The short answer
Most tax-purpose business valuations in Australia cost between about $1,500 and $9,000 + GST: but there is a catch. The cheap “$1,500” prices are usually indicative, unsigned estimates rather than signed reports. Every fee is fixed before you start: no hourly surprises.
Oliver Group’s fixed fees
Annual turnover under $2 million. Delivered in 2 business days.
Annual turnover $2 million to $10 million. Delivered in 3 business days.
Annual turnover over $10 million. Delivery date agreed before commencement.
What you actually get at each price
The published Oliver Group packages, and what separates one from the next:
- ·Free online calculators: no methodology, not accepted for tax
- ·Small Business Valuation: $1,495 + GST. Annual turnover under $2 million, delivered in 2 business days.
- ·Medium Business Valuation: $2,495 + GST. Annual turnover $2 million to $10 million, delivered in 3 business days.
- ·Large Business Valuation: $3,495 + GST. Annual turnover over $10 million, with the delivery date agreed before commencement.
- ·Defined add-ons: retrospective valuation date +$495 per date; each additional entity +$795. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.
Why we publish our prices
Most valuers ask you to ring for a quote. Every fee is fixed before you start and is never billed by the hour. The package is set by the annual turnover of the business: a Small Business Valuation is $1,495 + GST under $2 million, a Medium Business Valuation is $2,495 + GST from $2 million to $10 million, and a Large Business Valuation is $3,495 + GST over $10 million. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.
What changes the price
- ·Size and complexity of the business: more entities means more analysis
- ·How the report will be used: a concession claim needs more than an internal estimate
- ·How clean your records are: tidy financials are quicker to work with
- ·How likely the ATO is to look: higher stakes mean a more defensible file
Is it tax deductible?
Usually, yes. A valuation obtained to manage your tax affairs is generally deductible as a cost of managing tax affairs, and in some cases can form part of the asset’s cost base. Your accountant can confirm the treatment for your situation: Oliver Group prepares the valuation, not the tax return.
Cheap valuations can cost more later
An online calculator or a one-page letter is cheap because it skips the work that makes a valuation hold up: testing more than one method, documenting the evidence, and signing it under an independence statement. If the ATO questions a thin valuation, the cost of fixing it, amended assessments, penalties, a second valuation, dwarfs the saving. For anything tax-related, pay once for a report that stands up.
The add-on schedule: stated plainly
There is no hidden-extras category. Every loading that can apply to an Oliver Group engagement is listed here, in full, before you commission a report.
- ·Retrospective valuation date (valuing the business as at a past date rather than today): +$495 per historical date
- ·Additional entities in the same engagement (e.g. a group structure with multiple trading entities): +$795 per additional entity
- ·No fee changes once the engagement letter is signed, regardless of how the analysis develops
What the fixed fee does not cover: the honest trade-off
It applies a single methodology and produces a shorter report: appropriate for internal reference, informal negotiations, or a first read on value. It is not suited to contested matters, family law proceedings, or any situation carrying real ATO-dispute risk, because those contexts require the cross-checking that only multiple methodologies provide. This page describes valuation scope and fees only: it is not tax advice; whether a CGT event or concession applies to your situation is a matter for your registered tax agent.
| If your situation involves… | What it changes |
|---|---|
| A quick internal reference or partner conversation | Nothing about the fee. A Small Business Valuation covers it if turnover is under $2 million. |
| Preparing to sell, or a shareholder buy-in or buy-out | The framing, not the fee. Tell us who will read the report so it answers their question. |
| A CGT event, restructure, or any ATO-facing purpose | The evidence trail, not the fee. Tell us at scoping so the working file is documented for review. |
| Family law, or a dispute where the parties disagree on value | The practice. Family law matters are handled by our dedicated family law practice, Family Law Valuations. Shareholder disputes are the same fee, set by turnover. |
The 8 fee drivers
- ·Entity structure complexity: one company with one shareholder is a simpler valuation than a trust that owns shares in a company that leases premises from a related unit trust. Every additional entity is additional structure to map, additional related-party transactions to trace, and additional intercompany balances to normalise. At Oliver Group, each additional entity is priced transparently at $795
- ·Financial record quality: reconciled, accountant-prepared statements go straight into analysis. Financials that need rebuilding from raw ledgers, or add-backs claimed with no supporting paperwork, turn analysis hours into reconstruction hours before the valuation work even starts
- ·Purpose and stakes: a straightforward CGT event for an uncontested transfer needs less than a small business CGT concession claim sitting near the $6m threshold, or a valuation that will be tested in a partnership dispute. Higher stakes justify, and require, more methodology and more documentation
- ·Retrospectivity: valuing a business as at a past date is harder than valuing it today, because only evidence that was reasonably available at that historical date can be used. Reconstructing a contemporaneous evidence base takes real time. At Oliver Group, retrospective valuations carry a $495 surcharge per historical date
- ·Industry complexity: a business with straightforward recurring revenue and thin tangible assets is easier to value than one with complex intangibles, volatile earnings, regulatory licensing considerations, or thin comparable transaction data. Some industries simply have more moving parts to test
- ·Valuation date evidence availability: even for a current-date valuation, some businesses have rich, current comparable evidence available and some do not. Thin comparables mean more work sourcing and triangulating what evidence exists, and a more conservative, more heavily reasoned conclusion
- ·Report depth required: a single-methodology report is a different scope of work to a report testing two or three methodologies with cross-checks, sensitivity analysis and a full evidence pack. Depth is chosen to match the purpose, not added for its own sake
- ·Who must sign: a report destined for an accountant's working file has different signatory requirements to one destined for a family law matter or a court process. Higher-scrutiny destinations generally require a more the lead valuer and a more heavily documented independence position, which is priced accordingly
The fifteen-driver reference table
- ·Entity count: the number of legal entities in scope (company, trust, related unit trust, holding structure). Impact: high. Controllability: fixed. A single company with one shareholder is materially simpler than a trust that owns shares in an operating company leasing premises from a related party; every additional entity means more structure to map, more related-party transactions to trace, and more intercompany balances to normalise. At Oliver Group, each additional entity beyond the first is priced transparently at $795.
