Not All Valuations are Created Equal
Rule of thumb valuations are ones that are typically quoted and overly abused. The typical rule of thumb in a dental practice is a value based on a percentage of the practice’s gross collections. For metropolitan areas, the rule of thumb can be from 85% of collections up to 100% of collections. For a rural area, the value is typically 65% up to 85% of collections. Sounds simple and straightforward, but is it accurate? There are several reasons it is not.
The first reason is the practice may have a good gross production number, say $800,000, but it also may be mismanaged with a high overhead of $750,000, leaving $50,000 leftover for debt service and salary for the doctor. Do you want to work for nearly nothing? Using a rule of thumb approach, this practice would be valued at between $700,000 and $800,000 if in downtown Seattle or Portland. The problem is that it doesn’t cash flow enough for bank financing. Secondly, you don’t know what is being run through the gross revenue production number. Is the practice on capitation plans, DSHS, or another low reimbursement program? Low reimbursement means low money to the practice, narrowing the margins. If you get a high volume of the low reimbursement programs, you can bump up your gross and leave little to pay off debt and doctor’s salary.
Another valuation method that can be dangerous is called the cash flow method. This method calculates an adjusted cash flow to the practice. The valuator will then normalize a doctors’ salary and calculate a value based on how much debt the practice can afford to pay. In some practices, the valuator will use a forecasted number to get the value even higher. This helps the seller when selling a practice, but is bad for the buyer, as he or she is stuck paying a high debt payment each month.
Omni follows standards set by the Institute of Business Appraisers and the Society of Certified Public Accountants Certified Valuation Analyst program. We have an Accredited Business Appraiser on staff as well as two Certified Valuation Analysts. We use three different valuation methods to determine the value of a practice – the Production Acquisition Method, the Capitalization Rate Method and the Book Value method. Each of these methods focuses on a different aspect of the practice. After we calculate all three methods, we blend them to determine the total value of the practice. Blending these methods gives us a value that looks at the assets, cash flow and overall collections of the practice – a full picture of the entire practice and not just a glimpse of one aspect of the practice.
If you are interested in hearing more about Omni’s Practice Valuations, send us an email or give us a call today – 877-866-6053.
Broker Vs. No Broker
Thinking of selling your practice but don’t want to pay the broker’s commission? Think again. History shows that any time you sell your business and/or real estate yourself, the chance of failure of the transaction is over 50%. A commission will be much more digestible than the result if you try to do it yourself. We receive calls from senior veterinarians stating they sold their practices and took payments and it didn’t work out. After one year, they often must take the practice back and struggle to resurrect it to try and sell again. This is typically an experience that is new to both buyers and sellers. It takes time, marketing expertise, sales experience, buyer and advisor contacts, and lots of patience.
Your broker may spend hundreds of hours on your transition and your time is better spent at the clinic and planning your retirement agenda. Brokers do lots of specialized marketing which can be costly and time-consuming, and it includes many weekends and evenings meeting with potential buyers. When working with a broker, the average practice sells in about 6 months so selling it alone can be much longer. Your broker should have a list of qualified buyers and a commercial real estate license. If you own your space, it’s often critical to sell the building at the same time or get a solid agreement together for future purchase. Time and time again we see senior veterinarians sell the practice and lease the space with a loose agreement and lose their renter. The buyer decides they like a newer building down the street and leave you with an empty veterinary building.
A good broker will determine the value of your practice and there is much that goes into this process. It’s not just about collections. Everyone’s goal should be to sell at a fair price in a timely manner. If the price isn’t “right”, the banks won’t finance, and you certainly don’t want to carry the loan. If you get pressured to sell too low, which we often see, you can lose tens of thousands of dollars. Brokers spend a lot of time working with all the trusted advisors you need such as veterinary specific banks, CPAs, and attorneys to determine the value of your practice and facilitate a smooth and successful transition.
Broker Vs. No Broker
Thinking of selling your practice but don’t want to pay the broker’s commission? Think again. History shows that any time you sell your business and/or real estate yourself, the chance of failure of the transaction is over 50%. A commission will be much more digestible than the result if you try to do it yourself. We receive calls from senior veterinarians stating they sold their practices and took payments and it didn’t work out. After one year, they often must take the practice back and struggle to resurrect it to try and sell again. This is typically an experience that is new to both buyers and sellers. It takes time, marketing expertise, sales experience, buyer and advisor contacts, and lots of patience.
Your broker may spend hundreds of hours on your transition and your time is better spent at the clinic and planning your retirement agenda. Brokers do lots of specialized marketing which can be costly and time-consuming, and it includes many weekends and evenings meeting with potential buyers. When working with a broker, the average practice sells in about 6 months so selling it alone can be much longer. Your broker should have a list of qualified buyers and a commercial real estate license. If you own your space, it’s often critical to sell the building at the same time or get a solid agreement together for future purchase. Time and time again we see senior veterinarians sell the practice and lease the space with a loose agreement and lose their renter. The buyer decides they like a newer building down the street and leave you with an empty veterinary building.
