What $1,495 buys in a signed business valuation — and when to pay more.

Prismi's Essential engagement is a fixed-fee, signed business valuation from $1,495 + GST: a single-methodology market valuation report with a concluded value and supportable range, an independence statement and a senior reviewer's signature, delivered in 10–14 business days. It suits a single trading entity with clean financials and a straightforward purpose. The right question is not how cheap a valuation can be, but which tier fits the matter — contested, retrospective or dispute-bound work needs a higher tier, regardless of price.

The answer in numbers: $1,495 + GST, 10–14 business days

Prismi's Essential engagement is a fixed fee of $1,495 + GST for a single-methodology market valuation of one trading entity, senior-reviewer signed, delivered in 10–14 business days. The wider Australian market does not price on a single scale: indicative or desktop-style valuations for SMEs are commonly quoted from roughly $2,000 up to around $5,000 depending on the provider and scope, while comprehensive or full valuation reports — and litigation or expert-witness engagements, which are individually scoped rather than list-priced — typically start well above that and can run considerably higher again. Treat any figures like these as general market colour rather than a quote from a named provider; every engagement, including Prismi's, is priced against its actual scope. Essential is positioned at the affordable end of that range because its scope is deliberately fixed to one entity and one methodology — not because the work behind it is thinner than the report says it is. Three things can move the price above $1,495: a retrospective valuation date adds $495 per historical date, each additional entity adds $750, and rush turnaround adds 30% of the base fee. Each is quoted before you commit — fees are fixed at engagement and never contingent on the outcome — so you will know the total before any work starts, not after.

Line by line: what is inside the Essential report

• ·Purpose, scope, valuation date and intended use — stated on the face of the report, so anyone reading it knows exactly what it can and cannot be used for
• ·Basis of value: Market Value consistent with IVS 104, applying the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle from Spencer v Commonwealth (1907)
• ·Information reviewed: 3–5 years of financial statements, current year-to-date management accounts, asset register and ownership structure
• ·Normalised earnings analysis with an add-back schedule
• ·One methodology, selected and reasoned — the report documents which methods were considered, which was applied and why it fits this business
• ·A concluded value with the supportable range around it, prepared with ATO market valuation guidance in mind
• ·Key assumptions, limitations and reliance restrictions in their own section
• ·An independence statement and a named senior-reviewer signature — every Prismi report is signed by a senior reviewer
• ·A working file retained for 10 years
• ·A focused document: shorter than a Comprehensive report because one methodology is documented rather than two — but the same signature, the same independence statement and the same retained evidence file

The eligibility test — run before you pay, not after

The Essential tier fits a specific shape of engagement, and we test the fit at scoping, because a fixed fee is only honest if the scope is fixed too. You fit if four things are true: one operating entity; accountant-prepared financials for the last three or more years; a straightforward purpose — an indicative value for planning, a buy-sell agreement update, a related-party transaction with low review risk, or a Division 7A matter where the value is not marginal; and no live dispute over the number. The triggers that push a matter up a tier are equally specific: multiple entities needing separate valuation; a retrospective valuation date; a value sitting near an eligibility threshold, such as the $6m maximum net asset value test for the small business CGT concessions; complex share classes or minority interests requiring discount analysis; significant intangibles; or a family law, shareholder or ATO matter already on foot. If any trigger applies, we say so at the quote, name the tier that fits and the fixed fee attached to it, and let you decide. No Prismi engagement starts at $1,495 and quietly grows.

What other low-cost options usually leave out

The affordable end of the Australian market is crowded, but very little of it is a signed valuation. Free online calculators apply an industry multiple to the figures you type in — no methodology reasoning, no signature, and often the real product is your contact details for a broker. Broker appraisals are frequently free because they are priced into a future sale commission, which is the opposite of independence. One-page accountant letters state a number without documenting how it was reached. So-called desktop reports vary widely by provider — some disclose methodology, name the person accountable for the conclusion and retain an evidence file, and some do not — so the price alone tells you very little. To compare like for like, ask any provider five questions before paying. Which methodology will be applied, and will the report explain why? Who signs it, and what are their qualifications? Is there an independence statement, and is the fee contingent on anything? What evidence is reviewed, and is a working file retained? What does the scope section say the report can be used for? Prismi's answers are published on this page. If another provider's answers are better for your matter, use them.

What the Essential tier does not cover — read this before you buy

The $1,495 Essential report applies one methodology only — there is no second method cross-checking the conclusion, no scenario analysis, and no expanded evidence file built for cross-examination. The report's scope section says so in plain terms — and in a contested matter, that scope section is the first thing the other side's adviser reads. For that reason Essential is not suited to family law proceedings, shareholder disputes, ATO objections or reviews, or small business CGT concession claims where the value sits near the $6m threshold. It is also usually the wrong tier for retrospective dates: the $495-per-date surcharge applies, and the constrained evidence at a historical date typically deserves dual-methodology treatment — the tier Prismi calls Comprehensive, from $3,995 + GST. None of this makes Essential thin. It carries the same senior-reviewer signature, the same independence statement and the same 10-year working file as every Prismi report. The saving comes from fixed scope — one entity, one method, one purpose — not from skipping the parts that make a valuation supportable.

When choosing by price is the wrong approach

Shopping to a price ceiling is a good discipline until it becomes the reason a valuation fails. If your matter is dispute-bound — a family law property settlement, a shareholder exit already in disagreement, an ATO amended assessment — the number will be examined by someone whose job is to pull it apart, and a single-methodology report scoped for straightforward purposes hands them their first argument at no cost. The same is true of threshold matters: where eligibility for the small business CGT concessions turns on whether net assets fall under $6m, the difference between tiers is not a few thousand dollars of prudence — it is whether the position survives review. In those situations the economics reverse. Buying an Essential report, having it discounted, and commissioning the right report afterwards costs more than the right report would have cost in the first place, plus the weeks lost. If any of this describes your matter, do not choose a tier by price — with us or with anyone else. Start at the tier the matter demands, and let cost follow scope, not the other way around.

Which tier fits — a five-minute decision

Essential (from $1,495 + GST, 10–14 business days, single methodology) suits one clean entity and a straightforward purpose. Comprehensive (from $3,995 + GST, 15–25 business days, dual methodology) is the step up where a second method should cross-check the conclusion — most tax-purpose valuations with any realistic review possibility sit here. The Defensible Valuation File (from $8,995 + GST, 25–35 business days, triple methodology) is built for matters the ATO or another party is likely to examine. The Valuation Range & Scenario Review (from $12,995 + GST, 30–45 business days) serves contested or threshold-critical matters that need structured range analysis. The full side-by-side is in our [valuation tier comparison](/resources/valuation-tier-comparison), and for the wider market picture — what every type of valuation costs in Australia and why — see the [business valuation pricing guide](/resources/business-valuation-pricing-guide-australia). If you are still unsure, send us the basics and we will name the tier and the fixed fee before you commit to anything.