Business broker contract
- What the broker is paid, commission plus uncredited retainer
- $90,000
- Computed on this page from the inputs below
- Commission at that price
- $90,000
- Computed on this page from the inputs below
- The minimum fee as a percent of your price
- 6
- Computed on this page from the inputs below
- What reaches you before tax and other costs
- $810,000
- Computed on this page from the inputs below
Every figure here comes from the figures you enter and the method stated beside it: your document count, your own hourly worth, your expected price. This site publishes no valuation, no tax position and no legal opinion; what a clause means for your deal is your solicitor's and your accountant's.
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The figures above start from a worked example ($90,000). Change any input and the answer updates as you type.
Download the Business broker contract worked example (CSV)
A business broker contract is written in percentages and read in a hurry. This worksheet turns the terms you type in into the figures that decide whether they are reasonable: the commission at the price you expect, what the broker is paid once an uncredited retainer is added, the minimum fee expressed as a percent of your own price so you can see whether it bites, and what reaches you before tax and your other costs. It is arithmetic on your numbers, not an opinion on any contract.
Business broker contract: common questions
How do I know whether the minimum fee applies to me?
Compare the two percentages the worksheet gives you. If the minimum fee is a higher percent of your expected price than the commission rate is, the minimum is what you will actually pay, and the headline rate is not the rate.
What does credited retainer mean?
That the up-front payment is deducted from the commission at completion rather than kept in addition to it. The difference is real money and the wording is easy to skim past, so the worksheet lets you model any share from none to all of it.
Is this legal advice on my contract?
No. It is arithmetic on the numbers you enter. What any clause means for your particular agreement, including exclusivity and tail periods, is a question for your own solicitor, and this site never answers it.
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Keeping what you make
The checklist is free. Pro is what happens once a buyer is actually asking: the documents go in as records, each request is tracked against the person who made it, and every version carries the date it was shared, so nobody has to remember which copy anybody has.
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- Save the sale file and open it again next week
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- Take a deposit without leaving the record
- Connect QuickBooks or Xero to your account
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