- ·Financial record quality: whether financials are reconciled and accountant-prepared, or need rebuilding from raw ledgers. Impact: high. Controllability: client-controlled. Clean records go straight into analysis; add-backs claimed without supporting paperwork, or statements requiring reconstruction, convert billable analysis hours into billable reconstruction hours before the actual valuation work begins. This is the single largest lever a client holds over their own fee.
- ·Purpose and stakes: what the valuation is for and how much rides on the number (routine CGT event versus a small business CGT concession claim near the $6m threshold, versus a matter feeding into a dispute). Impact: high. Controllability: fixed. Higher stakes require more methodology and more documented evidence, because the report needs to hold up to more scrutiny. This is general information, not tax advice: confirm threshold eligibility and tax treatment with your accountant or registered tax agent.
- ·Retrospectivity, whether the valuation date is today or a past date. Impact: medium-high. Controllability: partially client-controlled (the date is usually set by the triggering event, but timing the engagement close to that date is within reach). Valuing as at a historical date restricts the valuer to evidence that was reasonably available at that time, which takes real reconstruction effort. At Oliver Group, retrospective valuations carry a $495 surcharge per historical date.
- ·Industry complexity: how many moving parts the business has: intangibles, regulatory licensing, volatile earnings, thin comparable transaction data. Impact: medium-high. Controllability: fixed. A business with recurring revenue and simple tangible assets is inherently faster to value than one with complex intangibles or a niche market with few comparable transactions.
- ·Dispute or contested-matter risk: whether the report will be relied on in a shareholder dispute, family law proceeding, or ATO review, versus filed uncontested. Impact: high. Controllability: mostly fixed. Contested destinations require multiple cross-checked methodologies, full sensitivity analysis and an evidence pack built to withstand a hostile read, not just a filing check: this is scope the matter genuinely needs, not scope added for margin.
- ·Report depth required: how many methodologies are tested and cross-checked, and how much sensitivity analysis and evidence documentation the report contains. Impact: high. Controllability: fixed by purpose. A single-methodology report suits a straightforward, uncontested, current-date matter; a report feeding a concession claim or a dispute needs two or three methodologies tested against each other. Depth should match what the purpose requires, not be minimised to save cost.
- ·Signer and reviewer requirements: the seniority of reviewer and the strength of the independence position the destination requires. Impact: medium. Controllability: fixed. A report destined for an accountant's working file has lighter signatory requirements than one destined for a family law matter or a court process; higher-scrutiny destinations require a more the lead valuer and a more heavily documented independence statement.
- ·Goodwill complexity: how much of the business value sits in goodwill, and how easily that goodwill separates from the owner. Impact: medium. Controllability: fixed. Personal goodwill tied to an owner-operator's relationships and reputation is harder to substantiate and transfer than transferable, business-attached goodwill, and typically requires more analysis to support.
- ·Asset intensity: how much of the business value sits in tangible assets (plant, equipment, property, stock) versus earnings. Impact: medium. Controllability: fixed. Asset-heavy businesses often need a Net Asset Value methodology alongside an earnings-based method, and each significant asset class may need its own market evidence.
- ·Work in progress (WIP): relevant for professional services and project-based businesses, where unbilled work and long-cycle contracts complicate normalised earnings. Impact: medium (industry-specific). Controllability: client-controlled, to a degree. A current, well-documented WIP schedule is straightforward to assess; WIP that has never been reconciled takes real time to unpick before it can feed into maintainable earnings.
