RAINMAKER TRADE ADVISORS

Immediate valuation estimate
Proprietary Valuation Tool  ·  2026 Market Data  ·  Confidential

What is your trades business worth?

Enter the data below and we will provide you an immediate estimate of your company's valuation. This is based on a proprietary multi-point scoring model developed from dozens of conversations with active buyers of trades businesses and what matters most to them when acquiring a company. This data is 100% confidential and will never be shared.

Disclaimer: This proprietary valuation calculator is not a Certified Business Valuation, an official Broker Opinion of Value, or a Fairness Opinion. It is a market-based estimate designed to provide a range where business value might land from the Buyer's perspective.

Important: Select the category that best represents your business below. If you provide all three services, select HVAC as the default for the best approximation.
Revenue & Profit
1 of 4
$
$
Revenue minus all costs before interest & taxes.
$
Business profit plus owner add-backs — salary, benefits, and one-time non-recurring expenses.
%
Enter negative number if revenue declined (e.g. -5).
Enter revenue and EBITDA above to see calculated figures.
Revenue Mix
2 of 3
%
Enter the percentage of revenue from residential customers.
%
Residential vs. commercial split
0% residential
100% commercial
%
What percentage of your total revenue comes from recurring service contracts or maintenance agreements?
%
Recurring service contracts vs. project revenue
0% recurring
100% project
Operations & Management
3 of 3
Enter the total number of employees including all full and part-time staff.
Enter total number of full-time management employees, not including the owner.
How many full-time field technicians generate billable revenue for the company?
Owner-driven — owner handles sales, relationships & key decisions
Business relies on owner presence to function.
Mixed — owner involved but team handles most day-to-day operations
Some systems in place; owner still needed for major decisions.
Systems-driven — leads from website / SEO, team closes & delivers
Business runs on process, not personality. Highest buyer confidence.
Estimated Business Value
Complete all fields to see your valuation

Complete all fields on the left to see your estimated business value.

Confidential Valuation Report · Trades M&A Advisory · 2025–2026

Confidential Valuation Report — ELECTRICAL

Small market · SDE ≤ $1.49M · Business Quality Score: 43/100 — Below average
A note on this report

This valuation estimate was built using a proprietary scoring model developed through direct conversations with PE-backed acquirers and strategic buyers who are actively evaluating trades businesses in today's market. The factors, weightings, and multiples reflect real buyer behavior — not textbook theory or generic industry averages.

That said, this is an informed estimate, not a formal opinion of value. Business valuation is ultimately a negotiation between motivated parties, shaped by factors that no model fully captures: the chemistry between a buyer and your management team, the quality and defensibility of your financial records, and the dynamics of the M&A market at the precise moment you go to market.

Use this report as a mirror, not a price tag.

Your Business Profile — Data Entered

Trade / Industry
Electrical
Annual Revenue
$25.00M
Adjusted EBITDA
$1.00M
SDE Add-Backs
$1
Seller Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
$1.00M
EBITDA Margin
4.0%
YoY Revenue Growth
+3%
Residential Revenue %
3%
Commercial Revenue %
97%
Recurring Service Contract %
15%
Project / One-Time Revenue %
85%
Total Employees
70
Total Management FTEs
7
Total Field Technician FTEs
30
Revenue per Technician
$833K
Management Independence
Owner-driven

This is the data you provided. If anything looks incorrect, return to the calculator and re-enter before sharing this report.

Your Estimated Business Value

Estimated Business Value
$2.60M
Small market · SDE ≤ $1.49M
Sensitivity Range (±10%)
$2.34M – $2.86M
Market variability
Valuation Multiple
2.60x
Score: 43/100 — Below average

What Buyers See — Your Score Breakdown

Each factor below reflects how a PE-backed acquirer or strategic buyer evaluates that dimension of your business. The buyer perspective is the same for every business — what changes is how your specific results are interpreted.

