The general answer to what a business broker charges is a range wide enough to be useless, and repeating one would give an owner false confidence about a quote it cannot actually assess. The specific answer, for your business and the contract in front of you, takes about ten minutes to work out and is exact. This page is that method: what to ask for, what to put into it, and what the two numbers are that let you compare one engagement against another.
Ask for the whole fee schedule, in writing
Not the rate. The rate, the base it applies to, the minimum fee, the retainer and whether it is credited, any marketing or administration charges, the exclusivity period and the tail. Brokers provide this routinely; the reason owners do not have it is usually that nobody asked, because the conversation was about the percentage.
Put your own expected price through it
Take the price you genuinely expect rather than the one you hope for, and work the schedule through: what the commission produces, whether the minimum is larger, what the uncredited part of any retainer adds. The output is two numbers, what the broker is paid and what reaches you, and those are comparable across quotes in a way that rates are not.
Then check the two terms that are not about money
How long you are locked in, and what happens afterwards. A cheaper engagement with a long exclusivity and a wide tail can be the more expensive choice if the broker turns out not to have the buyers. These terms cost nothing at signing and are the ones that constrain you if things go badly, which is exactly when you will want the freedom. Do the same exercise at a price lower than you expect as well. If the fee barely moves, a minimum is binding and the engagement is effectively fixed-price for you, which is a materially different arrangement from the one the rate describes.
Questions people ask about how much does a business broker charge
Why not just publish a typical figure?
Because it would be used as a benchmark it cannot support. Fees vary with size, sector, region and what is included, and an owner comparing a quote against a stripped-down average learns nothing reliable.
Is the fee payable if the business does not sell?
The commission generally is not; retainers and cost recovery frequently are. That distinction is in your own contract and it is the first thing to look for.
Can I negotiate?
Commonly yes, on something. Even where the rate is fixed, the minimum, the retainer treatment, the exclusivity and the tail are all things owners routinely move.