Seller Tool
Selling at the right time dramatically affects the price you get. Ten questions assess the factors Australian business brokers and buyers evaluate before making an offer — owner dependency, revenue trends, financial cleanliness, customer concentration, and market timing. Get a score from 0–100 with personalised commentary on what to fix before you list.
Question 1
How old are you, and what's your timeline to exit?
Question 2
What has revenue done over the last 3 years?
Question 3
How have profits (SDE / EBITDA) trended?
Question 4
How dependent is the business on you personally?
Question 5
What is your customer concentration?
Question 6
How clean and organised are your financials?
Question 7
How would you describe current market conditions for your industry?
Question 8
How secure are your key contracts, leases, and IP?
Question 9
What is your primary reason for selling?
Question 10
How much upside does a buyer have post-acquisition?
The most saleable Australian businesses share five characteristics: clean and documented financials (3+ years of accountant-prepared accounts), low owner dependency (systems and staff in place), diversified customer base (no single client over 20% of revenue), transferable contracts and leases, and a clear growth narrative for the buyer. Businesses that tick all five sell faster and at higher multiples.
The average time on market for an Australian SMB is 6–12 months from listing to settlement. Well-prepared businesses (clean books, low dependency, good growth) often sell in 3–6 months. Poorly prepared businesses — or those priced above market — can sit for 12–24 months or fail to sell at all. The preparation phase before listing (often 12–18 months) is the most valuable time you can invest.
Most SMB sales in Australia (under $5M) go through business brokers. Good brokers provide deal packaging, buyer screening, confidentiality management, and negotiation support. Commission is typically 8–12% for businesses under $1M and 4–8% for businesses in the $1M–$5M range. For businesses over $5M, specialist M&A advisers (not brokers) are typical.
Overpricing relative to normalised earnings is the most common reason businesses fail to sell. Sellers often calculate price based on what they need (retirement funding, debt payoff) rather than what the market will pay. A business worth 3× EBITDA will not sell at 6× regardless of the story. Pricing to market and presenting clean, credible financials is the highest-leverage action a seller can take.
ThatDeal's intelligence platform shows sellers what comparable businesses sold for — giving you real market data to price your business correctly and understand what buyers in the Australian market are actually paying. Use the Business Valuation Calculator as a starting point, then get comparable sales data from ThatDeal's intelligence database.