Businesses for sale by owner, listed with the same tools brokers use
Selling by owner saves the broker's success fee, but it also hands you the broker's work: pricing, confidentiality, buyer screening and paperwork. The Owner Listing plan gives you the tools for each of those jobs in one place.
- Tax returns 2023 to 2025 14
- Profit and loss 2025 11
- Lease and equipment 9
- Payroll summary 6
- Customer contracts 3
Owner Listing
- 1 active listing
- Valuation report
- NDA-gated data room (1 GB)
- Buyer inquiry inbox
- Proof of funds badge on inquiries
- Listing analytics
$49 per month, or $24 per month billed yearly ($288). Cancel anytime.
How selling by owner works on CompanyBrokers
- 1 Value your company and save the report to your account.
- 2 Fill in the listing: industry, region, revenue, SDE, asking price, reason for sale, what is included.
- 3 Publish. Your company name stays hidden.
- 4 Buyers request the NDA, sign it online and add proof of funds.
- 5 You approve each buyer and open the data room.
- 6 You negotiate the LOI with your attorney and accountant and close.
When selling by owner makes sense
- You already know a likely buyer, such as a manager, a competitor or a family member
- The company is small enough that a broker's minimum fee takes a large share of the price
- Your books are clean and you can answer buyer questions yourself
- You have time to run the process for several months while the company keeps operating
If you are weighing where to list beyond this site, our comparison of websites like BizBuySell sets out listing cost and buyer screening for each option. If BizBuySell is on your shortlist, the BizBuySell pricing breakdown shows what a 6 or 12 month listing costs there.
When a broker is worth the fee
- The company is worth more than about 1 million USD and the price negotiation is complex
- Confidentiality is critical and you cannot field buyer calls yourself
- You need a wide reach to private equity, search funds or strategic buyers
- You want someone to manage the lender, landlord and due diligence timeline
You can switch at any time: ask for a match on sell my business or browse business brokers.
Buying a business for sale by owner
Owner listings carry the same financial summary and the same NDA and proof of funds steps as broker listings. Ask early for tax returns that match the profit and loss, and bring your own attorney and accountant, because no broker sits in the middle. Search all business for sale near me listings and filter by listed by owner.
Mistakes owners make selling by themselves
- Pricing on revenue or on what they need for retirement instead of on SDE and market multiples
- Sharing financials before an NDA and before checking the buyer can pay
- Telling staff too early, or letting them find out from a listing with the company name
- Accepting an LOI without exclusivity terms, a deadline and a financing contingency
- Skipping the lease. The landlord's consent can stop a closing in the last week.
The selling a business checklist covers every document buyers ask for.
How much does it cost to sell my business by owner
The Owner Listing plan costs $49 per month or $24 per month billed yearly. Add your attorney's fee for the purchase agreement and your accountant's fee for the purchase price allocation.
Will buyers take a by-owner listing seriously
Yes, when the listing shows real financials and the process is professional. The NDA, proof of funds and data room here are the same as on broker listings.
Can I move my listing to a broker later
Yes. Ask for a match at any time. The listing, valuation and data room can be handed over to the broker you choose.