FAQ's for Owners
Questions? We have answers.
Know
Though we’re growing fast, we are currently only working with businesses in the U.S. When that changes, you’ll be the first to know!
We celebrate every small business under the sun, but we’re best suited to help you if you have at least 2 employees and own most of your business (have not taken on venture capital).
Baton is 100% free for small business owners. Instead of charging for valuations, we make money through referral fees paid by our network of trusted partners, small business brokers, and supporting buyers with their search.
Your customers and competitors will never know you're working with us directly, since every small business will have a profile on Baton. While we believe access to transparent, data-driven valuations helps every business, we'll never expose your private business data without permission.
We start with a database upwards of 4M businesses, then plug your financials into a 6-method calculation flow, taking into account the latest market rates. The process makes our valuation more aligned with your industry and unique business model.
Based on the goals and insights you share, along with the growth opportunities we uncover in your financial data, we’ll connect you with vetted partners to help with your next big move. Whether you’re ready to sell or just looking to grow, we’ll work to help address your unique needs. Even if you decide not to connect with our partners, you can still use Baton to track your valuation, free of charge.
The tech we use to collect and store your financial data meets the highest security standards, from mandatory security training and background checks to continuous monitoring to keep your data safe.
We use your company’s financial data to estimate the valuation. That’s all. Unless we have your explicit consent, we’ll never share your data with third parties.
Grow
Our referral is free. You pay our partners for their services, according to their upfront pricing.
First, our team is not incentivized by partner revenue. No owner should have to know or do it all. So we’re continually expanding our nationwide network of best-in-class service providers to help, based on shared values and the expertise owners tell us they need most. In choosing the right partner for you, we determine that based on your valuation and our conversations after.
There is no obligation to work with any of our partners. If one of our recommendations doesn’t match your needs, we’ll work until we find you the right one. Just like finding the right doctor, sometimes it takes a couple of tries.
There is no obligation to work with any of our partners. If one of our recommendations doesn’t match your needs, we’ll work until we find you the right one. Just like finding the right doctor, sometimes it takes a couple of tries.
Your Baton Guide will help by reviewing any gaps in your business valuation. From there, you can speak about the kind of expertise that could help improve those numbers, and what you’re able and willing to invest.
Sell
If you decide to sell with Baton, only buyers who’ve passed our certification (pre-screening) process will know. The process from free valuation to closing is 100% confidential.
Buyers come to us primarily through word-of-mouth and online search. Once they decide they’d like to access verified for-sale businesses, they need to pass our certification (pre-screening) process to keep our marketplace bot free and high quality.
Pricing
We’ll work with you to find a service provider within your budget. Once we find a partner you agree to work with, there is no referral fee to us. You get upfront pricing from that service provider and pay them directly. The service provider then pays us.
Baton collects just 6% of your total sale price when you sell with us (compared to 10-20% industry-standard broker fee). We ask for $1K per month which is then applied to the 6% upon closing.
These are two paid versions of valuations used for either major life events i.e. divorce, partner buyout, estate planning (Certified Valuation) or to present to buyers and lawyers as an expert take on a business's listing price (Opinion of Value).