The headline numbers
- For books under $1 million, the median ask was 3.5x cash flow, and the bottom of the range was 1.2x. This is where most billing companies on the market sit: the median asking price across all 27 priced listings was $250,000. Owner-dependent books without signed, transferable contracts ask and trade at the bottom of the range, and the smallest books are often priced on revenue instead.
- Across all 11 listings that published both numbers, the median ask was 4.8x of stated cash flow (SDE, cash flow or EBITDA, as each listing defined it), running from 1.2x to 8.2x. The 6.0x medians live at $1 million and up, where businesses have staff, contracts and clients that stay without the owner.
- On revenue, the median ask was about 1.1x among the handful of listings that published revenue.
These are asking prices from public listings, not completed sale prices. Completed deals usually close below ask, cash flow definitions vary by listing, and 11 data points is a small sample. Use this as a sense of the market, not a valuation of your business.
The number that matters more: what you actually get paid
An asking price is the top-left corner of the deal, not the deal. Small billing company sales are rarely paid in full at closing. The usual structure is some cash on the day, a seller note paid over years, and an earnout that only pays if clients stay. In our own sample, one listing openly offered up to 50% seller financing. When most of the price is deferred or contingent, the seller is lending the buyer their own business and betting on the buyer's performance to collect the rest.
And most listed businesses never sell at all. Brokers themselves put it bluntly: about 4 in 5 advertised businesses do not sell, with industry figures suggesting only 10 to 20% of listed private companies sell in a given year. The businesses that do sell have historically closed near their asking price, and those two facts fit together: realistically priced books sell close to ask, and overpriced books don't sell at a discount. They just don't sell. Anchoring on the top of the multiple range doesn't get you a little less. It usually gets you nothing, for years.
That's why sellers should weigh the buyer as hard as the number. We've written up the full list of ways sellers get hurt, with the math, in the risks of selling your billing company. Things that go wrong in real deals, and are worth asking every buyer about before you compare prices:
- Many approaches go nowhere, and some aren't what they look like. Plenty of inquiries come from buyers who can't fund a deal, and some are competitors or platforms fishing for client lists and pricing. Sign a non-disclosure agreement before sharing anything, and ask for proof of funds before sharing much more.
- Buyers walk away in diligence. An offer is not a sale. Deals die over messy books, missing contracts and compliance gaps, often months in. Ask what the buyer still needs to confirm, and get your records in order first.
- Financed buyers lose their financing. A buyer who needs a loan to close can lose it late, and a buyer who loads the business with debt can struggle to run it. Ask for proof of funds and how the purchase is being financed.
- A seller note is only as good as the buyer behind it. If the buyer runs your clients badly, the earnout shrinks and the note can go unpaid. Clients leaving isn't only your problem after closing; it's how your deferred price disappears.
- Headline offers can be rebuilt downward. A high price with a thin cash portion and aggressive earnout targets can be worth less than a lower price paid mostly at closing. Compare offers on cash at close and realistic earnout cases, not the headline. Our guide to how earnouts work shows the math.