A good broker will determine the value of your practice and there is much that goes into this process. It’s not just about collections. Everyone’s goal should be to sell at a fair price in a timely manner. If the price isn’t “right”, the banks won’t finance, and you certainly don’t want to carry the loan. If you get pressured to sell too low, which we often see, you can lose tens of thousands of dollars. Brokers spend a lot of time working with all the trusted advisors you need such as veterinary specific banks, CPAs, and attorneys to determine the value of your practice and facilitate a smooth and successful transition.
HARVESTING YOUR EQUITY IN YOUR PRACTICE
You Don’t Have To Retire If You Sell Your Practice
By Rod Johnston, MBA, CMA
A few years ago, I decided to sell my house in Kirkland, WA. I wasn’t planning on moving anywhere. I still planned on living for quite a while longer. I didn’t have any health issues, nor was I downsizing from my 1,100 square foot house to a smaller house. I purchased the house almost 20 years prior and it was nearly paid off, so I had quite a bit of equity built up into it. I had just decided it was time to harvest the equity I had built up in the house and use part of the equity to buy something else, part of it to put towards retirement, and part of it to have as a safety cushion for a rainy day. I’m glad I sold the house as it was over 1/3 of an acre and had a lot of flower beds and landscaping. It was also getting older and required quite a bit of maintenance.
I’m telling you this story because you can do the same thing with your practice. You have put in many years of hard work in your practice. It may need maintenance every year that you may be tired of taking care of. After 20 years of staff issues, they may be getting to you. Maybe you just had a new corporate move in down the street, and you’re worried about competing against them. It could be that you just want to be a veterinarian and just want to see patients – not manage staff, clean the office, pay the bills, deal with the leaking roof, post to the office Facebook or Twitter pages, come up with new ads to get clients in the door or any of the other 100 items that are required of a veterinary practice owner. I know, as I’m also a business owner – and who do you think cleans our toilets on the weekends?
No laws say you must own a practice to be a veterinarian. You can Harvest your Equity from your practice and continue to be a veterinarian. Imagine getting hundreds of thousands, if not millions, out of your practice, continue to work in your own practice, or go to work in a different practice if you choose and no longer have to manage a practice. You can put the money you receive to work for you in a retirement or investment account. You can free up some of your time to enjoy your family. You can buy a vacation home that you’ve always dreamed of, or just simply put the money away for a rainy day and continue to work.
So, what are the steps to Harvesting Your Practice Equity?
- Set up a free consultation with one of our advisors.
- Have a practice valuation done on your practice.
- Meet with your financial advisor to discuss your plan and the valuation.
- Meet again with an Omni Advisor to discuss possible options in selling your practice and the feasibility of working back in the practice.
- Let Omni take over the selling process and find a buyer that matches your needs. The “your” is vitally important as we are matchmakers and want to find a buyer who will be a near-perfect fit for you, your practice staff, clients, and the community.
- Close on the sale of your practice and plan your new, less stressful life.
That’s all there is to it to take back control of your life. Of course, there will be some work between steps such as running reports, meeting with a potential buyer(s), and discussing options with your advisors. But if you rely on Omni and other experts, the process can be simple.
We have helped numerous veterinarians who sold their practice and are working back in their practice or are working for someone else and appreciating their newfound joy again being a veterinarian and helping animals get better. The first step is the easiest. Just give us a call at 360-941-2341.
Broker versus No Broker
Broker/Production/Collection Consultant, Omni Practice Group
Thinking of selling your practice but don’t want to pay the broker’s commission? Think again. Do you ever refer out procedures because you know the specialist has more experience, may get a better result, and take less time? History shows that any time you sell your business and/or real estate yourself, the chance of failure of the transaction is over 50%. A 7-10% commission will be much more digestible than the result if you try to do it yourself. I receive calls from senior dentists stating they sold their practices and took payments and it didn’t work out. After one year, they often must take the practice back and struggle to resurrect it to try and sell again. This is typically an experience that is new to both buyers and sellers. It takes time, marketing expertise, sales experience, buyer and advisor contacts, and lots of patience.
Your broker may spend hundreds of hours on your transition and your time is better spent at the chair and planning your retirement agenda. Brokers do lots of specialized marketing which can be costly and time-consuming, and it includes many weekends and evenings meeting with potential buyers. When working with a broker, the average practice sells in about 6 months so selling it alone can be much longer. Your broker should have a list of qualified buyers and a real estate license. If you own your space, it’s critical to sell the building at the same time or get a solid agreement together for future purchase. Time and time again we see senior dentists sell the practice and lease the space with a loose agreement and lose their renter. The buyer decides they like a newer building down the street and leave you with an empty dental building.
A good broker will determine the value of your practice and there is much that goes into this process. It’s not just about collections. Everyone’s goal should be to sell at a fair price in a timely manner. If the price isn’t “right”, the banks won’t finance, and you certainly don’t want to carry the loan. If you get pressured to sell too low, which we often see, you can lose tens of thousands of dollars. Brokers spend a lot of time working with all the trusted advisors you need such as dental specific banks, CPAs, and attorneys to determine the value of your practice and facilitate a smooth and successful transition.