Why transport valuations are different
A transport or logistics business is really two valuation problems wearing one ABN. There is the operating business, freight revenue, contracts, margins, driver and subcontractor arrangements, which is normally valued on an earnings basis. And there is the fleet, trucks, trailers, prime movers, specialised equipment, which is a material, separately identifiable asset base that has to be valued in its own right and checked against finance encumbrances. For a services business, the asset side is usually immaterial and gets a cursory net asset check. For a transport operator, the fleet can represent a large share of total value, so the asset approach has to be run properly, not waved through. That is roughly double the method work of a single-approach valuation, and it is the main reason a transport valuation takes more work than a comparably sized service business.
What the fleet and the contract book change
The complexity of the fleet and the contract book changes the work, not the fee. Cold-chain or dangerous-goods accreditation, NHVAS membership and multi-entity trailer or equipment financing structures push complexity further, because each of those adds a document set the valuer has to review and factor into the reconciliation.
Oliver Group's fixed fees
Oliver Group's fees are set by the annual turnover of the business: a Small Business Valuation is $1,495 + GST for turnover under $2 million, a Medium Business Valuation is $2,495 + GST for turnover between $2 million and $10 million, and a Large Business Valuation is $3,495 + GST for turnover over $10 million. For small-business reports a draft is delivered in 2 business days and for medium-business reports in 3 business days; the delivery date for a Large Business Valuation is agreed before commencement. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received. The fee is fixed in writing before work begins and never depends on the concluded value.
Annual turnover under $2 million. Draft delivered in 2 business days.
Annual turnover $2 million to $10 million. Draft delivered in 3 business days.
Annual turnover over $10 million. Delivery date agreed before commencement.
The add-on schedule
Retrospective valuation dates are +$495 each and additional entities are +$795 each. Fees are fixed at engagement and never contingent on the outcome the report reaches. An owner-driver or single-entity operator valued at a current date carries no surcharges at all.
The two-method driver, and what fleet verification covers
For most trading businesses, a single earnings-based methodology, Capitalisation of Maintainable Earnings or an EBITDA multiple, carries the valuation, with net asset value used only as a sanity check. Transport is different because the fleet is often material enough that it cannot be a footnote. The valuer needs a defensible market value for each truck and trailer (or a representative sample with extrapolation, depending on fleet size), a clear picture of what finance and encumbrances sit against those assets, and an understanding of the replacement-cycle capex the business will need to carry to keep operating. That asset-side work runs in parallel with the earnings analysis on the operating business, and the two have to be reconciled into a single supportable position: for example, where the fleet's net asset value materially exceeds what maintainable earnings alone would support, or vice versa. In practice, fleet verification covers current market values for owned trucks, trailers and specialised equipment (referenced against dealer and auction data for comparable age, condition and configuration), a review of finance and lease encumbrances to establish net equity rather than gross value, maintenance and service records, and the replacement-cycle capex the business will need to fund. Reconciling two methodologies that can genuinely pull in different directions is more work than running one method with a light cross-check.
Customer concentration and contract review
It is common for a contracted logistics operator to derive most of its revenue from one or two linehaul or freight contracts. That concentration is a normal feature of the sector, but it is also a transferability factor a valuer has to address explicitly: the methodology cannot treat a business with two major contracts the same way it treats one with fifty diversified customers. The document review typically covers contract terms and remaining tenure, renewal history, rate-review mechanisms, and, critically, whether the contract is assignable to a new owner or contains change-of-control provisions that would need separate negotiation on sale. Where assignability is unclear or a major contract is up for renewal within the near term, that uncertainty is reflected in the supportable range rather than smoothed over.
Accreditation and compliance as transferability factors
Operator accreditation matters for value because it affects who can actually run the business the day after a transfer. National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) membership, Chain of Responsibility (CoR) compliance history, and cold-chain or dangerous-goods accreditations are not just compliance boxes: they represent time, audit history and sometimes non-transferable status that a purchaser has to factor in. A business with current, clean accreditation across the relevant schemes is a cleaner transfer than one where accreditation would need to be re-established or is contingent on a specific individual. Where accreditation status is material to the engagement, it forms part of the document set reviewed and is addressed in the valuation position analysis, not just noted in passing.
What the broader market charges
Full valuation reports in Australia typically run $5,000 to $15,000 or more at traditional firms, and asset-heavy sectors like transport tend to sit toward the upper half of that range because of the extra fleet and contract-review work involved. Broker appraisals for transport businesses are common ahead of a sale and are usually free or low-cost, but they are sales tools pitched to support a listing price: not signed, methodology-tested valuations suitable for CGT, related-party transfers or a contested matter. An accountant's desktop estimate can be a reasonable starting point for internal planning, but it will not typically include independent fleet market-value verification or a documented reconciliation between earnings and asset approaches. Where the valuation needs to stand up to review, a small business CGT concession claim, a related-party transfer, or a dispute, a signed fixed-fee report is the one built to hold up.
What the fixed fee covers, and what it does not
The fee and the scope of the report are the same at every package. A linehaul contract that carries most of the revenue, with its renewal or assignability in question, cold-chain or dangerous-goods accreditation that materially affects transferability, a matter that could face ATO review, or a fleet large and diverse enough that asset verification needs to be more than a light-touch check all mean more documents and more analysis, not a higher fee. A second entity and a historical valuation date are the two add-ons in the schedule above.
What complexity changes, and where to go next
For an owner-driver or small fleet operator with clean records and no material contract concentration, the engagement proceeds normally. An operator with a large fleet, concentrated contracts or accreditation questions pays the same turnover-based fixed fee, for the same scope of report: what changes is the amount of analysis and the time it takes to get the information complete. For the full market landscape, free calculators, broker appraisals, accountant letters, desktop estimates and formal reports, see the pricing guide in our resources library. Oliver Group prepares independent valuations only; we are not a registered tax agent and do not provide tax, legal or financial advice: your accountant applies the report in their domain, including how it supports any CGT position. What we provide is a fee you know before you start, for a number the evidence defends.