Business Valuation Software for Accountants, CPAs, Financial Advisors and Business Brokers
What a US practice actually needs when it values client businesses for a fee, what each product on the shortlist costs, and how many billed engagements it takes to pay for the software.
Estimated business value
Method breakdown
What moves this number
Estimate, not a certified appraisal. Your figures are not stored.
In short
US accounting and advisory practices split their valuation stack in two. Formal work runs on practitioner report software, most often ValuSource at $1,465 a year for a single seat or ValuAdder at $375 one time, paired with a comparable transaction database such as DealStats at $1,499 a year. Triage and scoping run on a fast self-serve estimator from around $29 a month. Advisor platforms such as BizEquity and Valutico do not publish pricing and require a quote. The arithmetic that matters is cost per engagement: against NACVA's commonly reported fee bands of $1,500 to $8,000 for a calculation engagement and $5,000 to $15,000 for a valuation engagement, a single ValuSource seat pays for itself on one engagement a year, and the data subscription, not the software, is usually the larger line.
The requirement
A practitioner buys different software than an owner does
Defensibility
The number leaves your office with your name on it. That means documented method selection, working papers, and an audit trail a reviewer or opposing expert can follow.
Report output
A client is paying for a deliverable, not a screen. Report writing is the feature that separates practitioner software from an estimator, and it is where most of the licence fee goes.
Comparable data
Market approach work needs real closed transactions. DealStats lists 29,300+ acquired companies at up to 149 data points each and runs $1,499 a year, BIZCOMPS $729 for 17,655+ deals across 550+ industries. This is a separate subscription from the software.
Throughput
Most of an engagement is document collection and normalization. Anything that shortens scoping, triage and the first conversation with the client compounds across every file you open.
The comparison
Valuation software a US practice would actually shortlist
| Product | Category | Best for | What it produces | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ValuSource | Practitioner report software | CPAs and credentialed appraisers producing a standards compliant conclusion of value | Full working papers, report writer, model control, industry data | $135/mo or $1,465/yr single user. Titanium data alone $330/mo, or $465/mo bundled with the software |
| ValuAdder | Practitioner desktop software | Brokers, CPAs and appraisers who want worksheet control without a subscription | Income, market and asset approach worksheets, printable report | $375 one time. Report Builder $185, bundles $504 to $675 |
| BizEquity | Advisor platform | Financial advisors, banks and insurers putting a branded number in front of a client | Algorithmic report at a reported ~143 data points, advisor branded | Not published. Sold through advisors and institutions, self-serve discontinued |
| Valutico | Advisory platform | Corporate finance and advisory teams running many methods on one engagement | 28 techniques, transaction and trading comparables, exportable analysis | Not published. Quote based, positioned at firms rather than individuals |
| Businessappraisal (us) | Fast estimate, self-serve | The first-pass number before you scope an engagement, and client triage | Revenue multiple, SDE or EBITDA multiple and DCF, triangulated to a range | From $29/mo, published, month to month, no annual commitment |
| Eqvista | Startup and 409A | Firms whose clients are venture backed and need a 409A rather than an SDE number | Analyst prepared 409A, cap table and waterfall modeling | Published, from $990/yr by stage, cap table free under 20 stakeholders |
| Peak Business Valuation | Outsourced engagement | Practices that would rather refer the appraisal out than staff it | Credentialed appraisal engagement (ABV, CVA, ASA, CFA) | Typically $2,500 to $8,000+, quoted upfront, 5 to 20 business days |
We build one of these products, so read the table with that in mind. Everything stated about the others comes from their own published materials, and where a vendor does not publish a price the row says so rather than carry a guess. Vendors change pricing, so verify before you buy. Last updated August 2026.
