What to send for an agency valuation, by agency type.
The core documents every valuation needs, the extra records for each kind of agency, and how to prepare them so work can start sooner. Fixed fees from $1,495 + GST.
For any agency valuation, send three years of financial statements and tax returns, year-to-date management accounts, revenue split by client and income type, a staff list with roles and pay, owner and related-party costs, and the contracts behind the recurring income. Then add the records for your agency type: a rent roll export and trust account audit reports for a property business, an income register by insurer or lender for a broking book, retainers and client contracts for a marketing agency. Fees start at $1,495 + GST for revenue under $2 million, and delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.
What does every agency valuation need?
Whatever kind of agency you run, the valuation rests on the same base: what the business has earned, what it will keep earning at market cost, and who holds the relationships behind that income.
- ·Financial statements and tax returns for the last three financial years.
- ·Management accounts (profit and loss and balance sheet) for the current year to date, as close to the valuation date as you can get them.
- ·Revenue split by income type (recurring, one-off, pass-through) and by client, with your largest clients identified.
- ·A staff list showing role, start date, salary or wage, any profit share or equity, and who holds the main client relationships.
- ·Owner and related-party items: what each owner draws, related-party rent, family members on the payroll and personal costs run through the business.
- ·Key contracts: the office lease, client and supplier agreements, network or franchise agreements and any licences the business trades under.
- ·Ownership details: the entity structure, share or unit register and any shareholder, partnership or unitholder agreement.
- ·The purpose of the valuation and the date it must speak to.
What extra records does each type of agency need?
Each agency type earns in its own way, so each needs its own data. If a record below does not exist in your business, tell us; it may not apply.
| Agency type | Extra records to send |
|---|---|
| Real estate agency or residential rent roll | Rent roll export by property (owner, management fee, rent, start date), sample of signed management agreements, gains and losses for the last 24 months, letting and leasing fee history, trust account audit reports. |
| Commercial rent roll | Lease schedule with expiry dates, management agreements, fee basis for each property, list of properties owned by the largest landlords. |
| Holiday rental rent roll | Booking income by property for three years, owner agreements, cleaning and linen recoveries, channel costs. |
| Strata management business | List of schemes with agreement term and fee, disbursement and other income, renewal history, licensed staff per portfolio. |
| Buyers agency | Fee schedule, client engagements in progress, completed purchases by month, referral sources. |
| Insurance brokerage | Income register by insurer and class of business, client list with renewal dates, brokerage and fee income split, licence or authorised representative details, client retention history. |
| Underwriting agency | Binder or authority agreements with each insurer, premium by class, profit share terms, claims performance reports. |
| Mortgage broking book | Loan book by lender (balance, settlement date), trail income history, clawback history, aggregator agreement, credit licence or credit representative details. |
| Financial advice practice | Register of ongoing fee arrangements, revenue by client segment, licensee or authorised representative agreement, list of advisers and their client allocations. |
| Marketing, digital or creative agency | Retainer contracts with terms, project pipeline, revenue by client, contractor and freelancer costs, account ownership by staff member. |
| Recruitment agency | Placement revenue by client, contract and temporary payroll with margin, terms of business, guarantee and refund history. |
| Labour hire business | State labour hire licence and conditions, host client agreements, worker payroll and on-costs, margin by client. |
| Travel agency | Booking income and supplier income by supplier, corporate client contracts, any network membership agreement. |
| Customs broker or freight forwarder | Revenue split between brokerage, freight margin and other services, revenue by client, carrier and agent agreements, licence details. |
Why do trust account audits and licences matter?
Money held in trust belongs to clients, so it is never part of an agency's value. The audit reports still matter, because they are independent evidence of how the business has been run, and an unresolved finding is a risk a buyer will price. Each state sets its own timing, so send the most recent reports for your state.
For brokerages, mortgage books and advice practices, the licence matters the same way. ASIC's professional registers show financial services and credit licensees and their representatives, so we confirm the licence your income depends on.
| State or territory | Trust account audit timing, as the regulator describes it |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | Year ending 30 June; audit submitted by 30 September (NSW Fair Trading). |
| Victoria | 1 July to 30 June; audit within 3 months after 30 June, copy lodged through myCAV (Consumer Affairs Victoria). |
| Queensland | Audited every year; report lodged within 4 months after the audit period ends (Office of Fair Trading). |
| Western Australia | 1 January to 31 December; report due by 31 March (Consumer Protection). |
| Australian Capital Territory | Financial year; records audited by 30 September (Access Canberra). |
| Tasmania | 12 months ending 30 June; audited within 3 months after the year ends (Property Agents and Land Transactions Regulations 2017). |
| South Australia | Send the most recent trust account audit report your auditor issued. |
How should revenue data be prepared?
