out what a business is worth and there is therefore a lot of variety in types of valuations. There are other value assessments that serve difficult purposes. Others focus on things such as patents and intellectual property.
409A Valuations
A 409A valuation is conducted for the purpose of evaluating the stocks associated with the company. Many businesses offer stock to their employees and contractors. Stocks given to employees are regarded by the IRS as deferred income given to someone in one year but actually paid in a different year.
This sounds complicated. What it comes down to is stock options. A benefit of this form of business valuation is that it can determine a company’s fair market value. The fair market value determined by this valuation is a benchmark at or above which employees given stock must be able to sell. Other deferred compensation that requires a 409A valuation includes salary deferral arrangements and bonus plans the company issues.
It is important to know whether or not your business is legally required to get this form of valuation. And if you’ve already gotten a 409A valuation, ensure you are getting re-evaluated once a year and/or any time your company closes a new funding round, in accordance with the law.
An accountant such as the ones at Redwood can be a crucial ally in trying to sort through the 409A valuation process any time you find you need to do one. Experience and expertise are key benefits that only an accountant can offer if you have to work through a 409A valuation.
Valuations for Businesses
Whether you’re negotiating a transaction, planning your business or estate, or involved in entity conversations, business valuations cover a wide range of situations and companies. Maybe you are wondering how much your business can sell for right now. Others desire a business valuation when researching things such as tax liability.
Whatever the reason, a skilled valuator can help you get equity and enterprise valuations. Redwood’s expert team has grown to keep pace with our increasing client needs. We years of experience and a comprehensive team, we are prepared to take on a host of business valuations needs. Whether you want to find your fair market value or do tax or financial reporting on your business, we are prepared to help you through the process.
IRS regulations, business needs and finance are complex fields that call for knowledge and specialization. You know your business, but evaluating your business against all applicable laws, regulations and financial considerations takes an expert in the field of business valuation.
IP and Patent Valuations
Intellectual property and patents have separate valuation concerns. However, this type of valuation can impact a wide range of businesses. Taxes are complex when it comes to IP and patents, but it is also important to make sure trade secrets and trademarks can be protected. But you might also seek an IP and patent valuation in order to plan, secure a merger or acquisition, or during litigation.
Don’t neglect to protect your valuable intellectual property or patent by getting a valuation of it. It is sometimes complicated to find the value of these intangible assets. Yet for many businesses, understanding those assets and their precise worth can add value and keep the company in compliance with all applicable laws.
Purchase Price Allocations (ASC 805)
Another requirement businesses encounter is ASC 805. During a purchase or acquisition, businesses seek to find their fair market value, including their intangible assets and liabilities, to bring to the transaction. Of course, the overall goal is to figure out the purchase price for an acquisition.
The goal of a purchase price allocation is to tease apart the pieces of a business, such as liabilities and assets, to find its fair market value. It is not always the case that a business is sold as one whole entity; it may be sold in smaller pieces.
What’s the Bottom Line?
Come to Redwood Valuation Partners when the time comes for your business valuation. Whether your business is in San Diego or somewhere else entirely, we can help you find the value of your business or intellectual property and stay in compliance with the tax code and other laws and regulations.
Fair market value is a crucial piece of information you should have about your business. Whether you are looking to assess your value for the sake of selling or have yearly tax considerations, a business valuation will help. Maybe you are seeking a business valuation for tax reasons or to assess the value of a patent. The intricacies can seem overwhelming. A helping hand through the process of business valuation can make the process easier. Our team has worked for years in business, finance and tax issues, allowing us to meet the needs of a wide range of businesses.
One of our core values is teamwork, which we believe can help even in the complex world of venture capital and auditing. Our team consists of experts who have worked in their specialties for years. We understand that many of our clients come from high-pressure startups and growth-focused companies with tight deadlines. We let you get to the important work of running your business while we take care of the intricacies of business valuation.
Whatever your reason for getting a business valuation, we can offer client focus, experience and expertise that can make the process as easy as possible for you. We go beyond the standard valuation to offer a free consultation, as well as audit defense and customized reports. If you aren’t sure where to start, we can guide you through the process right from the start. The customized reports we include with our valuations give you insight into the details of all of your businesses assets. The comprehensive valuation report will include subjective and objective factors relevant to your particular business. And if an audit should come up, you can rest easy knowing our audit defense has your back at any time.
If you do want to find the value of your business or assets, having skilled assistance can be a boon. Get Redwood’s experienced team to assist you as you work through a business valuation for any reason. Find out how to get started with a consultation.
Our clients have direct access to Redwood’s managing partners and directors. You know your business better than anyone, and the valuation process includes subjective assessments that require your input. We guide you through this process, save your time, and allow you to focus on what matters – growing your business. Get a quality company appraisal in San Diego, CA.
The Redwood team has performed many IRC 409A Valuation Seattle engagements, and we offer a wide variety of business appraisals to Seattle. Other services include ASC 805 valuation (purchase price allocations), IP valuation, patent valuation, impairment valuation, carried interest valuation, portfolio valuations, IRC 382 valuations, and many other types of stock valuations and business valuations.
With over 50 years of combined valuation experience, we provide top-tier expertise and client service at a reasonable price. Our experience as CFOs and Controllers of venture firms and startups separates us from our competitors who lack the boots-on-the-ground experience that our clients have, which we also share.
If you plan to issue stock options in the next twelve months or have any questions about potential valuations, give us a call for a free consultation and we will give you candid advice about whether a valuation may be needed and how we might help. Our goal is to help our clients achieve their desired goals with minimal burden.
409A Valuation San Diego
Redwood Valuation Partners was formed behind an idea of service positioning us as one of the most well-respected companies in the industry. Our expert knowledge of finance, tax, venture capital, and the audit process helps us understand the difficulties of start-ups. We speak your language! Give us a call and learn how we can help. For information on Business Valuations follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook and find us on Google+ too! (206) 660-1295