Our analysis
How many billed engagements pay for the software
Software cost is the wrong number to compare across vendors, because a practice does not buy seats, it bills engagements. The useful figure is how many files the licence has to appear on before it has paid for itself. The two columns below run the vendor's own published annual cost against the low end of each NACVA fee band: $1,500 for a calculation engagement, $5,000 for a valuation engagement.
| Product | Annual cost | Engagements to break even at $1,500 | Engagements to break even at $5,000 | Cost per engagement at volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Businessappraisal | $348 | Under 1 | Under 1 | $3.48 per engagement at 100/yr |
| ValuAdder (one time) | $375, once | Under 1 | Under 1 | Amortizes to near zero after year one |
| ValuSource single user | $1,465/yr, or $1,620 paid monthly | 1 | Under 1 | $14.65 per engagement at 100/yr |
| ValuSource + Titanium data | $5,120 | 4 | 2 | $51.20 per engagement at 100/yr |
| Eqvista (409A, by stage) | $990 to $2,590 | 1 to 2 | Under 1 | Priced per company, not per seat |
| DealStats (comparable data) | $1,499 | 1 | Under 1 | Day pass $529 if you file rarely |
| MoneySoft BV Specialist | $795 first year, $595 renewal | 1 | Under 1 | Windows desktop, single user |
| BizEquity | Not published | n/a | n/a | Quote required before you can model it |
| Valutico | Not published | n/a | n/a | Quote required before you can model it |
The conclusion most practices reach when they run this is that the software line is close to irrelevant and the data line is not. A single ValuSource seat clears its cost on the first engagement of the year. Add the Titanium data subscription and the annual bill goes to $5,120, which needs four calculation engagements or two valuation engagements before it earns anything. If your practice opens four valuation files a year, the honest answer is to buy transaction data per report rather than by subscription.
Arithmetic on published inputs. Fee bands are NACVA's commonly reported US ranges for a calculation engagement ($1,500 to $8,000) and a valuation engagement ($5,000 to $15,000), not a quote from us. Rows for vendors that publish no price carry n/a rather than an invented figure.
The engagement
Calculation of value and conclusion of value are different products
| Dimension | Calculation engagement | Valuation engagement |
|---|---|---|
| Output | Calculated value | Conclusion of value |
| Procedures | Only those agreed with the client | All the appraiser judges necessary |
| Common US fee | $1,500 to $8,000 | $5,000 to $15,000 |
| Typical turnaround | Under 10 business days | Up to 20 business days |
| Report type allowed | Calculation report only | Detailed or summary report |
| Weight with a court | May be given less weight | The defensible option |
| Sells well for | Planning, internal decisions, price expectations | Financing, estate and gift, litigation, ESOP |
Two reporting rules in AICPA VS Section 100 catch firms out. A detailed report may never be used for a calculation engagement, and a calculation report must never describe its result as a conclusion of value, because that term is reserved for valuation engagements. The calculation report also has to carry mandated language stating that the engagement did not include all the procedures a valuation engagement requires and that the result may have differed if it had. Software that lets you pick the wrong template is a real exposure. Beyond that, most practices lose money by scoping the wrong one. A client who says they want to know what the business is worth before they talk to a broker is buying a calculation engagement, and quoting them $12,000 loses the work. A client whose lender has already asked for an independent valuation cannot use a calculated value, and selling them one wastes both parties' time. Getting that call right in the first ten minutes is worth more than any feature on the comparison table above.
The workflow
Where a fast estimate fits in a billed engagement
01
Triage the enquiry
Run the client's headline revenue and earnings through a three-method estimate before the scoping call. You walk in knowing whether this is a $400,000 business or a $4,000,000 one, which decides the engagement type and the fee.
02
Scope and quote
Match the engagement to the use. Planning and price expectations are a calculation engagement. Financing, estate and gift, litigation or an ESOP need a conclusion of value and a credential behind it.
03
Do the work properly
Normalize the financials, select methods, pull comparable transactions, document every judgment. This is where practitioner software earns its licence and where an estimator has nothing to offer.
04
Manage expectations early
The hardest conversation is the one where the owner's number and the market's number are far apart. Having shown a benchmarked range at step one makes step four a discussion rather than an argument.
By practice type
The shortlist changes with the practice
Accounting and CPA firms
You already hold the client's financials, which is the expensive part of every engagement. Adding valuation is mostly a credentialing and report-production problem. Buy practitioner software with a report writer, add transaction data per report until volume justifies a subscription, and use a fast estimator to scope. If you value your own practice too, the ranges in our accounting firm valuation page apply.
