A cheap business valuation that still survives scrutiny.
Free calculators, automated reports, fixed-fee professional valuations, traditional firm engagements — a plain-English map of what each price point actually buys, and exactly what Prismi's Essential tier delivers at $1,495 + GST.
A business valuation that will hold up in Australia starts at $1,495 + GST — Prismi's Essential tier: a fixed-fee, single-methodology, evidence-led report signed by a senior reviewer and delivered in 10–14 business days. Free calculators and automated reports costing a few hundred dollars are cheaper, but neither produces a position with a documented methodology and evidence file behind it. The lowest-cost option that still holds is the one worth calling 'cheap'.
What 'cheap' actually buys at each price point
'Cheap business valuation' describes four very different products at four very different prices, and the gap between them is a signature, not just a number. The failure mode of the two free/low-cost options is the same: when the ATO reviews the value, there is no methodology, evidence or reasoning to point to — only a number. For a fuller walk-through of every option, see /insights/cheapest-way-to-value-a-business-australia.
| Price point | What you get | Signed by a valuer? |
|---|---|---|
| $0 — online calculator | An industry multiple applied to your revenue or earnings. No methodology disclosure, no evidence file, and typically no indication of who or what stands behind the number. | No |
| A few hundred dollars — automated report | The same calculator output re-formatted as a PDF. No one examines your financials, tests add-backs, or selects a methodology. | No |
| From $1,495 + GST — fixed-scope professional report (Prismi Essential) | A qualified valuer, one defined methodology, documented evidence and a signed report. | Yes |
| Generally $2,000–$30,000+ — traditional firm full-scope engagement | Fee scales with the hours involved: scope, complexity and the depth of documentation required. Litigation or expert-witness engagements sit at the top of this range and often above it, reflecting the extra work of a report built to withstand cross-examination. | Yes |
The Essential tier: what $1,495 + GST includes
Essential is a complete, signed valuation report — not a calculator output with a cover page. It suits straightforward matters: a single entity, a current valuation date, and no dispute on foot. The report includes:
- ·Independent market valuation of a single entity or interest at a current date
- ·One accepted methodology, selected and reasoned for the specific business — not defaulted
- ·Normalised earnings analysis with an add-back schedule
- ·Basis of value: Market Value per IVS 104, consistent with Spencer v Commonwealth (1907)
- ·Evidence relied upon documented in the report
- ·Supportable range and concluded valuation position
- ·Independence statement and senior-reviewer signature
- ·Working file retained 10 years
- ·Fixed fee confirmed at engagement, never contingent on the outcome
- ·Delivered in 10–14 business days
Why the price is low — the mechanism
The fee is low because the delivery model is lean, not because the work is thin. Prismi operates online across Australia: no offices to fund, no partner hours accumulating on your file, and a standardised document intake that removes the slowest part of a traditional engagement. The scope is fixed before we start, so the fee can be too. The valuation discipline itself — methodology selection, normalisation, evidence documentation, senior review — is the same at every tier. What changes as you move up the tiers is depth: how many methodologies are tested against each other, and how extensively the position is documented for scrutiny.
The trade-off: what Essential does not do
A single methodology means no cross-check from a second approach — that is the deliberate trade that makes the price possible, and it is the right trade only when the matter is straightforward. Essential is not suited to family law or shareholder disputes, to matters already under ATO review or objection, to contested positions of any kind, or to small business CGT concession claims sitting near the $6m maximum net asset value test — those need the documentation depth of a higher tier. It values one entity at one current date: retrospective dates add $495 per historical date, and additional entities add $750 each. If your matter has any of these features, a $1,495 report is the wrong purchase and we will say so before you engage.
When cheap is a false economy
The ATO's market valuation guidance is concerned with process — the methodology applied, the evidence relied on, and the reasoning connecting them. When a value is reviewed, the question is rarely whether the number looks plausible; it is whether the number is supported. A free calculator result or an unsigned automated report cannot answer that question. If a position built on one of these is challenged, the exposure is not just the original fee saved — it can include an amended assessment, penalties and interest, plus the cost of commissioning a proper valuation afterwards, this time under time pressure. The same logic applies within professional tiers: a retrospective valuation, a dispute, or a high-value CGT event warrants more documentation than Essential provides, because the probability and the stakes of scrutiny are both higher. We have set out this reasoning in more detail at /insights/are-cheap-business-valuations-worth-it.
Which tier you actually need
Prismi prices four fixed fee tiers by methodology depth, not by how cheap the job can be made. Rush delivery is +30% at any tier, subject to capacity; retrospective dates add $495 each and additional entities add $750 each. Note that fees for a valuation obtained in managing your tax affairs may be deductible under s 25-5 ITAA 1997 — your tax adviser can confirm how that applies to you; we prepare valuations only and do not give tax advice. The full tier-by-tier breakdown, including surcharges and turnaround, is in our pricing guide at /resources/business-valuation-pricing-guide.
- ·Essential — from $1,495 + GST, 10–14 business days: single methodology. Fits a straightforward single-entity matter with low review risk — an uncontested transfer, an internal planning baseline, a modest CGT event with clear evidence.
- ·Comprehensive — from $3,995 + GST, 15–25 business days: dual methodology cross-check. Suits higher-value events and most restructures.
- ·Defensible Valuation File — from $8,995 + GST, 25–35 business days: triple methodology. Built for matters where ATO review is realistic — small business CGT concession claims, marginal thresholds, larger transactions.
- ·Valuation Range & Scenario Review — from $12,995 + GST, 30–45 business days: triple methodology across multiple scenarios. For contested or marginal positions needing structured scenario analysis.
Common questions.
How much does a cheap business valuation cost in Australia?+
Free online calculators cost nothing but carry no professional standing. Automated PDF reports typically cost a few hundred dollars and are unsigned. Fixed-fee professional reports start under $2,000 — Prismi's Essential tier is $1,495 + GST — while full-scope engagements at traditional firms generally run from around $2,000 up to $30,000 or more depending on complexity, and litigation or expert-witness work tends to sit at the top of that range or beyond it.
Are cheap online business valuations accurate?+
Accuracy is the wrong test — supportability is. A calculator can land near a sensible number and still be worthless for tax purposes, because there is no methodology, evidence or signature behind it. The ATO's market valuation guidance assesses the process that produced the value. An estimate with no process cannot be defended, however close it happens to be.
Will the ATO accept a low-cost business valuation?+
No valuation is 'ATO-approved' — the ATO does not pre-approve valuations at any price. What matters on review is whether the report documents an accepted methodology, the evidence relied on and the reasoning for the conclusion, and whether it was independently prepared. A low fee does not disqualify a report; a missing evidence trail does. Prismi's Essential reports are prepared to that documentation standard for straightforward matters.
Why is a fixed-fee online valuation so much cheaper than an accounting firm's?+
The difference is the delivery model, not the standard. An online, fixed-scope engagement carries no office overhead, no partner hourly billing and no scope creep — the scope and fee are fixed at engagement. The methodology, evidence documentation and senior review follow the same professional framework (IVS 104, ATO market valuation guidance) that a larger firm's report would. Where a matter genuinely needs more depth — disputes, contested positions, concession claims — the answer is a higher fixed tier, not an hourly engagement.
What is the cheapest way to get a business valuation that holds up?+
For a defensible outcome, the lowest-cost route is a fixed-fee, fixed-scope professional report from a provider that documents methodology and evidence and signs the result — in Prismi's case, from $1,495 + GST. Anything cheaper (calculators, automated reports) produces an estimate rather than a valuation, and estimates do not survive scrutiny when the value is questioned.
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