Pricing

What a startup valuation costs

Three published fees, set by your company's structure and the purpose of the valuation, not by turnover.

Our start-up rates

Which tier fits

Does the valuation involve ESS, SAFEs or convertible notes, or more than one share class?
Is the company’s value in dispute or heading to court?

Tell us your purpose and cap table and we will confirm the tier and the fee in writing before any work begins.

Simple start-up valuation
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Nothing starts until you accept it.

Standard start-up valuation
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Dispute or court expert report
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Nothing starts until you accept it.

  • Simple start-up valuation

    A company with one share class and no SAFEs, convertible notes or ESS.

    $1,995 + GST

    Delivery: agreed before commencement. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

    • The signed valuation
    • The company’s DCF model
    Request a valuation

    Nothing starts until you accept it.

  • Standard start-up valuation

    ESS work, SAFEs or convertible notes, several share classes, or option-pool modelling.

    $3,495 + GST

    Delivery: agreed before commencement. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

    • The signed valuation
    • The company’s DCF model
    Request a valuation

    Nothing starts until you accept it.

  • Dispute or court expert report

    A start-up matter in dispute or heading to court.

    $4,495 + GST

    Delivery: agreed before commencement. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

    • The expert report
    • Prepared for the court process
    • A declaration of independence and conflicts
    Request a valuation

    Nothing starts until you accept it.

The fee that applies is agreed with you before we start and does not depend on the value we conclude.

Add-ons

Retrospective valuation date+$495 + GST per date

Additional entity+$795 + GST per additional entity

Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

The tier follows the company’s structure and the purpose of the valuation: an ESS grant is a Standard start-up valuation, and a transfer in a one-class company with no SAFEs, notes or ESS may be a Simple one.

In short

A start-up valuation costs $1,995 + GST for a Simple start-up valuation (one share class, no SAFEs, convertible notes or ESS), $3,495 + GST for a Standard start-up valuation (ESS work, SAFEs or notes, several share classes), or $4,495 + GST for a dispute or court expert report. Both start-up tiers include the signed valuation report and the company's own discounted cash flow (DCF) model. The delivery date is agreed with you before commencement. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

Last updated 28 September 2026

01Which tier fits

What are the three start-up fee tiers?

The tier is set by your company's structure and the purpose of the valuation, not by which page you found us on.

Which tier fits
Simple start-up valuationStandard start-up valuationDispute or court expert report
Covers
One share class and no SAFEs, convertible notes or ESSNot includedNot included
ESS workNot includedNot included
SAFEs or convertible notesNot includedNot included
Several share classesNot includedNot included
Option-pool modellingNot includedNot included
A start-up matter in dispute or heading to courtNot includedNot included
Includes
The signed valuationNot included
The company’s DCF modelNot included
The expert reportNot includedNot included
Delivery
Agreed before commencement
Fee$1,995 + GST$3,495 + GST$4,495 + GST

Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

An ESS grant is always a Standard start-up valuation; a transfer in a one-class company with no SAFEs, convertible notes or ESS may be Simple. We confirm which tier applies, and the fee, before we start.

Financial-reporting fair value work, such as an AASB 2 option value or an AASB 13 fair value, is a different basis from market value for tax 1. It is offered, but scoped and quoted separately from the three tiers above.

02What's included

What do the Simple and Standard tiers include?

Both tiers cover two deliverables: the signed valuation report, and the company's own discounted cash flow model, built from your budget, forecast and milestone plan rather than a generic template with the numbers swapped in. The company's own DCF model is delivered with the report. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

The fee that applies is agreed with you before we start and does not depend on the value we conclude.

