Four Reasons to Seek a Business Appraisal

You probably know that a business appraisal is a necessary step when selling or purchasing a company, and valuations are required in any merger and acquisition scenario. Appraisals can also be helpful outside of M&A environments, especially if you’re dealing with personal or business legal matters.
 

Appraisals for Estate Planning

Your business interests and ownership are part of your estate, so it’s important to know the current value of that ownership when you create wills and other documents. Business values change over time, and hopefully you will begin your estate planning early enough that your business has time to grow in value over the years. Starting with a baseline lets you estimate for future planning purposes, and it doesn’t hurt to repeat business appraisals from time to time to update your estate plans.
 

Appraisals for Gifting

Tax burdens are often heavy for business owners, which is why many take advantage of tax-free gifting. Gifts may help reduce your tax bill now, and they can definitely reduce the amount your heirs must pay on your estate later. Instead of gifting cash, business owners may want to provide children with shares in a company. To understand how many shares can be gifted each year without going over federal gift exemptions, you have to understand both the value of your business and the value of each share.
 

Litigation-Based Appraisals

Business owners involved in litigation of any type should not only understand the value of their business, but they must also understand the value of various assets owned by the company. Equipment appraisals and overall business appraisals can provide this information, which might be required by courts if a civil settlement, bankruptcy or other financial procedure is occurring. Working with an appraiser that you hire also lets you question third-party appraisals done by professionals working on behalf of individuals or organizations on the other side of the litigation.
 

Appraisals for Business Planning

Strong business planners don’t need a specific reason to seek an appraisal. The ancient Greeks cautioned each other to “know thyself,” and that maxim is a good one for businesses today. If you don’t understand what your business and assets are truly worth, you can’t make data-backed decisions about capital investments, hiring, expanding or taking on credit. Without an accurate and current appraisal, you make those decisions blind, putting yourself on a dangerous balance beam between solvency and possible bankruptcy.
 

 

EquipNet offers a variety of appraisal services to meet your current valuation needs and help you plan for the future. EquipNet appraisals include equipment and machinery valuations, real estate and deconstruction appraisals, inventory appraisals, broker price opinions, general business appraisals and much more.
Contact EquipNet Appraisals for a free quote: (781)746-2797
 
 

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