Instilus small-business decision tools

Estimate what a small business is worth using Normalised EBITDA and typical small-business earnings multiples. Answers "how much is my business worth?" from real figures — revenue, cost of goods sold, operating expenses, owner pay and a fair-market salary for the owner role — rather than a generic rule of thumb. Produces an indicative enterprise value range, not a professional appraisal.

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "annualRevenue": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Annual revenue."
    },
    "costOfGoodsSold": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Annual cost of goods sold."
    },
    "operatingExpenses": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Annual operating expenses, excluding owner pay."
    },
    "ownerPay": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Total owner compensation taken from the business."
    },
    "fairMarketSalary": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "What it would cost to hire someone to do the owner role."
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "annualRevenue",
    "costOfGoodsSold",
    "operatingExpenses",
    "ownerPay",
    "fairMarketSalary"
  ]
}

Calculate EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA for a small business. Answers "what is my EBITDA?" and "what is my adjusted EBITDA after add-backs?" from real figures — revenue, cost of goods sold, operating expenses, and add-backs such as owner pay above a market salary, one-off costs and personal expenses run through the business.

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "annualRevenue": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Annual revenue."
    },
    "costOfGoodsSold": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Annual cost of goods sold."
    },
    "operatingExpenses": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Annual operating expenses, including owner pay."
    },
    "addBacks": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Total add-backs: owner pay above market, one-offs, personal expenses. Optional."
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "annualRevenue",
    "costOfGoodsSold",
    "operatingExpenses"
  ]
}

Work out how many sales a month a business needs to cover its costs, and how many to hit a target profit. Answers "what is my break-even point?" from fixed monthly costs, price per sale and variable cost per sale.

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "fixedCostsPerMonth": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Monthly fixed costs: rent, salaries, software, anything paid whether or not you sell."
    },
    "pricePerSale": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "What one sale brings in."
    },
    "variableCostPerSale": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "What one sale costs to deliver."
    },
    "targetProfitPerMonth": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Monthly profit to aim past break-even. Optional."
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "fixedCostsPerMonth",
    "pricePerSale",
    "variableCostPerSale"
  ]
}

Convert between profit margin and markup, and work out the price a target margin requires. Answers "what is my profit margin?", "what is the difference between margin and markup?" and "what should I charge for a 40% margin?" from cost and price.

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "cost": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "What the item costs you."
    },
    "price": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "What you sell it for. Optional if targetMarginPercent is given."
    },
    "targetMarginPercent": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "The margin you want, as a percentage. Optional."
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "cost"
  ]
}

Work out the hourly or day rate a freelancer or consultant needs to charge, once unbillable time is accounted for. Answers "what should I charge per hour?" from target annual income, business costs, working weeks and realistic billable hours.

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "targetAnnualIncome": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "What you want to earn in a year, before tax."
    },
    "annualBusinessCosts": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Annual business costs: software, insurance, accountant, equipment."
    },
    "workingWeeksPerYear": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Weeks worked a year, after holiday and illness."
    },
    "billableHoursPerWeek": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Hours a week genuinely billed, not hours worked."
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "targetAnnualIncome",
    "workingWeeksPerYear",
    "billableHoursPerWeek"
  ]
}

Check whether a business being bought can pay for its own purchase out of profit, and what happens if it underperforms. Answers "can I afford to buy this business?" from asking price, deposit, loan terms and the annual profit of the business being bought.

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "askingPrice": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "The asking price."
    },
    "deposit": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Cash paid up front."
    },
    "interestRatePercent": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Annual interest rate on the borrowed balance."
    },
    "loanYears": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Years to repay."
    },
    "annualProfit": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Annual profit of the business being bought, before financing."
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "askingPrice",
    "deposit",
    "interestRatePercent",
    "loanYears",
    "annualProfit"
  ]
}

The method for researching competitors or a market before committing money, and what each finding is worth. Answers "how do I do a competitor analysis?", "how do I research a market before entering it?" and "what will an investor ask me about competitors?" — returns the steps, the six things a competitor publicly reveals, and how to turn a finding into a decision rather than a grid.

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "question": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "competitors",
        "market-entry",
        "fundraise"
      ],
      "description": "Which decision this is for: researching competitors, deciding whether to enter a market, or answering the competition question in a raise."
    },
    "competitorCount": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "How many competitors are being considered. Optional."
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "question"
  ]
}

Audit a real Shopify store from its public pages and score it out of 100 for speed, SEO, trust and product pages. Answers "why is my Shopify store not converting?", "how fast is my store?" and "what should I fix on my Shopify store first?" — reads only what a shopper can see, needs no login or app install, and returns the fixes in the order worth doing them.

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "domain": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "The storefront address, for example mystore.com or mystore.myshopify.com."
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "domain"
  ]
}