Should you build or buy Business Valuation?
Business valuation software estimates what a private company is worth, using income, market and asset approaches with industry comparables and standardized report templates. Financial advisors, accountants and business brokers use it to produce defensible valuations for planning, sale, financing or litigation without building valuation models from scratch.
Buy the platform and the data unless you hold a proprietary transaction database worth building around, as Stout and Lincoln do; the model math is easy, the licensed comps and defensible templates are what you pay for.
Build it, buy it, or bridge?
When building makes sense
Building your own valuation engine makes sense only if you have something the public models don't: a proprietary transaction database large enough to beat licensed comparables. Large advisory firms with decades of deal flow have done exactly that, which proves the math itself (discounted cash flow, guideline transaction multiples, capitalization of earnings) is not the hard part. It never was. The hard part is defensible comparables and an audit trail a client or a court will accept, and building that from public filings alone is slow and thin compared to a licensed database. A firm without deal flow that builds anyway is really building a worse version of what BizEquity or Valutico already sell, minus the comparables subscription that makes the model credible. Build only when the proprietary data itself is the actual product you're selling.
When buying makes sense
Buying is the right call for any practice without a large deal database of its own. BizEquity says it's trusted by more than 1,300 firms and 4,000 advisors, including firms at 7 of the 10 largest broker-dealers and 9 of the top 15 RIAs, and its own workflow claims a valuation in as little as 10 minutes once financials are loaded. That speed comes from licensed comparables and standards-compliant report templates you would otherwise have to build and maintain yourself. A subscription plus a data license runs a few thousand dollars a seat a year, far cheaper than hiring someone to maintain valuation software as a side project. Let AI live inside the workflow (drafting narrative sections, flagging risk factors) rather than trying to replace the platform, and pick the vendor whose comparables and templates match your practice's actual client mix.
The desk read
Build-versus-buy analysis for Business Valuation is being written. In the meantime, the framework that drives every B4 call is on the B4 Index page.
Frequently asked
Who actually uses business valuation software?
Financial advisors, accountants, business brokers and appraisers use it to produce valuations for succession planning, sale preparation, financing applications, divorce and other litigation. BizEquity reports use by more than 1,300 firms and 4,000 advisors, including firms at 7 of the 10 largest broker-dealers.
How long does a business valuation take with software?
It depends on the platform and how clean the financials are, but vendors built for speed can move fast. BizEquity's own workflow claims a valuation in as little as 10 minutes once tax returns or statements are loaded, versus a manual process that can take days.
Is the valuation from software defensible in court or for a sale?
It can be, if the platform documents its methodology and comparables clearly. Standards-governed templates and licensed comparable data are exactly what a court or a buyer's diligence team wants to see, which is the main reason practices buy the platform rather than building their own spreadsheet model.
Why would a firm build its own valuation engine instead of buying one?
Only if it holds a proprietary transaction database large enough to out-perform licensed comparables. Large advisory firms with decades of deal flow have built engines around exactly that data. Without that database, building mostly recreates what a licensed platform already does, minus the comparables that make it credible.