DoBusiness Buyer ROI Calculator

Business Buyer ROI Calculator

Assess whether a business listing is affordable, financeable, and commercially worth pursuing before you enquire.

How this now behaves

The selected industry changes the visible bespoke fields, sample figures, buyer-focus guidance, and the sector-specific scoring logic used in the result.

Unknown fields can be left blank. Use the sample-fill button when you want a realistic testing dataset for the selected business type.

1. Deal Snapshot

Choose the specific business type. The grouped menu separates broader parent categories from the actual sub-category you are analysing.

Paste the listing URL if you are analysing a business from DoBusiness or another site. This is optional but useful for keeping track of which deal you are assessing.

Enter the name of the business or a short label so you can identify this opportunity later.

Choose the specific business type. The calculator uses that choice to show bespoke inputs, sample figures, and industry-specific risk logic.

Enter the advertised purchase price for the business. This is the price you are judging, not what you hope to negotiate to later.

Testing helper only. It fills average sample numbers based on the selected business type.

2. Earnings Inputs

These inputs build the owner-benefit figure used for ROI, debt cover, and payback.

Enter the last full-year turnover or the best annualised revenue figure available from the listing or information memorandum.

Enter the business net profit before adding back owner salary and discretionary addbacks. If the listing gives EBITDA or SDE instead, be careful not to double count.

Enter what the current owner pays themselves for working in the business, or the realistic market wage a buyer would need to pay someone to replace that role.

Addbacks are one-off, discretionary, or non-recurring expenses a buyer may not continue. Examples can include personal expenses through the business or abnormal once-off costs. Do not add normal wages, rent, or operating costs here.

Estimate what share of annual revenue is recurring, contracted, membership-based, repeat subscription, or highly repeatable. This helps the calculator judge revenue visibility.

3. Industry-Specific Buyer Checks

This section changes with the industry selection. It is where the calculator picks up bespoke commercial signals for that type of business.

4. Deal Structure & Funding

This section estimates how much real cash the buyer needs and how much debt pressure the business can carry.

Enter the percentage of the purchase price you expect to fund with your own cash. A common benchmark is 30%, but some deals may need more.

Enter the total cash the buyer can realistically commit, not just the deposit. This should include the money available for settlement costs and immediate trading support.

Enter the estimated annual interest rate for the acquisition loan. If unsure, use a conservative current-market assumption rather than an optimistic one.

Enter the planned loan term in years. Shorter terms improve total interest cost but raise the annual repayment burden.

Enter how many months of operating cost the buyer wants to hold as a trading buffer after settlement. If unsure, keep the suggested industry default.

Enter the extra cash reserve you would like to keep after settlement so the acquisition does not feel too tight. This is a buyer comfort setting, not part of the purchase price.

Enter the minimum annual return on actual cash invested that would make this deal attractive to you. This becomes the hurdle rate used in the assessment.

5. Practical Risk Factors

These variables still matter across every industry because they influence transferability and buyer confidence.

Choose whether the business has a fixed lease, is month to month, or has no lease exposure such as online-only or mobile businesses.

If there is a fixed lease, estimate how many years remain. Strong lease security usually matters more in site-dependent businesses such as hospitality and retail.

Choose low if the business can run largely without the owner. Choose high if the owner holds key customer relationships, technical knowledge, quoting, or day-to-day operations together.

Choose high if a small number of customers or contracts drive a large share of revenue. High concentration usually makes a deal riskier for buyers.

Choose the current trading direction. Buyers usually pay more comfortably when revenue and earnings are stable or growing.

Enter the approximate value of transferable plant, equipment, tools, or machinery included in the sale. This is not added to the asking price again, but it helps assess what supports the deal.

Enter the value of saleable stock included in the transaction if known. Leave it blank if the listing does not say or if stock is excluded.

Enter any additional money you believe a buyer would need to spend soon after settlement to refresh, repair, or upgrade the business. This is buyer-side cash need, not part of the business value.

6. Buyer Notes

Capture any caveats or facts from the listing so the analysis is easier to revisit later.

Optional notes such as broker comments, concerns, or facts from the listing that might matter when reviewing the result later.