Accounting firm valuation multiplesBusiness brokers
Most broker work is an opinion of value to set a listing price, not an appraisal. Speed and comparable sales matter more than working papers, and a one-time desktop licence usually covers it. When a buyer needs SBA financing the lender will want an independent valuation, which you refer out rather than sign.
Business valuation for an SBA loanFinancial advisors and wealth teams
The value here is the conversation, not the report. A branded number in front of a business-owner client opens succession, insurance and exit planning work. That is the market BizEquity was built for, and the reason it sells through institutions rather than self-serve.
BizEquity comparedM&A advisors and boutique banks
You need many methods on one engagement and defensible comparable evidence, and you are usually valuing larger companies on EBITDA rather than SDE. Platform tools aimed at corporate finance teams fit; owner-facing estimators do not.
EBITDA multiples by industryThe limit
What our tool does not do for a practice
Businessappraisal does not produce a standards compliant valuation report, and it is not a substitute for your credential. There are no working papers, no method selection memo, and nothing a reviewer could tie out. If you are signing the number, you need practitioner software and the process behind it, and this page has told you which products do that.
What it does is remove the guesswork from the first ten minutes. Three methods run on the same set of numbers, a revenue multiple, an SDE or EBITDA multiple and a discounted cash flow, and the answer comes back as a range benchmarked against what comparable US businesses actually sold for. That is enough to scope an engagement correctly, to tell a client early that their expectation is 40% above the market, and to decide whether a file is worth opening at all. For the underlying benchmarks we publish the same business valuation multiples by industry we run on, and the SDE multiples by industry behind the small-business end of it.
We would rather say that plainly than sell a practice something it cannot use. If the fast estimate is all you need, it is $29 a month. If you need a report with your signature on it, buy ValuAdder or ValuSource and use us for triage.
Questions
What practitioners ask before they buy
What software do CPAs use for business valuation?
CPA firms doing formal work typically run practitioner software that produces working papers and a standards compliant report, most commonly ValuSource or ValuAdder, alongside a comparable transaction database such as DealStats at $1,499 a year or BIZCOMPS at $729. Firms that only need a fast first-pass number to scope an engagement use a self-serve estimator instead, because report software is overkill for triage.
How much does business valuation software cost for an accounting firm?
Practitioner report software runs $1,465 a year for a single ValuSource seat, or $375 one time for ValuAdder. Comparable transaction data is a separate subscription, with DealStats at $1,499 a year and BIZCOMPS at $729, and is usually the larger line. Self-serve estimating tools start around $29 a month. Advisor platforms like BizEquity and Valutico are quote based and do not publish pricing.
Is a calculation of value the same as a conclusion of value?
No. Under NACVA standards a calculation engagement applies agreed procedures and produces a calculated value, commonly billed at $1,500 to $8,000. A valuation engagement applies all procedures the appraiser judges necessary and produces a conclusion of value, commonly $5,000 to $15,000. Courts and lenders may give a calculated value less weight.
Can accountants charge for business valuations?
Yes, and it is one of the better margin advisory services a US practice can add. The constraint is credentialing and independence, not permission. A CVA, ABV or ASA credential is what makes the report defensible, and independence rules limit valuing an attest client where the result is material to the financial statements.
Do I need a valuation credential to use business valuation software?
Not to run the software, but you need one for the report to carry weight. Software will produce a number for anyone. A lender, a judge or the IRS is relying on the credential and the documented process behind it, which is why the same spreadsheet output is worth very different amounts depending on who signed it.
What is the best business valuation software for business brokers?
Brokers usually want speed and comparable sales rather than a full appraisal file, because most broker work is an opinion of value used to set a listing price. ValuAdder covers that at $375 one time, and ValuTrax sells a broker-specific pricing tool at $29 a month. Where the seller needs a defensible number for financing, brokers refer out to a credentialed appraiser rather than sign it themselves.
How long does a business valuation take?
A calculation engagement commonly delivers in under ten business days once the financials are in hand, and a full valuation engagement up to twenty. Most of that clock is document collection and normalization, not modeling, which is why firms that triage with a fast estimate first tend to scope more accurately.
Last updated August 2026
Product comparisons
Scope the next engagement in ten minutes
Run the client's numbers through three methods before the scoping call and walk in knowing the range. An educational estimate, not a certified appraisal.