Valuations & Financial Modelling
Valuations, plans and forecasts built the way lenders, investors and buyers read them.
A business plan written for a lender is not a marketing document. It is a credit submission. Its purpose is to show a credit officer that the business understands its market, that the numbers hold together and that the debt can be serviced with room to spare, even if the first year disappoints.
Sapere Advisory prepares business plans and financial models to that standard. Every forecast is a full three-statement model, with income statement, balance sheet and cash flow linked and reconciled, built on assumptions we can explain line by line. The result is a document that speeds approvals rather than inviting questions.
The same discipline underpins our valuation work. Whether you are buying, selling, bringing in a partner, planning succession or simply want to know what the business is worth today, we provide a defensible view of value based on normalized earnings, comparable transactions and the financing a buyer could realistically obtain.
Valuations
Transaction valuations
What a business is worth to you as a buyer, or what the market will pay as a seller, with the risks and financing capacity priced in.
Shareholder and partner valuations
Value ranges for buy-outs, buy-ins, shareholder agreements and shotgun clauses, prepared so that both sides can rely on the method.
Succession and estate planning valuations
Supporting freezes, family transfers and reorganizations, coordinated with your tax advisors.
Financing and lender valuations
Enterprise and asset values presented in the form lenders use for loan-to-value and security assessment.
Formal reports
Where a Chartered Business Valuator report is required for tax, litigation or dispute purposes, we coordinate with a CBV and prepare the underlying analysis.
Business plans and financial models
Bank-ready business plans
Our standard eleven-section plan: executive summary, business and ownership, products and services, market and competition, marketing and sales, operations, management, financial history, financial projections, funding request and use of funds, and risk factors with mitigants.
CSBFL and BDC application packages
Plans and projections formatted to the requirements of the Canada Small Business Financing Program and BDC, including eligible asset schedules and quotes.
Three-statement financial models
Three-year monthly forecasts by default, with 24-month or five-year horizons where the purpose requires. Integrated income statement, balance sheet and cash flow, debt schedules, DSCR and leverage ratios.
Acquisition and buy-out models
Purchase price, financing structure, vendor notes and earn-outs, combined entity forecasts and returns analysis.
Franchise and multi-unit projections
Unit economics benchmarked to franchisor disclosure and comparable locations, with ramp-up, royalty and fee schedules built in.
Real estate and combined facility models
Owner-occupied property purchases modeled alongside the operating business, with commercial and mortgage debt tested together.
Sensitivity and scenario analysis
Downside, base and upside cases showing what happens to coverage and liquidity when sales, margins or rates move.
Investor and internal planning models
Budgets, multi-year strategic plans and board-level models for businesses that need a forecasting discipline beyond the bank.
Our standards
Lender-grade assumptions
Every driver is documented with its source and rationale, from pricing and volume to labour, rent, capital expenditure and collection terms.
Underwriting tests built in
Debt service coverage is tested at the 1.25x threshold most Canadian lenders apply, alongside loan-to-value, leverage and liquidity metrics.
Reconciled statements
The balance sheet balances, cash ties to the cash flow statement and opening balances tie to your most recent financial statements.
Canadian accounting basis
Projections are prepared on a basis consistent with ASPE so that they reconcile to the compilation or review engagement statements your lender will compare them to.
Built to be maintained
Models are delivered in Excel with clear input, calculation and output sections so your team or your accountant can update them.
Industries we model often
We model financials across a wide range of Canadian sectors:
- Quick-service restaurants
- Full-service restaurants
- Franchise systems
- Logistics & transportation
- Wholesale distribution
- Retail
- Automotive & tire services
- Medical & aesthetic clinics
- Manufacturing
- Professional services
- Owner-occupied commercial real estate
If your industry is not listed, the discipline is the same and we will benchmark it properly.
Common questions.
Quick answers about valuations & financial modelling, based on current Canadian tax and accounting rules.
How long does a business plan and model take?
Can I use the plan for more than one lender?
What if my projections show the business cannot service the debt?
Need a plan a lender will take seriously?
Send us a summary of the business and the financing you are seeking, and we will scope the plan and model within one business day.
Related advisory services
Capital Advisory
Term loans, operating lines, equipment and real estate financing, CSBFL and BDC programs, acquisition and growth capital. We prepare the credit package, run a competitive lender process and negotiate the terms, acting only for the borrower.
Deal Advisory
Buy-side and sell-side support for owner-managed businesses: target assessment, financial due diligence, deal structuring, acquisition financing and closing.
CFO Advisory
Senior finance leadership on a fractional basis: monthly reporting, budgeting, lender reporting and board-level analysis without a full-time hire.