Start with the economic base
For SaaS business, valuation usually begins with a normalized economic measure such as ARR, revenue, EBITDA or seller earnings depending on scale and buyer type. The goal is to understand recurring owner economics rather than one unusually strong or weak month.
Normalization should be conservative and traceable to source records.
Understand the quality drivers
- ARR or MRR growth
- Net and gross retention
- Gross margin
- Customer diversification
- Efficient acquisition and low support burden
Translate quality into a range
Multiples and comparable transactions are useful as market context, not as a promise. A stronger business can justify a stronger multiple because a buyer expects more durable cash flow or lower execution risk.
Use a range and document the assumptions that would move the business toward the low or high end.
Apply risk discounts deliberately
- High churn
- One customer representing too much revenue
- Founder-only sales or engineering
- Technical debt and security issues
- Expensive infrastructure or support
Check against the market
Compare current marketplace evidence where possible, but match for business model, scale, growth and quality. An asking price is not the same as a completed-sale price.
If you are preparing to sell, the valuation should flow into a realistic asking strategy and a list of improvements that could strengthen buyer confidence.