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Mike Mairs
The MDR 3-Point Advantage
The three things that decide whether a company sells for what it is worth.
3rd party formal valuations
Know what your company is worth before anyone makes you an offer
An accurate number is the starting point of every negotiation. A defensible one is what makes a buyer believe it.
Two ways in
A free range, or a formal valuation
The confidential snapshot costs nothing and takes a day. An accredited third-party valuation takes 10–14 business days and stands up in front of a lender, a court or the IRS.
Start with the free snapshot →or call (855) 637-2776
5.0 from 43 Google reviewsWhy a formal valuation
A figure is not an argument
A third-party valuation determines the true market value of your business — an appraisal of a specific asset on a specific date. Accuracy makes it useful. What makes it persuasive is the narrative behind it: how the conclusion was reached, and why a buyer should accept it.
To get your asking price, a prospective buyer has to believe the figure is close to airtight. That is what a formal valuation is for, and it is why an online calculator and a broker's opinion are not substitutes for one.
MDR & Associates' formal valuations meet the highest industry guidelines and are performed only by best-in-industry accredited appraisers.
What a formal valuation is used for
- Business assessment value
- Purchase price allocation
- Buyouts
- Dissenter's rights
- Estate and gift taxes
- Fairness opinions and fiduciaries
- Litigation
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Bankruptcy and reorganization
- Charitable contributions
- Employee stock ownership plans (ESOP)
- Equitable distribution
10–14
Business days from receiving the documents3
Years of tax returns and statements neededFree
Confidential valuation snapshot, before you commitWhat we need
The documents behind an accurate analysis
Financial statements
Interim profit and loss statement, interim balance sheet, and the last three years of both.
Tax returns
Three complete years of federal income tax returns for the entity.
The operating picture
Equipment and asset list, lease agreements, customer concentration, and the owner benefits that need adding back.
Every document you send is covered by confidentiality from the moment it arrives.
What moves the number
The factors buyers price, up and down
| Raises the value | Why it does |
|---|---|
| Organized, up-to-date financials | A clean line from invoice to general ledger to financial statements to tax return. Owner perks need a provable paper trail, or a buyer discounts them to zero. |
| Sales that grow year over year | Even 5% a year tells a completely different story than a flat or falling line. Lenders and buyers both react to the direction, not just the level. |
| Key people who stay | Buyers pay for continuity. Employees who know the operation, the products and the customers are part of what is being bought. |
| Recurring and contracted revenue | Revenue a buyer can count on next year is worth more than the same revenue won again from scratch. |
| A business that runs without you | The single largest discount we see applied is owner dependence. Reducing it is the highest-return work available before a sale. |
| Lowers the value | Why it does |
|---|---|
| Customer concentration | When one customer is a large share of revenue, a buyer prices the risk that the customer leaves with you. |
| Deferred maintenance and old equipment | Capital the buyer has to spend on day one comes off the price. |
| Financial records that do not reconcile | Anything that cannot be tied back to a tax return is treated as if it does not exist. |
| Falling or erratic earnings | A sale into a decline is read as a liquidation, and priced like one. |
| Leases, licenses and contracts that do not transfer | Anything that has to be renegotiated after closing is a reason to retrade the price. |
Most of these can be changed in twelve to twenty-four months. That work is what pre-exit consulting is.
Keep reading
Request a valuation
Ask for the number, confidentially
Tell us the company and roughly what it turns over. We will explain which kind of valuation fits, what it costs and how long it takes.
Proof, on camera
The people this actually happened to
Owners and advisors on film, by name, saying what the process was like.
Recent transactions
Companies we have taken to closing
Published by name, with the month each one closed. Very few firms in this industry do that.
Elite Landscape
August 2026The sale and the film
Edward M. Polk Associates
May 2026
Pest Control Business
April 2026
Smith Tool & Mfg.
January 2026The sale and the film
Alliance Mechanical Services
January 2026The sale and the film
North Texas Surveying
October 2025The sale and the film
Party Time Texas
February 2025
U-Fix-It Appliance Parts
August 2024The sale and the film
Apple Garage Doors
July 2024
Bohden Contracting Group
June 2024
Blooms Landcare
May 2024
Peterson's Landscape & Maintenance
January 2024The sale and the film