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SMB Tools / SDE & Add-Back Calculator

What the business really earns

A reported bottom line understates what an owner takes home. Add back the owner's pay, the non-cash charges, and the one-offs to get Seller's Discretionary Earnings - the number a sale is actually priced on.

Reported profit

Pre-tax net profit
$

Owner add-backs

Owner's compensation
$
Owner's benefits & payroll tax
$
Personal / discretionary expenses
$

Accounting add-backs

Interest expense
$
Depreciation & amortization
$
One-time / non-recurring
$
Other defensible add-backs
$

Valuation preview

SDE multiple
x
Estimated value$550,000
Seller’s Discretionary Earnings
$220,000
at 2.5x, roughly $440,000 – $660,000
Reported profit
$80,000
Total add-backs
$140,000
Value at 2.5x
$550,000
Reported net profit$80,000
Owner’s compensation+$90,000
Owner’s benefits & payroll tax+$12,000
Personal / discretionary+$10,000
Interest+$8,000
Depreciation & amortization+$15,000
One-time + other+$5,000
SDE$220,000

A planning estimate, not a valuation. Add-backs must be documented and defensible - a buyer and their lender will scrutinize them. Refine the value in the valuation calculator →

More tools

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Answer a few questions about your budget, skills, time, and appetite for risk, and see which of the 150+ business models genuinely fit you - then dive straight into them.

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Owner Readiness Check

An honest read on whether you are cut out to own and run a business - your strengths, your gaps, and what to shore up before you leap.

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Startup cost estimator

Build a realistic picture of what it costs to open, by business type, so you know how much capital you need before day one.

Open startup cost →

Business valuation calculator

Estimate what a business is worth using the SDE multiples buyers and brokers actually use, and see what drives the number up or down.

Open valuation →

ROI & payback calculator

See how long an investment takes to pay back and the return it earns - for a piece of equipment, a buildout, or a whole acquisition.

Open roi →

Acquisition analyzer

Pressure-test a specific deal: cash needed at close, whether the earnings cover the loan, and your cash-on-cash return - the buyer's go/no-go in one place.

Open deal analyzer →

SBA loan & financing calculator

Model an SBA 7(a) or conventional loan: monthly payment, total interest, and whether the cash flow can actually carry the debt.

Open sba loan →

Entity & tax chooser

LLC, S-corp, or sole prop? Compare the structures and see the estimated tax difference in real dollars for your situation.

Open entity & tax →

Domain name search

Check whether the .com, and the alternatives, are available for your business name without bouncing between registrars.

Open domain →

Trademark search

A first-pass screen of the federal trademark register, so you can spot conflicts before you commit to a name.

Open trademark →

Business name generator

Generate name ideas for your concept, then check the domain and trademark on the strongest ones in the same flow.

Open name ideas →

Breakeven & margin calculator

Find the revenue you need to cover costs, your contribution margin, and how a change in price or cost moves the line.

Open breakeven →

Pricing calculator

Set prices that hold their margin - markup versus margin, cost-plus, and target-margin, with the math worked out for you.

Open pricing →

True cost of hiring

What an employee really costs - wages plus payroll taxes, benefits, workers comp, and overhead - as one fully loaded number.

Open hiring cost →

Commercial lease analyzer

Turn a headline rent quote into the true all-in cost of a lease over its term - escalations, NNN, free rent, and build-out - and compare options on equal footing.

Open lease →

Inventory reorder & EOQ

For product businesses: the stock level to reorder at so you never run out during lead time, and the order size that keeps ordering and holding costs in balance.

Open inventory →

Cash flow forecaster

Project your cash in and out month by month, so you see a crunch coming with enough time to do something about it.

Open cash flow →

Marketing ROI calculator

See what a marketing dollar returns - cost per lead, cost per customer, and the payback on a campaign before you scale it.

Open marketing roi →

LTV & CAC calculator

Weigh what a customer is worth over their lifetime against what they cost to acquire - the ratio and payback period that tell you whether you can afford to grow faster.

Open ltv : cac →

Benchmarking tool

Compare your cost structure, margin, and key metrics against sourced operating benchmarks for your business model - free to run, with a free account to save check-ins and track your numbers month over month.

Open benchmarking →

Self-fundable growth calculator

Find the growth rate your own cash flow can fund, and how much outside cash a faster target would need before growth outruns your cash.

Open self-fundable growth →

Sale proceeds estimator

Estimate what you actually walk away with after a sale, once debt, fees, and taxes come out of the headline price.

Open sale proceeds →

Exit readiness check

Gauge how sellable your business is today, and the handful of things that raise its value most before you list it.

Open exit readiness →