Calculator
Business Acquisition Calculator
See the purchase costs, working capital and funding still to arrange under your assumptions before you make an offer.
Build a funding plan before making an offer. Entered bank and vendor amounts are your assumptions, not an assessment of what a lender will approve.
Costs and working capital
Price includes all purchase consideration, including deferred vendor principal. Add stock only when it is payable on top. Working capital is daily expenditure multiplied by buffer days, with no receipts assumed. The $12,000 legal allowance and 70-day buffer are editable examples, not quotes or recommendations. Include other cash costs explicitly. No GST credit, tax refund or future receivable is assumed.
Leave duty blank when unknown. Enter zero only if that is your confirmed allowance. The optional dutiable value is recorded for review and does not calculate duty. Asset allocation and purchase structure need checking; share purchases are not assumed duty-free. See RevenueWA business assets guidance and buying a business guidance (checked 11 October 2026).
Bank and vendor funding
Vendor principal defers part of the price and reduces cash due at settlement once. It is still debt, not bank money or a discount. Own cash is applied first, then only the bank amount needed. Any excess offered bank amount stays unused. Proposed finance is included only in the planned view; the confirmed view excludes it. Confirm availability, asset ownership, lender minimums, trading history, security and conditions before relying on any source.
Repayments and operating cash
Hypothetical constant rates and monthly principal and interest over whole-year terms. The 8% input is an illustration, not a lender rate. No fees, balloon, interest-only period or deferred first payment. Use operating cash after tax, wages, drawings, capital expenditure and other operating costs, before debt payments. This is a simple cash coverage illustration, not lender serviceability. The funding gap has no assumed repayment; arrange it before treating this as a complete debt budget.
Security headroom illustration
Headroom = value × your planning advance percentage, less existing secured debt, floored at zero. Enter percentages from your adviser or test your own assumptions; no lender advance is supplied. Use eligible assets actually included in the sale, exclude goodwill and stock already counted elsewhere, and allow for debts that remain. Security headroom is not cash, does not get added to bank finance and does not establish approval. Do not count the same security in both categories. Share ownership may not give the buyer direct access to company assets as security.
View the funding and cash breakdown
How the plan adds up
Funding sources and remaining gap
Debt and cash illustration
Security headroom, kept separate
Security shortfalls are shown separately. Headroom never enters the funding totals.
Optional. Your summary stays in this browser tab until you choose to send an enquiry.
Estimates only. A balanced plan is not approval or a recommendation to proceed. Verify price allocation, duty, funding conditions and operating cash with your advisers. Bank and vendor terms may differ from these illustrations. You can use the calculator without providing contact details.
Want these numbers checked? Send the result across and we'll tell you what a lender would make of it. No meeting required.
Why a business costs more than its price
Most buyers plan for the purchase price and a deposit. The cash that catches them out sits in the gaps: working capital, duty, due diligence and legal costs, stock payable on top, and funding that has not been confirmed. This estimator separates those uses from your own cash, entered bank finance and deferred vendor principal. It does not predict what a bank will lend.
This estimate gives you the shape of a deal. The exact position depends on the lender, the security available, and how the purchase is structured, which is the work we do with you. For how lenders actually assess a business purchase, read our acquisition finance guide.
A funding plan is more than a deposit
For a $700,000 purchase with $30,000 additional stock, $28,000 entered duty, $15,000 legal costs, $5,000 other costs and a $120,000 working capital buffer, total uses are $898,000. Applying $200,000 own cash, $400,000 proposed bank finance and $100,000 deferred vendor principal leaves $198,000 still to arrange. If the bank and vendor amounts are unconfirmed, $698,000 remains unconfirmed. These are illustrative inputs, not duty or lending advice.
For document readiness, use the Acquisition Readiness Check. For vendor terms, read about vendor finance for a business purchase.
Frequently asked questions
How much deposit do I need to buy a business?
Budget for the purchase price, stock payable on top, your confirmed duty allowance, legal and due diligence costs and a working capital buffer. The calculator keeps your cash reserve separate and applies your entered bank and vendor funding once. It shows the gap under your plan and the gap excluding unconfirmed finance. Neither result is a lender approval.
Why will a bank not lend against the full purchase price?
A purchase price is not an approved borrowing amount. Earnings, eligible security, existing debt, borrower history and funding conditions all need assessment. This calculator uses the bank amount you enter rather than inventing a lender advance. Its optional security headroom illustration deducts existing secured debt and never treats property equity as cash.
Do I pay stamp duty when buying a business in WA?
Enter a professional duty allowance for your specific purchase structure and price allocation. This calculator does not determine duty liability or apply a blanket percentage to the price. A blank allowance is unknown and excluded from the provisional totals; zero means you have explicitly entered no duty allowance. Confirm the position with your accountant and RevenueWA before relying on the plan.
How much working capital do I need after settlement?
Set daily operating cash expenditure and the number of days you want covered. The buffer is their product, with no receipts assumed. For example, $2,000 a day for 60 days gives a $120,000 buffer. Include wages, rent and supplier payments, and keep stock already added to the price out of this buffer to avoid counting it twice.