I haven't sold anything yet, but I went through the exercise of getting rough valuations on some of my sites. Two are content sites that generate revenue via ads, and one is a site that sells yearly software licenses to a WooCommerce extension (WP plugin that extends WooCommerce). So, none are true SaaS businesses.
Generally speaking, based on what I've seen, valuations are not always on ARR or forward ARR. They are based on a multiple of monthly Profit (not gross revenue). You can get valuation ranges based on ARR, but your final sale price may be based on a multiple of monthly or yearly profit.
I've seen ranges that go from 15x to 45x+ monthly profit. Seems like it depends on the perceived growth opportunity -- the bigger the perceived opportunity for growth, the higher the multiple.
That said, I have seen a good amount of info suggesting that SaaS business valuations can be based purely on ARR (top line revenue, not profit).
I haven't sold anything yet, but I went through the exercise of getting rough valuations on some of my sites. Two are content sites that generate revenue via ads, and one is a site that sells yearly software licenses to a WooCommerce extension (WP plugin that extends WooCommerce). So, none are true SaaS businesses.
Generally speaking, based on what I've seen, valuations are not always on ARR or forward ARR. They are based on a multiple of monthly Profit (not gross revenue). You can get valuation ranges based on ARR, but your final sale price may be based on a multiple of monthly or yearly profit.
I've seen ranges that go from 15x to 45x+ monthly profit. Seems like it depends on the perceived growth opportunity -- the bigger the perceived opportunity for growth, the higher the multiple.
That said, I have seen a good amount of info suggesting that SaaS business valuations can be based purely on ARR (top line revenue, not profit).
You may want to look at these articles:
https://empireflippers.com/saas-company-valuation-multiples-metrics/
https://feinternational.com/blog/saas-metrics-value-saas-business/
https://www.kalungi.com/blog/saas-valuations
https://resources.microacquire.com/how-to-correctly-estimate-the-value-your-saas-startup/
Here's a SaaS valuation calculator from microacquire:
https://resources.microacquire.com/saas-valuation-calculator/
Lastly, you may also find some helpful information in this IH group:
https://www.indiehackers.com/group/website-investing
Hope the info is helpful.
Wow @iammike thanks a lot for taking the time to write all this useful info!