Most of the work in an agency valuation sits in the revenue data, so a clean export saves days. Aim for the following.
- ·Export straight from your system into a spreadsheet rather than retyping figures.
- ·Cover the same periods as the financial statements, so the data reconciles to the accounts.
- ·Use one row per property, client or loan, with a consistent identifier across years.
- ·Mark income as recurring, one-off or pass-through, and flag anything gained or lost during the period.
- ·Replace client names with codes if you prefer, as long as the codes stay the same across every file.
What if a document does not exist or cannot be shared?
Tell us at the start. Some agencies have never split revenue by client, and some contracts are confidential. Often there is another way to get the same evidence. Where there is not, the report states the limitation and how it affects the conclusion, rather than filling the gap with an assumption no one can test.
The ATO's guidance on market valuations says the person engaging a valuer should give clear instructions and accurate information, grant access to the records needed, and recognise that the valuer can refuse to provide a report without the information and explanations they need.
When does the delivery clock start?
The fee is set by the annual revenue of what is valued: a rent roll's annual management income, a book's annual recurring income, or the whole agency's total annual turnover. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received. A past valuation date adds $495 + GST per date, and each additional entity adds $795 + GST.
| Package | Annual revenue of what is valued | Fee | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Business Valuation | Under $2 million | $1,495 + GST | 2 business days |
| Medium Business Valuation | $2 million to $3 million | $2,495 + GST | 3 business days |
| Large Business Valuation | $3 million to $10 million | $3,495 + GST | 3 business days |
| Over $10 million | Above $10 million | Quoted in writing before work starts | Agreed before commencement |
| Expert report (dispute or court) | Any size | $4,495 + GST | Agreed before commencement |
- ·Market valuation of assets, Australian Taxation Office
- ·Professional registers search, ASIC
- ·Real estate trust accounts and audit requirements, NSW Government (NSW Fair Trading)
- ·Auditing estate agents trust accounts, Consumer Affairs Victoria
- ·Trust account audits for the property industry, Queensland Government (Office of Fair Trading)
- ·Real Estate and Business Agent audit requirements, Consumer Protection, Government of Western Australia
- ·Licensing for business, real estate and stock and station agents, Access Canberra, ACT Government
- ·Property Agents and Land Transactions Regulations 2017 (Tas), regulations 30 and 31, Tasmanian Legislation
Common questions.
Do you need tax returns as well as financial statements?+
Yes, for the last three years where they exist. They confirm the figures in the financial statements and show items, such as owner pay and related-party payments, that the valuation adjusts to market.
Can I remove client names from the data I send?+
Yes. Replace names with codes, as long as each client or property keeps the same code across every file and every year. The valuation needs to see concentration, tenure and movement, not identities.
How far back should the data go?+
Three financial years plus the current year to date is the usual base. For a holiday rental rent roll, three full seasons of booking income gives a fairer picture than one year. For a recent acquisition, send what exists and the records of the business you bought.
What if the valuation date is in the past?+
Send the records as they stood at that date, such as the rent roll or client list at the time and the accounts for the years before it. A retrospective valuation date adds $495 + GST per date to the fixed fee.
Do you need trust account bank statements?+
Not usually. Trust money belongs to clients and is not part of the value. The audit reports, and any matters the auditor raised, are what the valuation reads to judge how the rent roll has been run.
How do I get started?+
Use the enquiry form on this site. We confirm the fee band and the document list for your agency type before work starts, and delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.
Talk to a valuer
Tell us what you need valued.
A short call confirms the package, the fixed fee and the delivery date for your agency, rent roll or book, before you commit to anything.
0433 475 518Mon to Fri, 9am to 5:30pm Melbourne time
Send the form and we reply with the package and fixed fee. No documents needed to start.
Small Business Valuation
$1,495 + GST
For an agency, rent roll or book with annual revenue of what is valued under $2 million. A written report, delivered in 2 business days. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received. The fee is fixed in writing before we start and never tied to the value we reach.
Larger agency or book? Tell us in the form and we recommend the right package. All fees