Business valuation online: audit and value your company
Upload your financial statements (PDF, Excel or CSV): Acontos’ AI analyses them, rebuilds your normalised EBITDA and applies your sector’s multiples. Then adjust the normalisations and parameters: the valuation recalculates live, and you receive a detailed PDF report.
Free and confidential. Indicative estimate, not an expert appraisal. Your documents are not kept beyond the analysis.
The Acontos simulator estimates the value of your company free of charge, based on your actual figures. It combines the methods used in professional valuation practice, trading multiples, transaction multiples, DCF, capitalised earnings value, the practitioners' method and substantial value, to produce an immediate, confidential and commitment-free indicative range. It is the recommended starting point before any discussion about a sale, a succession, a fundraising round or tax structuring.
Why estimate the value of your company?
An objective estimate serves three key moments in a business owner's life. Before a sale or a transfer, it sets a realistic benchmark against the offers you receive. During a fundraising round or a refinancing, it prepares the discussion with investors and lenders. And in wealth planning, it informs tax and succession decisions, where the value of the shares plays a central role in France as in Switzerland.
Many owners discover the value of their company only when a buyer shows up. That is the worst moment to learn it: without your own reference point, it is impossible to tell whether an offer is opportunistic or serious.
In which contexts should you use Acontos?
The online estimate is the first step of a broader process: the financial audit and due diligence that precede any structuring transaction. The valuation is designed for companies in European countries, France in particular, as well as Switzerland, whose specific practices and references (practitioners' method, tax value) are built in.
Transfer / Sale
Frame the expected price ahead of a sale or a family transfer, identify the weaknesses buyers will raise, and prepare for them through a vendor due diligence.
Acquisition
Assess a target before making an offer, calibrate the financing and negotiate on objective grounds: the reflex of any well-run buy-side process.
Fundraising
Objectify the pre-money valuation and prepare investor discussions on defensible grounds, ahead of a fundraising round.
Independent valuation
Obtain a neutral reference value for a shareholders' agreement, a dispute, a gift or tax purposes, secured where relevant by an advance tax ruling. See when to call an independent valuation expert.
Financial due diligence
Verify the quality of earnings, normalised EBITDA and actual indebtedness before committing: financial due diligence secures the price and the warranties.
Purchase Price Allocation (PPA)
After an acquisition, allocate the price paid to the identifiable assets (brands, technologies, customer relationships) in accordance with accounting standards: the PPA flows directly from the valuation.
How does the simulator work?
Enter your figures
Business activity, revenue, profitability, debt: enter your company's key data or upload your financial statements.
The engine computes
The tool applies the recognised valuation methods, drawing on real sector references.
Receive your range
You get an immediate indicative value range, followed by a detailed report by email.
Your data remains confidential and is never resold.
The six valuation methods used
The estimate combines the methods used by business valuation professionals in France and Switzerland:
Trading multiples
The trading multiples method compares your company with listed groups in the same sector, applying the discounts specific to unlisted SMEs.
Transaction multiples
The transaction multiples method relies on the prices actually paid in comparable deals, through the sector EV/EBITDA multiple.
DCF
The DCF method values the company's ability to generate future cash flows, discounted at the cost of capital.
Earnings value
The earnings value capitalises a normalised result (EBITDA) at the WACC, a direct reading of sustainable profitability.
Practitioners' method
The practitioners' method, the Swiss tax authorities' reference, weights earnings value and substantial value.
Substantial value
The substantial value measures the company's revalued net assets, relevant for asset-heavy structures.
To understand these methods in detail, read our guide How much is my business worth? and our reference publication on valuation approaches and methods.
From simulator to expert report: the Acontos ladder
Online simulator
A first order of magnitude
Declared figures, sector references
A few minutes
Personal reflection
Acontos valuation report
A documented analysis of your company
Restatements, explicit assumptions, substantiated range
A few days
Preparing a decision
Tailored support
Sale, fundraising, succession, tax
Due diligence, negotiation, execution
Depending on the transaction
Defensible in negotiations and vis-a-vis third parties
An online estimate provides a reliable order of magnitude to frame your thinking, but it remains indicative: it depends on the data entered and does not replace an analysis of your company's specifics (quality of earnings, dependence on the owner, litigation, off-balance-sheet items). For a transaction, a negotiation or tax purposes, a documented valuation by an independent expert remains the reference, defensible and opposable.
Frequently asked questions
Is the valuation simulator really free?
Yes. The online estimate and the indicative report are free and commitment-free. Only the in-depth services (detailed valuation report, review by a practitioner, advisory mandate) are paid, and you freely decide whether to use them after receiving your estimate.
How reliable is an online estimate?
The estimate relies on the methods used by professionals and on real sector references. It provides a relevant order of magnitude, but its precision depends on the data entered: it is a starting point, not a valuation that can be relied upon in a transaction or before the tax authorities.
Which valuation methods does the simulator use?
Six recognised methods: trading multiples, transaction multiples, DCF, earnings value (EBITDA capitalised at the WACC), the practitioners' method and substantial value. Combining these approaches frames the value as a range rather than a single figure, as professional valuers do.
Is my data confidential?
Yes. The information you enter is used only to compute your estimate and send you the report. It is neither resold nor shared with third parties, in line with our privacy policy.
What information should I prepare?
Have your latest annual accounts ready or, at a minimum, your revenue, your profitability (EBITDA or operating profit) and your net financial debt. The more precise the data, the tighter the value range.
How long does the estimate take?
A few minutes. Entering the key information is quick, the calculation is immediate and the indicative report is sent to you by email right after.
Which types of companies is the simulator suited to?
It is designed for French and Swiss SMEs and mid-caps, across all sectors, whether profitable or in an investment phase. For very specific situations (pre-revenue startups, dominant intangible assets, distressed companies), a tailored valuation is more appropriate.
What does the report received by email contain?
The indicative report presents the value range obtained, the methods applied, the main parameters used (profitability, debt, sector references) and the points of attention identified. It provides a clear basis for the next steps of your thinking.
Can I use the estimate in a negotiation or before the tax authorities?
No, not directly: the online estimate is indicative. For a negotiation, an equity transaction or tax purposes (gift, succession, advance tax ruling), you need a documented valuation report signed by an expert, which is precisely what the Acontos offering provides.
What should I do after the estimate?
Depending on your project: go deeper with an Acontos valuation report, prepare a sale or a transfer with a financial audit, or talk directly with our team to frame the intended transaction. The free estimate gives you the starting point; what follows depends on your timeline and objectives.