These six guides cover the practical work of building enterprise value in an owner-led Canadian company. They follow the same method we use in our engagements: measure the value drivers, choose a few initiatives, run them with a steady rhythm, and keep the numbers that prove the improvement. Each guide stands on its own, but they make most sense read in the order below.
Every guide is written to be used. You will find scoring criteria, checklists, worked illustrations with assumed figures, and the common mistakes we see. None of the worked examples is market data, and none of the guides offers valuation, tax, legal or securities advice; for those, speak to a Chartered Business Valuator, your CPA or your lawyer.
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Improving margins and EBITDA: ten places to look first
Most owner-led companies lose margin in the same ten places, and few of them show up on a year-end income statement. This guide shows how to find each one in your own numbers and what to do about it.
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The eight enterprise value drivers, and how to score your own company
Eight drivers explain most of the difference in value between two owner-led companies with similar revenue. This guide gives you the scoring criteria we use, so you can rate your company from 1 to 5 on each and see where to start.
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The first 100 days of a value-creation plan
The first 100 days decide whether a value-creation plan becomes a habit or a document. This guide shows how to choose the initiatives, write them so they can be tracked, and run the rhythm that keeps them moving while the business keeps running.
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A monthly value dashboard: twelve numbers that show whether value is rising
Annual statements arrive too late to steer by. This guide sets out a one-page monthly dashboard of twelve numbers, grouped by value driver, that tells an owner each month whether the company is becoming worth more.
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The owner-dependency audit: measure what still runs through you
Most owners underestimate how much of the company depends on them. This 30-day audit gives you a factual record of the decisions, relationships and knowledge that sit with you, and a staged plan for moving them to a management layer.
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Designing recurring revenue that actually renews
Recurring revenue is only valuable if it renews. This guide walks through choosing a model, pricing it so it makes money, writing terms that survive a change of owner, and running the renewal process that turns sign-ups into a track record.
Start here: the eight enterprise value drivers
The eight enterprise value drivers, and how to score your own company explains the drivers that account for most of the difference in value between similar companies: earnings quality, margins, recurring revenue, concentration, owner dependence, management depth, cash conversion and growth runway.
What you will learn: the 1-to-5 scoring criteria for each driver, the evidence to check, how to read the pattern of your scores, and how to turn the two lowest scores into your first initiatives. It is the same scorecard that underpins our value-driver assessment.
Margins and EBITDA: ten places to look
Improving margins and EBITDA walks through the ten places margin usually leaks in owner-led companies, from stale prices and unmanaged discounts to unbilled extras, rework and slow cash.
What you will learn: which numbers to ask your bookkeeper for, how to find each leak, what to do about it, and a worked illustration of how a three-point margin gain and a modest overhead review change EBITDA.
Recurring revenue that renews
Designing recurring revenue that actually renews covers the five decisions behind a durable agreement or membership programme: model, scope, price, terms and the renewal process.
What you will learn: how to price a plan from the bottom up, what terms make agreements dependable after a change of owner, how to run renewals, and the five numbers to track each month.
The first 100 days of a plan
The first 100 days of a value-creation plan explains how to turn a scorecard into action without disrupting the business.
What you will learn: how to set a baseline, choose three to five initiatives, write one-page charters with owners and targets, run a light weekly and monthly rhythm, and hold a day-100 review.
Measuring what runs through the owner
The owner-dependency audit is a 30-day exercise that produces a factual record of the decisions, relationships, knowledge, credentials and effort that depend on you.
What you will learn: how to keep the log, sort it into five kinds of dependence, score it with help from your managers, and plan the handover in stages over two to three years.
A monthly value dashboard
A monthly value dashboard sets out twelve numbers, grouped by value driver, that show each month whether the company is becoming worth more.
What you will learn: how to calculate each number, what to watch for, how to run a one-hour monthly review, and how the dashboard feeds the quarterly re-score.
How the guides fit together
| If your lowest score is… | Read next |
|---|---|
| Earnings quality or margins | Margins and EBITDA |
| Recurring revenue | Recurring revenue that renews |
| Owner dependence or management depth | The owner-dependency audit |
| Several drivers at once | The first 100 days |
| Any driver, over time | The monthly value dashboard |
When to talk to us
The guides are enough for many owners. Outside help tends to be worth it when the numbers are hard to produce, when initiatives keep slipping behind daily work, or when you want an independent read of your scores. See our services and pricing, or call or text (604) 632-4959. The first 30-minute consultation is free.
Frequently asked questions
Which guide should I read first?
Start with the enterprise value drivers guide. It gives you a scorecard, and your lowest scores tell you which of the other guides matters most for your company.
Are the numbers in the guides market data?
No. Every worked example uses assumed figures and is labelled as an illustration. Your own numbers, and a qualified valuator for any question of value, are what count.
Can I use these guides without hiring you?
Yes. That is the intention. If you find the work keeps slipping behind daily operations, that is when outside support tends to help.