The detail and sources

Where the engagement supports the employee share scheme start-up concession, that same modelling work also feeds Method One of LI 2025/19, which must take into account, among four prescribed matters, the present value of anticipated future cash flows 2. Method One can be worked out by the company's CFO or a suitable valuer, and it only has effect for the s 83A-33(5) market value test if the directors endorse the methodology and value by written resolution and the instrument's other conditions are met 2, 3. Building the model is not, on its own, a statement that a discounted cash flow approach is the right primary method for a pre-revenue company: which method fits your stage is a separate question, covered on How to value a startup.

Discounted cash flow (DCF) model

A DCF model estimates value by forecasting future cash flows and discounting them back to a present value. It is one input to a valuation, not a valuation in itself. In our approach, for a pre-revenue company a DCF is usually used as a cross-check alongside other evidence, such as recent arm's-length rounds, rather than as the primary method.

  • The signed valuation
  • The company’s DCF model Built from your budget, forecast and milestone plan.

03How the fee is set

Why does the fee depend on structure and purpose, not turnover?

A start-up breaks the usual link between turnover and the work a valuation involves. A pre-revenue company can have little or no turnover and still carry a multi-class cap table, an option pool, SAFEs or convertible notes, and an employee share scheme, while a company with genuine early revenue can still be straightforward. In our view, turnover is not a reliable guide to the work a start-up valuation involves, so the tiers are set by your company's structure and the purpose of the valuation instead. An ESS grant is always a Standard start-up valuation; a transfer in a one-class company with no SAFEs, convertible notes or ESS may be a Simple start-up valuation.

What changes the scope, and how do add-ons apply?

Several things change what the engagement involves, though not all of them carry a separate published price.

The detail and sources

What we confirm with you before we start

  • Purpose: an ESS valuation, a shareholder transfer or exit, a capital raise, or a tax or restructure event each calls for a different basis of value and sometimes a different report type
  • What is being valued: the whole company, one class of shares, a parcel, or options or rights, which changes the allocation work involved
  • The number of share classes and convertible instruments outstanding, which changes how much allocation work sits behind the answer
  • Whether the valuation date is current or retrospective, and how many entities sit in the group

We confirm purpose and cap-table complexity with you, and the fee that applies, before commencement. Two factors also carry a published price on top of whichever tier applies:

Published add-ons
Add-onPrice
A retrospective valuation date+$495 + GST per date
An additional entity in the group+$795 + GST per additional entity

Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

A retrospective valuation date costs more because we reconstruct the cap table and each instrument's terms, such as SAFEs, notes, option terms and share class rights, as they stood at that earlier date, relying only on information available then; the ATO lists use of information from after the valuation date as a common valuation issue 1. An additional entity costs more because we trace SAFEs, notes and share classes through that entity's own position in the group structure, not simply add a set of accounts. Beyond the tier your cap table places you in and these two published add-ons, anything else specific to your cap table or instruments is confirmed with you at scoping.

What's the delivery basis?

Delivery for every start-up tier is agreed with you before commencement, not promised in days. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

Note

A start-up's information set (cap table, instrument terms, board minutes, forecasts) varies enough between matters that a single day count would either overpromise on a complex matter or build in delay on a simple one. We agree the date once we can see what the engagement involves.

  1. Tell us the purpose

  2. Agree scope and fee

  3. Share information privately

    Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

  4. We prepare the valuation

  5. Reviewed and signed

Call 0433 475 518

04Pricing questions

FAQs

Tell us your purpose and cap table and we will confirm the tier and the fee in writing before any work begins.

Request a valuationCall 0433 475 518
Does the fee change with the basis of value my purpose needs?

The tier and the fee follow your company's structure and the purpose of the valuation: $1,995 + GST for a Simple start-up valuation, $3,495 + GST for a Standard start-up valuation, or $4,495 + GST for a dispute or court expert report. What you need the valuation for also changes the basis of value, for example the market value test for the ESS start-up concession, which for options and rights compares the exercise price with the market value of an ordinary share 4, or market value in its ordinary meaning for a tax event 1, or the value your shareholders' agreement defines for a transfer. That choice changes the report we write, and we confirm the scope, the tier and the fee with you before commencement. A start-up matter in dispute or heading to court is the expert report at $4,495 + GST, with delivery agreed before commencement. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

Is the DCF model a separate cost?

