A main-street business in Vermont typically sells for 1.5 to 2.5 times the owner's true annual earnings. Vermont adds a ten-day bulk-sale notice, town-level liquor approval, and enforceable sale covenants to the process. None of them are hard if you know they are coming.
Your tax returns almost always prove a higher number.
Upload three years of tax returns, about 15 minutes of your time. A real person reads every page and your package is delivered within 48 hours. If your package isn't right, you don't pay: full refund any time before we deliver, and after delivery we fix the numbers or refund you.
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| Business type | Revenue multiple | Owner-earnings (SDE) multiple |
|---|---|---|
| Hair salon / Barbershop | 0.35 to 0.65 times yearly revenue | 1.5 to 2.5 times owner earnings |
| Cleaning service | 0.5 to 0.9 times yearly revenue | 1.8 to 2.8 times owner earnings |
| Landscaping / Lawn care | 0.45 to 0.85 times yearly revenue | 1.8 to 2.8 times owner earnings |
| Restaurant / Cafe | 0.25 to 0.45 times yearly revenue | 1.3 to 2.2 times owner earnings |
| Auto repair / Detailing | 0.4 to 0.75 times yearly revenue | 1.9 to 3.1 times owner earnings |
| Retail shop | 0.3 to 0.6 times yearly revenue | 1.8 to 3 times owner earnings |
| Other service business | 0.35 to 0.7 times yearly revenue | 1.5 to 2.5 times owner earnings |
Vermont's bulk-sale law requires your buyer to notify the Commissioner of Taxes in writing at least ten days before taking possession of the assets or paying you, whichever happens first. The notice lists the price and terms. A buyer who fails to send it inherits your outstanding business tax liability, which is exactly why every buyer's lawyer in Vermont sends it.
If the Department of Taxes sees a possible claim against you, it can require money to be parked in escrow until the claim is resolved. The way to keep your full price moving at closing is to bring every trust tax current before the notice goes out, especially meals and rooms tax and sales tax.
Vermont has no statute that voids a non-compete signed as part of selling a business. Courts weigh whether the restriction is reasonable in length and territory, and they give real weight to a covenant that protected the goodwill a buyer just paid for. Assume the agreement means what it says. Before you sign, spend one flat-fee session with a licensed Vermont attorney, payable from the sale money if needed.
In Vermont, the selectboard doubles as the local liquor control commission. A restaurant buyer applying for a first-class license, or a third-class license for spirits, needs that local approval before the Division of Liquor Control will finish processing the application. Applications go through the state's online portal, and the full process typically takes two to six weeks once everything is submitted.
Licenses do not ride along with the sale, so your buyer applies as a new licensee. Get them started on the portal and onto the selectboard's agenda before closing so the bar or dining room never sits dark waiting on paperwork.
Dig out three years of business tax returns before anything else. Nearly every small deal in Vermont closes with a seller note or an SBA loan behind it, and SBA lenders will not move without three years of returns. Run your free estimate below and lock in a documented number before you float a price.
Most main-street businesses sell for 1.5 to 2.5 times the owner's true yearly earnings, or their replacement value, whichever is higher and can be proven. True earnings means salary plus profit plus the personal things the business pays for. Most owners forget those add-backs count, so most owners guess low.
SBA lenders require three years of business tax returns to finance a buyer. Three years also shows a trend, not a snapshot. We saw a salon whose latest year looked like decline. Three years proved it was one expensive staffing year, and that was worth tens of thousands on her price. Fewer years looks like hiding. More rarely changes the number.
No. YourBizWorth is not a broker, appraiser, or law firm. We prepare your analysis and drafts. We flag exactly which steps need a licensed attorney, usually one flat-fee engagement at closing, often payable from the sale money. We make the lawyer cheaper, not absent.