1. Business Scale
8 / 24 pts
What buyers see
Scale is not just a vanity metric in M&A — it determines who can buy your business and on what terms. PE-backed platforms and institutional acquirers have minimum thresholds for deal size because of the fixed costs of diligence, financing, and integration. The larger your EBITDA base, the broader and more competitive your buyer pool becomes, which is ultimately what drives price.
Your result
Your scale attracts regional platforms and PE buyers who are building in your market. A single strong year of growth could move you into the next tier, which has a meaningful impact on both the buyer pool and the multiple range.
2. Management Independence
0 / 16 pts
What buyers see
A buyer is acquiring a business, not a person. The single most common reason trades acquisitions fail to close — or close at a discount — is that the business cannot survive without the owner. PE platforms and strategics underwrite their returns on the assumption that the business will operate and grow after the founder leaves.
Your result
Your business currently depends heavily on your presence to function. Buyers will require an extended transition period or structure a portion of the purchase price as an earnout. This is the factor with the highest potential impact on both price and deal structure.
3. Recurring Service Contracts
14 / 16 pts
What buyers see
Institutional buyers evaluate a trades business through one primary lens: how much of this revenue is contractually protected. Recurring revenue — maintenance agreements, service contracts, and repeat accounts — is the most powerful valuation driver in the sector because it tells a buyer exactly what cash flow they are acquiring on day one. It also reduces their financing risk, which directly affects both their offer price and deal structure.
Your result
Your recurring revenue base is a genuine competitive advantage. Buyers at the top of your tier will see this as a business that has already solved the hardest problem in trades M&A — predictable cash flow. This positions you for a full exit at premium terms with minimal earnout requirements.
4. Revenue Growth (YoY)
5 / 16 pts
What buyers see
Buyers do not just pay for what a business earned last year — they pay for where it is going. A strong, consistent revenue growth trajectory signals market demand, pricing power, and the operational capacity to scale. PE platforms in particular are growth-oriented; they are underwriting a return that assumes the business continues to grow post-acquisition.
Your result
Your revenue growth is healthy and consistent. Buyers will view this as a stable, predictable business that removes execution risk from their underwriting.
5. EBITDA Margin
0 / 12 pts
What buyers see
Margin tells buyers two things simultaneously: how efficiently you run the business, and how much pricing power you have in your market. A buyer will build their return model on a forward-looking basis — and margins are the foundation of that underwriting. Thin margins raise questions about cost structure, labor efficiency, and pricing discipline.
Your result
Your current margins are below what most institutional buyers require. This is the most important operational issue to address before going to market.
6. Revenue Mix Clarity
8 / 8 pts
What buyers see
Buyers — particularly PE-backed acquirers with a defined sector thesis — want businesses that fit cleanly into their existing platform. A business with a clear commercial or residential identity is easier to integrate, easier to present to their investment committee, and easier to value.
Your result
Your business has a clear market identity — buyers who focus on your segment will immediately see you as a natural fit for their platform. This reduces friction in the sale process and expands your pool of highly motivated buyers.
7. Revenue per Technician
8 / 8 pts
What buyers see
Revenue per technician is the metric sophisticated buyers use to assess operational leverage — how efficiently the business deploys its most expensive and hardest-to-replace resource. A high ratio signals a well-utilized team, strong job costing discipline, and a business that can grow without proportionally increasing headcount.
Your result
Your revenue per technician is best-in-class. Buyers will view this as strong evidence of operational leverage and a team that can support growth without proportional headcount increases.

Your Score Today Is Not Your Score on the Day You Sell

The multiple your business commands when you go to market is not fixed. Owners who achieve the highest valuations in trades M&A consistently make deliberate improvements to the factors buyers care most about before going to market.

1
Recurring revenue programs
Even a modest service agreement program — 10 to 15 percent of revenue in contracted maintenance — changes the buyer conversation fundamentally. It creates a revenue floor that buyers can underwrite with confidence.
2
Technology and AI integration
Dispatch software, AI-assisted scheduling, digital job costing, and automated customer communication are becoming baseline expectations at the mid-market and above. Businesses that have made this transition are viewed as more scalable.
3
High-value segment development
Expanding into commercial, industrial, EV infrastructure, or other higher-margin segments before a sale changes the revenue mix profile and often justifies a step-up in multiple.
4
Management depth
Every step toward a management team that can operate without the owner reduces buyer risk and improves deal structure. This is the single highest-leverage improvement most trades businesses can make.
5
Financial organization
Buyers cannot pay for what they cannot verify. Clean books, normalized add-backs, and three years of organized financials are valuation tasks, not just administrative ones. Sellers who arrive at diligence prepared close faster, at better prices.
Transaction Readiness Assessment

Anyone can receive an offer. Not everyone can close one.

The majority of trades transactions that fall apart do not fail because the buyer lost interest — they fail because the seller was not prepared for what comes after the letter of intent. We have developed a Transaction Readiness Assessment to help owners understand — honestly and privately — whether their business is prepared to survive the scrutiny of a real M&A process.

Financial records
3 years of clean P&L, balance sheets, and tax returns a buyer's accountant can navigate without help.
Add-back documentation
Every add-back supported by documentation that a Quality of Earnings team will accept without challenge.
Contract transferability
Customer contracts, leases, licenses, and vendor agreements reviewed for assignability.
Management presentation
Your team prepared to represent the business credibly to buyers — without you in the room.
Data room readiness
A structured data room signals professionalism and speeds the diligence process significantly.
Quality of Earnings awareness
Understanding what a QoE will find before a buyer runs one is the best way to protect your price.

This is not an audit. It is a structured, confidential review conducted by advisors who have been on both sides of these transactions — designed to surface what a buyer will find before they find it.

We Are Here — Wherever You Are in Your Thinking

We work with trades business owners at every stage — from those who are five years away from a transaction and want to build value deliberately, to those who are actively evaluating options and need experienced representation. There is no wrong time to have the conversation, and there is no obligation attached to it. The companies that achieve the best outcomes in M&A are almost never the ones that got lucky. They are the ones that prepared.

Schedule a conversation with a senior advisor →

This report is prepared for the exclusive use of the recipient and may not be shared or reproduced without permission. The valuation estimate contained herein is indicative only and does not constitute a formal opinion of value or a commitment to provide advisory services. Trades M&A Advisory · Confidential · 2025–2026.