- ·Related-party transactions: the volume and complexity of dealings between the business and its owners, family members, or associated entities. Impact: medium. Controllability: client-controlled, to a degree. Every related-party transaction needs to be identified, understood and, where relevant, normalised out of maintainable earnings; a documented schedule supplied up front replaces hours of the valuer tracing ledger entries.
- ·Prior valuations or appraisals: whether an earlier valuation, broker appraisal or indicative offer already exists for the business. Impact: low-medium. Controllability: client-controlled. Supplying prior work does not bind the valuer to its conclusion, but it avoids duplicated groundwork and can surface issues early, generally shortening the engagement.
- ·Data and evidence availability: how much reliable comparable market evidence exists for the business's size, industry and geography. Impact: medium. Controllability: fixed. Thin comparable data means more work sourcing and triangulating what evidence exists, and typically produces a more conservative, more heavily reasoned conclusion rather than a faster or cheaper one.
- ·Small Business Valuation: $1,495 + GST. Annual turnover under $2 million, delivered in 2 business days.
- ·Medium Business Valuation: $2,495 + GST. Annual turnover $2 million to $10 million, delivered in 3 business days.
- ·Large Business Valuation: $3,495 + GST. Annual turnover over $10 million, with the delivery date agreed before commencement.
- ·Defined add-ons: retrospective valuation date +$495 per date; each additional entity +$795. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.
Worked example: one cafe, two very different fees
Take a suburban cafe: $900,000 annual revenue, a single company structure, a clean set of financials, and one owner-operator. Valued for a straightforward CGT event on a related-party transfer at the current date, this is close to the simplest matter Oliver Group sees: one entity, current date, clean records, uncontested purpose, single methodology sufficient, a report destined for the accountant's working file.
- ·Now take the same cafe, same financials, but the owners are two former business partners mid-dispute over the buyout price of a 50% shareholding
- ·The purpose has changed from compliance to contest: the report may be scrutinised, challenged, or relied on in mediation
- ·Multiple methodologies are now needed to cross-check the conclusion, with full sensitivity analysis on the assumptions either side is likely to argue over
- ·The evidence pack needs to be complete enough to withstand a hostile read, not just a filing check
- ·A more senior signatory and a fully documented independence position become necessary given the report may be tested
- ·Same coffee machine, same lease, same owner-operator profile: and a fee that can legitimately differ six times over, because purpose and stakes are two of the eight drivers, and neither is optional. A valuer who charged the dispute-tier fee for the compliance-tier matter would be overcharging; one who charged the compliance-tier fee for the dispute-tier matter would be under-scoping a report that needs to hold up under real scrutiny: and an under-scoped report in a contested matter is not a bargain, it is a liability with your name near it
- ·Small Business Valuation: $1,495 + GST. Annual turnover under $2 million, delivered in 2 business days.
- ·Medium Business Valuation: $2,495 + GST. Annual turnover $2 million to $10 million, delivered in 3 business days.
- ·Large Business Valuation: $3,495 + GST. Annual turnover over $10 million, with the delivery date agreed before commencement.
- ·Defined add-ons: retrospective valuation date +$495 per date; each additional entity +$795. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.
Generic market context: what the rest of the industry charges
Across the Australian market, business valuations typically range from $0 for a free online calculator estimate to $30,000–$80,000+ for an expert-witness litigation valuation, with most independent reports falling between $2,000 and $15,000+. These are indicative generic bands only, not quotes from any named firm: actual fees vary by scope, entity complexity, location and the individual provider, and prospective clients should confirm current pricing directly with any firm they are considering. They are provided so this page works as a market reference, not just an Oliver Group rate card. See also the full breakdown at the business valuation price comparison page.
| Free online calculators | $0 | An instant, unverified estimate from limited inputs: a starting conversation, not a valuation report |
| Broker appraisals (sale-focused) | Often free or bundled into a success fee | An opinion of likely sale price, not an independent valuation report; usually tied to a listing agreement |
| Desktop / indicative reports | $2,000–$5,000 | A shorter, single-methodology report with a faster turnaround, generally 1–2 weeks |
| Full independent valuation reports (mid-tier and boutique firms) | $5,000–$15,000+ | Multiple methodologies and a more detailed report, generally with a 4–8 week turnaround |
| Big-4 and top-tier corporate finance valuations | $10,000–$30,000+ | Partner-reviewed reports, often for larger or more complex entities, financial reporting, or regulatory purposes |
| Expert witness / litigation valuations | $30,000–$80,000+ | Court-ready reports with expert testimony obligations under the applicable expert witness code |
Controllability summary: what you can change before you engage
The other drivers, entity count, purpose and stakes, dispute risk, industry complexity, retrospectivity, goodwill and asset profile, and evidence availability, are set by the facts of the matter and are not meaningfully reducible by preparation. For the complete nine-step preparation checklist and what preparation can and cannot achieve, see /insights/how-to-reduce-the-cost-of-a-business-valuation.