No, for the Simple and Standard tiers. Building the company's own discounted cash flow model is included in both the $1,995 + GST and $3,495 + GST fees. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

We have SAFEs, an option pool and more than one share class. Does that cost more?

Yes: SAFEs or notes, several share classes, or option-pool modelling put your engagement in the Standard start-up valuation tier, at $3,495 + GST rather than the $1,995 + GST Simple tier. Beyond that, the two costs we publish in advance are a retrospective valuation date and an additional entity in the group. Tell us your purpose and cap table and we will confirm the tier and the fee in writing before any work begins. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received. See SAFEs and convertible notes for how those instruments affect the share count and the value of each class.

When does the clock start on delivery?

Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received. For every start-up tier, the delivery date itself is agreed with you before commencement, rather than quoted in business days.

Can I get a valuation for just one class of shares, or for an option?

Yes. We can value the whole company, one class, a parcel, or options or rights. Which one you need depends on your purpose, and we confirm the scope and the fee at scoping. See Employee share scheme valuations if options or rights are the focus.

What happens if my cap table or instruments turn out more complex than described at scoping?

If the cap table or the instruments differ from what was described when we agreed the scope, we raise it with you before doing that work and confirm any change to the scope and fee, and you choose whether to go ahead.

Start-Up Valuations is a specialist division of Valuation Group Pty Ltd. Reports are prepared for the company, its board or its advisers, not as advice to an employee or investor on whether to acquire, hold or sell shares or options. Each Simple or Standard start-up valuation is a valuation engagement, as described in the APES 225 guidelines we follow. See Startup valuation for what these engagements cover and when you need one.

Compare the tiers in a table
Startup fee tiers
TierCoversFeeDelivery
Simple start-up valuationOne share class, no SAFEs, convertible notes or employee share scheme (ESS)$1,995 + GSTAgreed before commencement
Standard start-up valuationESS work, SAFEs or notes, several share classes, or option-pool modelling$3,495 + GSTAgreed before commencement
Dispute or court expert reportA start-up matter in dispute or heading to court$4,495 + GSTAgreed before commencement

Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

Sources (4)

  1. Market valuation for tax purposes (Guide). Australian Taxation Office. Current at February 2025. Accessed 27 Sep 2026. S009 abc
  2. LI 2025/19 Legislative Instrument. Australian Taxation Office; Federal Register of Legislation. Made 9 Sep 2025; registered 11 Sep 2025 (F2025L01085); commenced 1 Oct 2025. Accessed 27 Sep 2026. S003 ab
  3. LI 2025/19, Explanatory Statement. Australian Taxation Office. 9 Sep 2025. Accessed 27 Sep 2026. S004
  4. Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, section 83A-33. Commonwealth (text via ATO Legal Database). Current text as displayed 27 Sep 2026; inserted by No 105 of 2015. Accessed 27 Sep 2026. S006

Request a valuation

Tell us what needs valuing and why.

The signing valuer reads every enquiry and replies by email with the scope of work and a fixed fee. Nothing starts until you accept it.

What happens after you enquire

  1. We read it.

    The signing valuer reads every enquiry.
  2. We reply with scope and fee.

    You receive an email setting out what the engagement covers, the basis of value it will use, and a fixed fee.
  3. You accept the scope and fee.

    Nothing begins until you accept the scope and fee we send by reply.

Get a scope and fixed fee

Tell us what needs valuing and why. We will come back to you with scope and fee before any work begins.

Step 1 of 2

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  • Some enquiries are easier to explain on a call, particularly where there is an approaching board decision. Speak with a valuer: 0433 475 518
  • No documents needed to enquire.
  • Nothing starts until you accept it. Sending an enquiry does not create an engagement.